Band's List Thrash Metal 4Arm Submission for Liberty

Perhaps one of the greatest attractions to any form of extreme music is that it fosters a feeling of independence from the cops, and other authority figures who impose manipulative mind control techniques. At first I wasn't sure how some of the critics online came up with the notion that 4 Arm are a Metalcore band. They thrashed like motherfuckers on both of their previous releases and scarcely compromised shit in the process. The debut album, 13 Scars, was composed of thick stocky riffs somewhat similar to early Metallica. Their sophomore album, The Empires of Death, sounded crustier and crunchier like Pantera. In 2011 this Australian band signed with the UK label, Rising Records, which specializes in a broad assortment of Metal genres. Their newest album, Submission for Liberty, was produced by the experienced Matt Hyde (Machine Head, Slipknot, Trivium). So how could this latest album influence the critical scrutiny of their style?

Naturally the album begins with an intro, which is the usual parody of a charismatic TV evangelist, who is maneuvering to solicit a donation. Energetic shredding at a fast tempo and squawking guitar solos are what make, Raise a Fist, a very good headbanging song. The title track, Submission for Liberty, starts off with catchy guitar hooks that sound suspiciously similar to those on Nothing Left by As I Lay Dying. Then it vigorously jumps into two melodies which are repeated, with well structured chord patterns. That song could possibly be construed as if it contained some Metalcore textures. There are a couple more headbanging songs, where the drum beats are more conspicuous. The drum pounding of Michael Vafiotis poses an almost constant role. But not quite as fast as the typewriter speeds, or with as melodic beat designs that are prevalent in some of today's top Thrash Metal bands. He's still better than some of the lower end Thrash drummers. I would compare his style of drumming to that of Mark Edlemann from Coroner.

I Will Not Bow goes from fast to slow, with chunky bass riff shifting, to complement the choppy guitar leads. I think that it sounds a lot like something that Five Finger Death Punch would do, but without the interludes of top 40 styled music or a Loverboy approach to the vocals. That song might possibly be interpreted as possessing some Hardcore textures. Bassist Andy Hinterreiter gives the guitar shredding some extra thrust during the more hard hitting tracks, but maintains a lower profile in the slower songs. Some of the tracks are marked with softer instrumentation, in the way of Thrash ballads. But then they gradually work their way up to some heavier thrashing that resembles early 90's era Metallica. Although it rarely does become overwhelmingly intense. Vocalist Danny Tomb provides a commanding presence like Rob Flynn does with Machine Head, combined with the bad attitude of Vitto from Kiju. Collectively, the main concept of this album's lyrics, is to have the courage to stand up for yourself against any of life's adversities.

Switching from Thrash Metal to a core style, could be a tough sale to the strict Metal elitists. So what's the verdict, does it sound like that or not? No, not in my opinion. It's Thrash Metal with some occasional groovy melodies. It's healthy for some of the contemporary Thrash bands to incorporate some innovations. Or else the music could sound as stagnant as a mummified corpse, that's been lying in front of someone's house for 30 years. The album does display antisocial implications, with angry overtones. Instead of advocating kiss ass games of political tic-tac-toe, they preach the virtues of thinking for our own selves. With Submission for Liberty, 4 Arm shoves open a path for mental sovereignty. How many times have we been fucked around by believing bullshit from other people? I don't think that this is their best album. But it's still a good addition to their catalog and makes for a longer jam session.