乐队列表 Thrash Metal Black Asylum (AUS) Victims of the Fall

The first rumbling in mind on my initial spin of 'Victims of the Fall' was one of great surprise. The jump in production quality and musicianship between drinks for the Central Coast outfit is impressive to say the least. They've tightened up like an dormant vagina. In terms of musicianship, it sounds like two completely different bands are playing. Accenting this growth and improvement is the clean and beefy production which lends a hand to creating a very forceful 12 minutes and 37 seconds of modern Thrash. This promo release provides a very sharp taste of the forthcoming full length.

From a technical perspective this EP is far superior to its predecessor, Black Asylum surely would be very proud of it, as they should be but the old school Thrash fan in me really misses the youthful gusto of their 'Path of Solitude' release; the imperfect playing, the solos and most notably, the whining guitar tone. Admittedly, there are a couple of moments I felt right at home (the last third of the title track, and just past half way in the final song - both being memorable solos) but outside of the Black Asylum seem to have drifted toward an even more modern Thrash sound. The drums are huge, the vocals are aggressively delivered and are reinforced by very big rhythm riffs.

I'm not here to dictate the way bands sound or tell them what direction they should go in, I'm simply here to provide an opinion and with that in mind, I can say that I would have much preferred another scrappily produced release, which went further towards an 80s Thrash sound, with less hard-hitting chugging segments, way less drum and bass in the mix, and more focus on guitars. Perhaps if the heavier, more aggressive direction was to be run with (as it has), something in the vein of Razor 1998-1991 would have been more noteworthy, but that's all a matter of personal taste. I think that the vast majority of Black Asylum fans will be ecstatic with their bounding leaps in a forward direction. So, with that in mind, 'Victims of the Fall' is a very impressive second release. Current fans of Black Asylum should purchase it immediately, and those who haven't heard them but enjoy modern sounding Thrash ought to give it consideration too. It's quite a smack in the face and objectively speaking, very impressive.

Verdict: 7/10

Artist: Black Asylum
Title: Victims of the Fall
Format: EP
Year: 2006
Genre: Thrash
Country: Australia
Length: 12.37
Label: Independent