Thrash in 2015. In a world of suicide bombers, social media linked murder and the tragic plight of the world’s refugees, the day-glo nuclear paranoia and high top sneakers of the 80’s seem a world away.
Harlott brings it all back with a bump like borrowing a DVD copy of Threads which sends you to the nearest bunker for refuge.
Harlott are a quartet from Melbourne and have recently shared the stage with King Parrot to much aplomb. They are not merely 80’s thrash revivalists looing to tweak the nostalgic heart of 40 something folk who still wish Metal Forces was a thing (well it was a great mag) .
What these four blokes deliver is a heady mix of “Spreading the Disease “ era Anthrax , Municipal Waste at their less cheesy and the UK’s Anihilated with some Teutonic thrash riffs a al Sodom and Kreator on top.
This is the bands sophomore album following on from “Origin” which was released in 2013 and their first for Metal Blade.
“Proliferation” opens with the title track which saunters in with a typical quiet section before the thrash grenades go off and the choppy riffs begin. Ryan Butler on Lead Guitar gets to fire off some classic thrash leads on this track and the chug that Andrew Hudson (gtr vox) Tomas Richards (bass) and Tim Joyce (drums) create is reminiscent of early Testament. Classic sounding stuff. Up next is “Denature” which will be added to rock radio station playlists in a couple of weeks. You can see why. This fucking rages. Straight from the get go it gets gone. Full speed ahead with some rapid staccato drumming and crunching riffs this tale of apocalyptic death is a mosh pit in MP3 form. Slayer fans will love this, Hudson uses some Araya style phrasings in here and it works a treat.
I thought these guys were gonna be another party thrash band, all about the beers, bongs and birds. With a name that sounds like a glam band from Rock City in ’85 I was ready to be disappointed, even after such a blistering opening salvo. However, my prejudice was ill founded and I tucked into humble pie . Luckily Harlott continued to entertain me and take my mind off my fickleness.
“Restless” sounds like the thrashiest song that Motorhead never recorded with a splash of Reign in Blood added for taste.
My favourite track on the album is “The Fading Light”. It starts big – BIG 4 big. Like a thrash dinosaur recreated from the DNA of the old masters, this is Jurassic metal. “Extinctions calling sending us to an early grave. Toxic fallout, nuclear shadow close the play”. I can see Ronnie with his hand on the big red button! Then the Aussies drop a little Death/thrash section complete with rasped vocals and the rose tinted ray bans are ripped off before the whole thing is brought to a screaming head. Delicious! “Lord of War “ and “Civil Unrest “ keeps the pace and the heart rate up before “Hellbent slows things down a little. Only a little, mind. After a prog tinged intro it is soon back to speed and the track whips by and into “Bloodlust” and “Cross Contamination” before I can draw breath.
“Legion” is ushered in with a n old school death metal riff before a piercing scream ushers in a crushing death/thrash assault with a verse built for a circle pit and will keep the Anihilator fans happy when Harlott join them on their European jaunt later this year.
“Means to and End” closes the collection off and brings to mind UK stalwarts Anihilated with its menacing bombast and tight riffing.
Proliferation is a bloody good thrash album. Fast, loud and rude to quote Vic Rattlehead.
(8/10 Matt Mason)
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