Alcoholator hail from Montreal, Canada and they do one thing and they do it well – they play thrash metal. Given their lyrical themes, it would be only natural to assume that they are Canada’s equivalent to Teutonic thrash titans Tankard, but this isn’t the case. Angrier and heavier, Alcoholator bring their special brew of alcohol, violence, aggression and moshing to a whole new strength with their second full length release, “Escape From Reality”. Let’s crack this one open and have a taste then.
“Intro” is exactly what it says – an instrumental intro track for the album. Its two minutes of no nonsense, fast paced, angry and hard hitting thrash metal. Pounding bass, fast guitars and even faster drums, the band pulls no punches as it serves up the first song of the album, complete with a fantastic groove section round the 1:15 point. Following straight on with the fast pace is “Punch Drunk” which has a real head-banging groove feel to it. Just over thirty seconds in, the tempo really picks up and it sounds like the perfect time to unleash a big windmill head bang and when the verse kicks in, it has that real classic venomous styled delivery of the vocals which matches the pace and feel of the track. The rhythm section is great, filled with fast riffs and powerful thrashy gallops and the lead guitar plays some great shred. In all its a fantastic way to open the album and the gang vocal styled outro caps it all nicely.
“Escape From Reality” opens up with a descending riff into a high paced rhythm. It’s tight and precise from the bass and drums and the tone of the bass is fantastic on this one. The verses are hard and angry whilst the chorus keeps this anger but brings in the backing gang vocal aspect to add more of that classic thrash feel. The lead work is typical of thrash – plenty of whammy bar abuse and lightening quick licks. The song ends with a real strong section filled with riffs and gang vocals capping it off. “Dictator” has a great groove in the intro which turns into a lone guitar break which kicks in the start of the verse which really ramps up the pace of the track. The powerful drums and intricate riffs really catch the ear and in the chorus, the blistering pace of the guitars is highly noticeable. Round the 1:15 point, it slows down and there is a real powerful sound from the drums. This slowing down leads into the solo which is rather simple in its approach but effective as it skips across the steady rhythm section keeping everything tightly locked together before the song picks up the pace once more for the final run in.
“The Bleeder” is a short track and it hits like a sledgehammer right from the start. It’s in your face from the word go with the relentless and aggressive tempo. There are some great vocals here including a really great sounding thrash scream round the 1:04 mark and it gets more frantic as the track goes on, switching between a heavily pounding fast pace and a full on frantic thrash assault! Keeping with the shorter tracks, “Out Of Control” follows suit in a similar manner. This one has a real classic 80’s thrash feel to it in the riffing and the vocal delivery is spot on, harshly delivered with power behind them. The rhythm section is solid which is expected given their performance so far on the album and the solo is timed well and its followed up by a “wo-oh-oh-ay-oh” styled section, perfect for some crowd participation before ending swiftly.
“Molotov Cocktail” has one of the best intro’s I have heard for a long time. The drum beat and the bassline are fantastic and work together perfectly and when the guitars come in, mirroring the bass it just clicks perfectly. At the 1:10 mark the song finally kicks in. Its fast, its angry and its full on. The vocals are scathingly delivered in that Mille Petrozza of Kreator style and when it hits the chorus, it has a real thunderous feel to it. Instead of a typical lead, this track as a fantastic bass solo in the breakdown, round the 2:33 mark. Whilst it might not be as Iconic as Frankie Bello’s one in Anthrax’s ‘Got The Time?’, it does the job well, allowing a good groove to kick in to end the track well. “Human” comes across as very Municipal Waste like. Its frantic pace in the intro is complimented by the drumming which seems to up the urgency about the track and that shifts into a storming groove. It’s got fast guitars, fast bass and even faster drums and this is helped by a fairly straight forward approach rhythm wise. The lead section is intriguing – it has a very eastern feel and it is quite melodic and slower paced compared to the other leads on the album. In all, a damn good song! “Plastic Surgery” starts off a little steadier on the pace with a few fast riffs and a pounding bassline. The drums speed up which in turn leads to a decent paced groove which sounds great. Much like the rest of the album, the vocals are harshly delivered for maximum effect and the chorus actually has a steadier pace, allowing it to stand out from the verses more. Round the 3:30 point, it gets real frantic, going full speed giving a good riff assault to end the track and set us up for the final two.
“Fuck your Skull” opens up with the Iconic Drill Sergeant sample from Full Metal Jacket and you don’t really need to guess which one it is if you look at the song’s title. With that out the way, a powerful groove with clear sounding bass comes in. This approach is kept for the verses and before each chorus, there is a little solo section which allows the shift to happen. Chorus wise, it’s quite simple, powerful groove and four words “I’ll… Fuck Your Skull”, perfect for a live sing along with the crowd. As mentioned before, the track is littered with tricky mini solo’s and there is another bass solo in this one, round the 2:20 mark in the haunting clean break. Round the 3 minute point, it has a big drum roll which begins the final part of the song – a real heavy section which ends up being filled with furious Slayer like riffs. Keeping the furious pace, the closing track “Cursed By My Thirst” is intense from the off. The venomous vocal delivery paired with the pounding feel in the verses hits hard and takes no prisoners. The chorus has ‘slower’ guitars but still retains its ferocity and what comes next is two more sections, one with a real classic thrash feel perfect for head banging too and then a slower section which is heavier to begin with, which then picks up speed before settling into a powerful groove with a lead melody which mirrors the riffs to end the album.
“Escape From Reality” is a fine piece of Thrash. Taking the best bits of Exodus, Slayer, Kreator, Municipal Waste and Anthrax, Alcoholator have made a high quaility, high strength thrash album, guaranteed to get you wasted on its no nonsense approach. It’s angry, intense, heavy and fast… But most of all, it’s worth a shot!
(8.5/10 Fraggle)
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