Delaware's finest are
back with the highly anticipated follow-up to 2014's ballbuster, 'Death And
Taxes'. And what's in store, you ask? Well, staying true to the album
title, this wax is a balls to the walls fest with fat, heavy riffs and
headbanging aplenty til the end of time. You can't really ask for more, can
you? Apart from upping the ante, something you want all bands to do by each new
release, Wasted Theory does it with such ease. Each song flows freely and
elegantly, despite being sleazy and down'n'dirty, which makes me wonder how
anyone can cope with the onslaught of listening to 'Defenders Of The Riff'
back to back. Not that I'm complaining, on the contrary! I'm just surprised
that my poor beer-infused stamina can keep up...regardless, wish all albums of
all genres had the same chutzpah and kick-your-ass attitude.
They set the bar high
right away, I mean you can't go wrong with a sonic bulldozing opener called 'Get
Loud Or Get Fucked', hell no! This is foot-stomping, whiskey swigging and
neck-breaking badassery through and through. And this is how the wax play out.
It keeps a fairly even tempo, no ultra-fast or snail-paced stuff. Instead, they
let the riffs do the talking backed up by an earth shattering rhythm section
heavy, and then some. Of course, on occasion Wasted Theory accelerates or slows
down somewhat which only enhances the songs pushing them further ahead.
As so damned good as ‘Defenders Of The Riff’ is throughout –
can’t find a single bad song – there are some standout compositions. ‘Belly Fulla Whiskey’ is filthy beyond
words. Back alley hooliganism with all that it entails. Love it! By far the
most diverse song on the album, ‘Under
The Hoof’ is a beast stomping all over me giving no respite. You can feel
it’s foul breath in your face as you’re being mauled to pieces. A pure head
smasher for sure, ‘…And The Devil Makes
Three’ is rock’n’roll at it’s finest. When the band lets loose you’re in
for the ride of your life.
‘Throttlecock’ picks up where ‘…And The Devil Makes Three’ left off. Gnarly, brutal riffs plows
through my head as the band drives on in their quest for…world domination. A
fat, thumping bass line kick starts ‘Odyssey
Of The Electric Warlock’. When the rest of the band joins in they actually
go kind of trippy and it works so well! A perfect mixture of different kinds of
good stuff, all tied together beautifully. More of this!
A lot of bands struggle with their sophomore release for all kinds of
reasons. Wasted Theory on the other hand has seen none of those struggles. I
mean, listen to ‘Defenders Of The Riff’
and you know what I’m getting at. All what they were about on ‘Death And Taxes’ is still here but the
tweaks and additions made this time around, shows how easily the band sided
stepped any obstacles creating this beauty. Great stuff, Wasted Theory, great
stuff!
-Swedebeast
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