BONDED BY BLOOD
I’ve been largely unimpressed by this recent spate of retro thrash. Certainly the likes of the original big four have diluted my love of the ‘old school’ (with the possible exception of Megadeth). However, some of the second-tier bands of the 80s and 90s have begun resurfacing and have produced some worthy thrash albums (Exodus and Testament for example). Now we have the debut release by Bonded by Blood. You would be forgiven for assuming that their main influence would be the aforementioned Exodus, given the name of the band. However, the first names that leapt to my mind were Vio-Lence, Forbidden, and early-Death Angel. If you’re going to take influences, you could do a lot worse. First song ‘Immortal Life’ springs from the gates wearing said influences proudly on its sleeve, and sets the tone for the whole album to follow. There is nothing cerebral here; just well-crafted old school thrash tunes with a slight hint of the crossover/party feel that the likes of DRI and early Sacred Reich did so well. The quality of the musicianship is faultless. Solos are particularly well performed, and the rhythm section is very tight. It’s perhaps quite pointless to focus too much on the finer qualities of a release such as this, as there should only be one crucial question asked of this album; does it make you want to clear a space in your room and jump around like a ten-year old. The answer, enthusiastically, is a headbanging “Yes”. Oh, and the cover of ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ is of course as loopy as it sounds.
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Earache
Album
FEED THE BEAST
Review by Steve Cowan
RUNNING TIME:
41:55
RELEASE DATE:
9th June 2008
TRACK LISTING
1) Immortal Life
2) Feed the Beast
3) Psychotic Pulse
4) Necropsy
5) Mind Pollution
6) Another Disease
7) The Evil Within
8) Tormenting Voices
9) Civil Servant
10) Self Immolation
11) Vengeance
12) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Theme
2) Feed the Beast
3) Psychotic Pulse
4) Necropsy
5) Mind Pollution
6) Another Disease
7) The Evil Within
8) Tormenting Voices
9) Civil Servant
10) Self Immolation
11) Vengeance
12) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Theme
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
USA
"...well-crafted old school thrash tunes with a slight hint of the crossover/party feel that the likes of DRI and early Sacred Reich did so well."