Chuck Schuldiner Project

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Back to the Noose-Swashbuckle

 Well it seems that somehow today became Pirate Metal day, so yeah, hope you liked it. Tonight I am reviewing an excellent thrash/hardcore punk band called Swashbuckle. There are epic guitar riffs that keep the thrash feel coming. The bass is rock steady and fairly good if a tad, uncreative. The drums are pretty awesome there are a lot of excellent drum fills which vary from your typical battered 16ths. The vocals are harsh and reminiscent of hardcore punk than thrash metal. The main pirate feel of this music comes in through the lyrics which talk about life on the high sees. However there are some times when the guitar comes and adds a piratey feel.
The guitar typically uses some extremely powerful and heavy hardcore punk riffs however it definitely experiments with different styles that make it sound unique. As a whole though the riffs are very well done and reminiscent of Slayer and Anthrax. They are very powerful and fast and are often battered out quickly. In addition to the killer riffs there are some pretty awesome solos that are very thrash like including a lot of cool tapping bits. The bass is solid and often carries the music because well, they're a power trio. The drums are amazingly solid and have an awesome sound with their heavy and powerful sound. They use a lot of unique fills and I like them a lot for their originality.
The vocals on this album are borderline death metal. While these are definitely growls going on here it is not really possible to call them Death Metal as they are just a tad to light. So the vocals are firmly rooted in the hardcore punk rage, sounding a bit like Slayer at times. In short the vocals are pretty awesome. However they do not capture the folksy piratey feel as seen in Running Wild and Alestorm. The lyrics are pretty good and have a very piratey sound. They evolve over the course opf the album and tell a story about a pirate's life and death. Overall the vocals and lyrics come together for a solid sound.
This is a good album and I think that a lot of people should check this album and band out. They have a hard and solid sound reminiscent of thrash as well as hardcore punk. However they are not afraid to experiment. One of the biggest advantages of this album is the short song length which keeps things staying original and fresh. The guitar is soaring and has some killer slayer-esque riffs. The bass is powerful and often carries the band. The drums are very well done and often original and generally awesome. The vocals are heavy and borderline death metal, they have some nice pirate themed lyrics. All in all these guys come together to create a great album.
OVERALL 8.5/10

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