Chuck Schuldiner Project

Friday, January 30, 2015

Blackout - Armageddon


I'm tired, I've got Alestorm tonight and a whole weekend ahead of me. What better thing to motivate me into my Friday night than some good old thrash metal? Wonderfully primitive, oftentims almost demo-like in its conception, Blackout are the kind of thrash band who invoke old school Sodom. Extremely stripped back with yelled vocals and subpar production, Blackout still manage to put together something fairly enjoyable with Armageddon. It's the kind of release that reminds us of our roots and sets us on a path to extinction.

See, Armageddon is fun because its so simple. The vocal lines have a very basic sense of aggression to them which actually touches on something fairly deep within us all. The guitar tone is fairly standard fare, but I feel with a bit more attack they could be doing something truly special. One way that the record does shine is in the guitar lines. The runs,while often scale-oriented are still fun to listen too and feature a couple really cool licks without really becoming fappy. The playing is clean and finely executed. The shredded solos seem like something to come out of a basement, and are made all the better because of it.

At the end of the day, I'm still not sure what to make of Armageddon. But I will say this: if you like simplistic and face ripping thrash, then Blackout is the band for you. What they're doing is straightforward and fun if you want something that will just go straight for the gut. Yes the vocals take a few songs to get in too and some of the riffs feel recycled, but as an early effort Armageddon shows a band with a distinct sound who are excited to start pushing the envelope. Probably worth a spin for any thrasher out there, get out and keep it heavy!

Find them on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/BlackoutMetalband

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