Liste der Bands Thrash Metal The Tards Guillotine

Originally a punk outfit, The Tards eventually turned towards thrash metal, with already two full length albums under their belts. Guillotine is their sophomore full length effort, a display of the crossover style that the band plays.

Unlike what is expected of a band that has punk origins, Guillotine opens with the 7 minute Hooked, with infectious riffs and heavy drumming. As Keegan's vocals come into the picture, one instantly is reminded of the similarity with old school rock n' roll/heavy metal vocalists such as the iconic Lemmy or Chrome Division's Athera. Bassist Tom also handles backup vocal duties, providing backup shouts where required and to good effect, much as his vocal quality deviates from Keegan's. The effect of combining the vocals and the music sounds almost like Motörhead playing thrash metal, with the modern production quality. Throughout the album, the band also allows each member to display the talents on each of their individual instruments, with the guitar solos by Mike and even a bass solo on Makin It Don't Mean Ya Made It. The harmonised twin lead guitar on Suicide am I also adds a nice touch to the song.

However, the songwriting department begins to falter as the album progresses, with awkward phrases littered throughout the songs. The sudden breakdown moment in the middle of opening track Hooked certainly fails to hook my attention, so did the awkward melodies that are present throughout. For example, while the drum fills on Makin It Don't Mean Ya Made It could have been a good idea, the band fails to execute it properly, causing Evan to almost sound out of sync with the rest of the band, causing the song to become less enjoyable. Allowing all the band members their personal air time is certainly a good idea, but it should have been done without compromising the flow of the song.

In addition, while Keegan's vocals provide a unique touch to the style of music of The Tards, they also start to get slightly annoying as the album progresses, with some instances feeling almost as if he were struggling to hit the notes like on Truth and Lies, and at times almost slurring and threatening to fall behind the rest of the band, such as on Suicide am I.

The individual members of the band certainly have the potential, as evident from the flamboyant drumming style of Evan, the guitar solos unleashed by Mike, the funky basslines provided by Tom and the gruff vocals of Keegan. Guillotine would have certainly been a more enjoyable experience had the songwriting of the music been filled with less of such awkward moments.