Список групп Thrash Metal Diamond Plate Generation Why ?

Over the years, Diamond Plate has slowly garnered a steady fan base through their high energy EP releases. This year sees Earache Records finally releasing their debut full length album, Generation Why? and features, for the first time, new guitarist Mario on rhythm guitars, providing the band a fuller and more dynamic sound now.

Album opener Entertainment Today, with the numerous sound clips taken from various news reports, gives listeners a sense of what's to come - a political/social commentary, with one hour of headbanging fun to go with it. Though it gets slightly draggy, the wait is worth it as the first riffs introduce the listener to Diamond Plate's music, catchy and infectious, yet technical thrash metal. Their sound is almost reminiscent of newer thrash metal bands such as Vektor, yet they retain the old-school thrash metal edge in their songwriting style, and their old-school references can be heard littered throughout the album, with riffing patterns throughout the album reminding listeners of bands such as Exodus and Slayer (such as on Waste of Life).

The excellent execution of each of the individual instruments also makes the listener spoilt for choice when deciding what to focus on - the infectious melody or the technicality of the music. Drummer Jim provides a sense of urgency on all the tracks and makes every hit on the skin with high precision, all the while maintaining the rhythm and the pace of the band to ensure that nothing spins out of control with the high energy present in the band. Jon's bass lines also provide a nice warm sound to the album, so that the album doesn't sound too clean, and provides the backbone on guitar solos on tracks like Pull the Trigger. Lead guitarist Konrad displays his flair on the instrument, and also his influences with solos that remind listeners of legends such as the late Dimebag Darrell. The instrumental track More than Words probably displays the band's musicianship and songwriting skills at its best, with each member needing to focus only on a single instrument.

Bassist/vocalist Jon's vocal style might be the talking point for some listeners who are more used to the barking styles that most thrash metal vocalists tend to utilise. Jon's style sounds like a shout/scream hybrid, and at times it almost sounds like a metalcore vocalist playing in a proper thrash metal band, yet this does nothing to spoil the music for me, even reminding me of India's death/thrash maniacs Devoid.

The band also experiments with various songwriting styles in the album, with songs like Tomb with a View putting a slight slowdown in the album, with an almost emotional touch to the music, with Jon's vocals helping to put in the emotional edge, sounding almost like a desperate plea, and the guitarists taking a more melodic direction for songs like these. There are also heavier tracks in the form of Fool's Paradise as well, complete with heavy chugging and a broody mood. The album closing track, Empire Tomorrow also displays this emotional touch once more, with the acoustic guitar ending to the track, though it incorporates one of the biggest pet-peeves of mine, the silence after the track before the "outro" comes.

With the excellent musicianship on the album, it is almost hard to believe that the members have an average age of 19-20 years old, and Generation Why? has certainly managed to bring old-school thrash metal up to date with a modern sound. For a one hour thrash metal album, Generation Why? surprisingly manages to keep its listeners interested, and this is certainly the mark of an excellent album.