Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Criminal
Label: Massacre Records
Released: 2009
Length: 50:09
Rating: 4/5
Criminal are proof that metal lives all over the world, since the band hails from Chile’s capital, Santiago. Even though the group later moved to the United Kingdom for better conditions, the breath of South American metal still lives in their music, showing mostly in their uncompromising aggression.
That’s exactly what the new record White Hell brings, released on the band’s new label, Massacre Records. White Hell serves up 12 tracks of energetic thrash/death metal, with Criminal drawing their influences mainly from aggressive thrash à la Slayer, strong Swedish death metal tendencies and partly also Gothenburg melodic death metal, while White Hell occasionally throws in more modern elements in the vein of Lamb of God or The Haunted. So it’s no surprise that at times you hear both Slayer and the Swedes in Dismember in Criminal, and above all the forefathers of melodic death metal, At the Gates. Anton Reisenegger’s raw vocals, the melodic riffs and Rodrigo Contreras’s excellent solos bring them to mind most of all. A fine example of this effective mix, one that flat-out forces you to headbang, is the opening wrecking ball 21st Century Paranoia, which nicely builds a feeling of hatred and aggression and, together with the rest of the tracks, doesn’t let up in intensity until the very end. The songs are varied enough that they never turn monotonous, and the thrashy riffing is effectively blended with brutal growling, well-placed solos and the extremely good drumming of Zac O’Neil, who fills the space between the riffs and solos perfectly. White Hell is a good example of what you get when you mix South American aggression and rawness with English professionalism, and Criminal know exactly when to hit that big red button that lets death loose in thrash metal.
Even though Criminal aren’t reinventing the wheel, with White Hell they deliver a venomous dose of excellent death/thrash metal full of “catchy” riffs, technical and varied drumming and fantastic soloing. White Hell will no doubt thrill all fans of thrash/death metal, and I for one hope that Criminal, now a half-Chilean, half-English band, will find a more receptive audience on the old continent and rattle even more ears.
Lineup
Anton Reisenegger – guitar, vocals
Rodrigo Contreras – lead guitar
Dan Biggin – bass
Zac O’Neil – drums
Production
Neak and Dan Biggin
Track list
1.21st Century Paranoia
2.Crime and Punishment
3.Incubus
4.Black Light
5.The Deluge
6.Strange Ways
7.Mobrule
8.The Infidel
9.Invasion
10.Eyes of Temptation
11.Bastardom
12.Sons of Cain
