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It
is not credited anywhere, but with my ears covered and
my eyes closed I could swear that Annihilator’s Jeff
Waters makes a cameo in the opening instrumental title
cut. There is something about those strings, those
awesome high notes and the speed and ease with which
they move that is so Alice in Hell-like. Then
again, perhaps is just a Canadian thing, which would
reinforce all the talk about ‘Canadian metal’ that’s
surfaced during the last couple of years.
Once the
real tunes get going, this is a different trip though. Not at
all avoiding the histrionics providing by the abuse of high
guitar notes, drum galloping as a timeless style and bitter
vocals, Sacrifice makes a good case for this thrash metal
revival. The Ones I Condemn is nothing but reinvigorating metal.
I am no expert in their past efforts and I don’t want to start a
discussion but if thrash metal went into a come during the 90’s
it wasn’t only because the style came out of fashion, but that
the flag bearers of the genre just weren’t producing albums as
solid as this one. Perhaps we could say the same about 1993’s
Apocalypse Inside?
I wouldn’t
say there is a modern edge in The Ones I Condemn, but the vocals
of Rob Urbinati sound more abrasive than I remember. Maybe my
memories are softer than past realities. And harsh is the
playing too. On “Hiroshima” Joe Rico solos briefly, but on “The
Devil’s Martyr” he makes his piece sound like an earthquake.
Something
must be said about the production. Handled by vocalist Rob
Urbinati, a dude who simply knows better, The Ones I Condemn
doesn’t sound compressed nor over produced, nor too clean,
rehearsed or mass generated. The performances are stellar, but
this is thrash for fuck's sake and it needs not be sterile.
Also kudos
for the artwork. One more incentive to get the vinyl version.
One needs to see it blown up to realize what it is. I thought it
was a painting, but it is actually a photograph. This is the
total package.
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