Space Eater
Merciful Angel
5.6
Space Eater is a new thrash band that plays old sounding trash. I know. But, this really sounds nothing like the material commonly associated with the current retro-thrash movement. While Space Eater certainly sound like they cull their source material from the original thrash boom, Merciful Angel feels almost like an unconscious tribute to the "golden era." There's nothing ironic or tongue-in-cheek about this album. This is straightforward stuff created by earnest musicians. It's nice. Yup.
So, this is another band in a string of a couple that I've reviewed that build their songs upon a stout foundation of simple but tight riffs. The vocalist hints at an American power metal influence, in that he's half singer, half melodic shouter. The band takes their name from the Gamma Ray song off of Heading for Tomorrow, but those German thrashers aren‘t the best reference point. Merciful Angel is a bit more elementary. The songs are all three to four minutes long and pretty fast. Not Brain Drill fast, more like Fistful of Metal fast. The production is nice and even with plenty of separation. The rattle of the bass is prominent during the galloping parts and the solos shine through with liquid clarity. "Overkill," and "Merciful Angel" distinguish themselves among this bunch of reliable thrashers. The former with some tricky chromatic riffing and the latter with its epic composition modeled after The Persistence of Time. There's also a song called "Operaphobia," a song about the fear of...
There's a lot of thrash out there, friends. Lotta thrash. I could cop out and tell you it's not my job to "steer you toward the finest heavy metal for your dollar"©, but, well, that kind of is my job. So, I'll tell you that Space Eater suffer from the same lack of personality and character as a lot of new bands. From the sound of this album, I'd imagine that these fellows are of the mind to have some fun with this and consider any sales an added bonus. At least, that's what I hope. So unless you're really *bobs head and blinks eyes for emphasis* really into hard-hat and lunch box thrash, I feel comfortable in advising you to pass on this.
