Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Panikk
Label: Metal Tank
Release: year_month
Length: 40:19
Rating: 4/5
If there’s one thing the Slovenian metal scene is undeniably rich in, it’s thrash metal. Down here under the Alps we grow top-notch Bay Area thrash (Eruption, Negligence) as well as rawer, sauerkraut-fed Teutonic thrash metal (Keller, Lintver). Only a handful of bands aren’t firmly planted in one of thrash’s two worlds. Lately that’s been Teleport, for example, and even more so Panikk, who are confidently fighting their way up among the more prominent homegrown thrash acts. Also because their studio debut Unbearable Conditions came out yesterday.
Panikk first got on the radar with their first demo, released in 2009, though it was still plagued by plenty of teething problems. On the demo they leaned hard on early Metallica and early Megadeth, a lot of it down to the vocals of Gašper »Gape« Flere, who sounded a lot like both of those vocal giants. Gapa disbanded the band in 2010, soon put it back together, and on the full-length debut Panikk show up in a completely new light. The light of primal, brutal, raw and aggressive thrash, thrash as it was (or is) played by bands like Vio-Lence, Demolition Hammer, Sepultura, EvilDead and Forbidden. What does that mean? Forty minutes of brutal thrash stomping, defined above all by fat riffing, dynamic drumming and commanding vocals!
Yep, between the demo and the debut Gapa has grown into a proper vocal beast. Where he used to sound like a Dave Mustaine/James Hetfield with a head cold, now he rages like a commander barking orders amid chaos and noise under unbearable conditions, losing his own sanity and grip on reality as he goes (an idea captured by the fantastic cover art from Mario Lopez, which, fittingly, recalls Munch’s Scream a bit). Gašper’s progress, like the whole band’s, is stunning! A great example is the flawlessly executed group »gang vocals« that add »punch« and conviction to the lead vocal, and sound so good , like Anthrax themselves had schooled Panikk.
Panikk have packed the debut with mighty energy that erupts from every direction, and the culprit, this time around, is first and foremost rhythm-driven music. It’s full of violent, massive riffs, built with real mastery, and despite a slight monotony across the songs they never repeat themselves, and you never get that feeling of having heard a riff somewhere else already. And when I say the riffs are massive, they really are mighty, slamming into you like a tsunami with no mercy. Adding to that monumental, battering sound is a confident rhythm section that thunders and roars, yet is dynamic enough to follow the guitars without any trouble. Too bad the bass is practically inaudible, buried under the merciless pounding of the guitars. Still, the album’s best moments lift the band up another level. Panikk mix thrash with hardcore, so there are plenty of crossover moments, and they shine brightest when the band suddenly slams the brakes on all-out speed and surprises with a great feel for fat groove. Thanks to those fat riffs, that groove carries the songs’ branching dynamics, and their biggest flaw might be that they’re a little too similar to each other. Or better put, they mostly follow the formula blast-stop-groove-blast. But that formula is executed to the last decimal place, and the band successfully smashes any monotony with the instrumental Away From Reality and the acoustic Revelation of Truth.
With Unbearable Conditions, Panikk haven’t laid new foundations for thrash metal, but that was never the point. The point was to record an album charged with youthful energy. And that energy bursts out of every second of the record. An album that once again shows what brutal thrash metal is and how it’s played. An album that fills you with aggression, next to which even the most unbearable conditions pale.
Don’t forget, Panikk will premiere the album at a “release party” on Saturday, March 16, 2013, at Rdeča ostriga in Škofja Loka (together with Eruption and Hellsword).
Lineup
Gašper Flere – guitar, vocals
Rok Vrčkovnik – bass
Grega Košmerl – drums
Nejc Nardin – guitar
Production
Domen “Dyz” Justin and Panikk
Tracklist
1. Panic Attack
2. Dismay
3. Messiah of Decay
4. Away From Reality
5. The Wave of Death
6. Playground of Visions
7. Revelation of Truth
8. Cruel World (Society to Adapt)
9. Unbearable Conditions
