This whole metal world is kind
of crazy sometimes.
It seems like maybe
bands and publicists get a little carried away with how bands are labeled.
Music to me is either something I like or
something I don't, and I don't need labels to help me figure that out.
There are so many bands out there though,
that maybe they feel the need to keep inventing labels and sub-genres to let
people know what they sound like.
For
me, the differentiating factor is whether or not your band is good.
All of that leads me to the
subject at hand, Alitor.
They call
themselves a progressive thrash band, I guess because they aren't just a
straight thrash band.
But metal has
grown and evolved so much that few bands are “just” any particular genre.
And that's ok.
When you are as good as these guys, you can
probably call yourself whatever you want.
This is definitely a thrash
band.
They thrash away through most of
this material like any band you can think of.
Seriously, when these guys are in thrash mode, I'll put them up against
anyone.
The band that mostly comes to
mind in listening to this album is Exodus, to give you a point of
reference.
I think the “progressive” bit
comes from the fact that they don't simply play two and a half minute
ragers.
Alitor write some seriously good
songs that thrash along like maniacs, then slow down a bit for some very tasty
guitar work, and then up the tempo again.
It might sound a little formulaic when I describe it, but it sounds
anything but when you give the album a spin.
Each song has its own identity and stands out as track that you can
remember.
Trust me, in the world of
metal these days that is an accomplishment.
These guys come from Serbia, but you
can't really detect that from the singing.
The vocals are mostly growled but you can make out the lyrics if you
just give a listen.
I don't know what
kind of a metal scene exists in Serbia
but these guys really kick ass, and if they are a good representation then
metal is alive and well there.
The
drummer in this band is a beast and pulls off just about anything asked of
him.
The guitarists are both very good
and there is some very cool interplay between them, as well as some nice twin
guitar work.
And whichever one plays the
solos really rips.
The bassist is also
the singer and he holds everything down as a bassist should.
“The Artist of Deception” is not
only a nice little play on words but is a very excellent song.
The band is in full thrash mode pretty much
all the way through this one so you can really hear how good they are at
it.
I also like “Contorted Existence”
which shows off how versatile this band is when it comes to song
structure.
And the title track is a real
rager as well that slows down for some good guitar work.
Metal is alive and well all
throughout the world as Alitor demonstrate.
Check this one out, especially if you are a true thrasher.
- ODIN
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