Frightmare
Bringing Back the Bloodshed
10
I love the first Frightmare album, but Bringing Back the Bloodshed puts it to shame. This is the best thrash album in some time and easily the finest record Razorback has put out to date. Expect breakneck thrash with a strong crossover feel tempered with a subtle classic metal influence; expect an ass-kicking!
Frightmare clearly have a knack for crafting great riffs and their compositional skills are easily apparent. Here’s a band intent on cramming as many fantastic melodies as possible into every track but never at the expense of coherence or tastefulness. Their onslaught is relentless yet frequently melodic and highly listenable at all times. Frightmare’s riff-laden approach never fails, whether on the straight ahead thrashers like the brilliantly titled, “By Sword By Pick By Axe Bye Bye,” or on tracks where more unexpected elements arise, such as the veritable punk rock in the opening segment of “Barbecutioner.” The fluid, euphonic solos stand out from the crunchy thrash-grind that surrounds them, bringing the cuts on this album to a new level and highlighting bandleader Neil Smith’s ability to meld intensity and melody into a stunning whole. That is not to say that this bears any resemblance to the wretched Gothenburg sound; the riffs are by and large minor key, and this may not be easily accessible to metal neophytes. Nonetheless, Bringing Back the Bloodshed stands as an apex of modern thrash metal.
The musicianship present on this release is thoroughly impressive. The outstanding battery serves as a palpitating pulse for the rest of the instruments to follow. The bass and guitar have no difficulty keeping pace, doing so with a level of technicality and tightness that is uncommon. However, the musicianship is clearly a means to an end and serves to reinforce the songwriting rather than distract the listener from it. Rounding out the material is a wild vocal performance that leaves no doubt as to the supremacy of this recording. All of the proceedings are gloriously mixed for a high level of clarity; individual parts are easily discernable, making this a commendable production job. The listener should expect the movie samples that are a staple of the genre, yet all of these are tastefully done and rarely overstay their welcome. Each track save the title cut draws lyrical inspiration from a horror flick, some of which are well known and some of which are more obscure. Perhaps this will inspire the listener to delve deeper into the world of slasher and splatter films; I know that my own interest in these movies was largely triggered by such samples and references.
This is highly recommended to any fans of grind, thrash, death metal, Razorback, and horror. In short, this is recommended to metalheads. Check this album out as soon as possible, Bringing Back the Bloodshed is a latter-day masterpiece and well suited to any metal collection.
