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By
now it should be clear to everyone that all metalheads
are supposed to love thrash metal. Those who do can be
divided between Teutonic thrash metal (Kreator, Sodom,
destruction) devotees and American/Bay Area (from
Testament and Exodus to Anthrax) pilgrims. After
listening to this enthusiastic debut by Scotland’s Amok
one thing is beyond clear; these young lads worship to
the high-top Reeboks of the American scene, specifically
to the silly ass Bermuda shorts of Anthrax.
To get even
more granular; Anthrax fans can be divided into two herds, those
who like Joey Belladona’s blooming era and those who dig the
rougher vocals of John Bush. How about Neil Turbin, you may ask?
Well, no one really remembers that guy. And how about Dan
Nelson, the perennial new guy? Well, at this point that dude is
just an impersonator. Believe me, whatever original material he
records with the band won’t be considered worthy of the band’s
legacy so who fucking cares?
The funny
thing about Amok is that Anthrax is not the only band they
emulate. Hell no, Amok is one of those strange cases where their
songs recall different bands all at once. One second you’ll
think you are hearing a Forbidden riff and the next you’ll be
flipping to the Among the Living-like leftovers. One hot minute
you’ll believe you’ve got Testament in the mix only to be
surprised by the type of banshee scream Belladona used to punish
us with. I was never much of a Belladona fan, so I much prefer
the natural grit in Stephen’s (no last name given) vocals. One
way to tell Amok apart from Anthrax is in the drums. Charlie
Benante is too good to replicate and this Scot makes a couple of
fuck ups here and there.
Sure thing,
Amok plays thrash metal and no one aware of this revivalist wave
is asking for originality. Matter of fact, every single time a
thrash metal band has attempted originality they’ve come up with
a mild stew of shitty sounds and bland metal. Forgive me for
saying this, but the results of Anthrax playing around with
Public Enemy yielded beyond heinous results so perhaps it is
good news that Downhill Without Breaks is what it is. A thrash
metal album with zero pretension. Really, fans of the subgenre
are asking for that and that’s what Amok is giving.
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