You know, by the first look of this album (the cover and the titles) I thought this might be a Death Metal record, well here is yet another lesson I learned by judging a book by its cover, or in this case a record. This record is pure melodic thrash in the vein of
Accept meets early Nevermore, a pure brutal rush of riff driven over the top cuts which is nothing short of a swift kick in the ass.
Speaking of swift, this record, due to its sheer speed really goes by quick (although it clocks in at 47 minutes), just like the early
Slayer albums. When it comes into relation of the fact that Ballistic's sound is in the pure melodic thrash vein; the members have a history that goes back all the way to the time period of the big NWBHM explosion, frontman Tom Gattis, is probably best known for his work with his early work with Deuce, the seminal 80's thrash outfit Tension, and the 90's Metal band Wardog; drummer Rikard Stjernquist, who joined
Jag Panzer in the early nineties, not to mention guitarist Petio Petev from Mass of Virtue and Washington DC based bassist Tim O'Connor whose jazz-fusion style of playing helped bring new life to many Metal bands, including Tension.
The self titled album immediately opens with brutal cuts such as
"Collision Course" and
"Corpse Stacked High," which ultimately set the tone for the record staying consistent and heavy throughout, lacking any ballads and bullshit creating Metal that is to the point. Although the album flows constantly with fast tempos, with the playing being brutal and tight, not to mention the swift guitar solos, the high-octane energy, as well as the diversity found in the musicianship that extends beyond just playing out and being heavy for the sake of being heavy; this record does not get redundant and stays enjoyable throughout. Other cuts on the record that stand out are the darkish
Manowar influenced
"Undefeated" and the
Saxon inspired
"Call me Evil," not to mention that the vocals at times sound a little like Biff Byford's.
This album has so much energy compressed into these eleven cuts that it will literally take all of the energy out of you, even after having ten hours of sleep, and just about any record you hear for the rest of the day might sound slow to you.
Written by
Hashman Friday, September 19, 2003
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