Fatality - Metal As Hell! Chapter I (2008)

[Wizz21]

Fuckin' Oldschoolthrash aus Irland!

This is what you would be saying if you picked up the latest Evile or Gama Bomb record.

Fatality on the other hand are a band who have clearly put some thought and effort into the written quality of their music instead of being pathetic men-children ripping off Slayer riffs. The sound is situated somewhere between the thrash and speed metal sub genres, and maybe you could suggest the presence of a little hair metal influence, especially in the lyrics.

Do'nt think for one second that they aren't as metal as they say they are. Combining the technicality of bands like Annihilator and Megadeth with the raw speed of early Sadus, they take the listener on a trip down a blistering warpath of riffs, hooks, choruses and solos (which are memorable for mostly the right reasons). The record is actually very "80s" sounding (and believe you me, I use that phrase very sparingly) but with a modern day touch that is both refreshing and somewhat exciting.

A high level of musicianship is attained for the best part of the album, and somehow I wasn't surprised to find that the most prominent feature of the music is the guitars. There is variety and lots of it. Just when you think they've exhausted their conglomeration of riffs they pull a new one out of their leathery back pockets. Even though they probably average about 20 riffs per song the riffs are fairly original compared to the modern conception of what a metal riff is.

Tom Morrison and Steve Wilson (not of Porcupine Tree you nerds) unleash some excellent solos. They even trade solos a few times, something which is generally dubbed cheesy but hey, whatever floats your boat. My personal favourite solo would have to be the first one in "Gritface". Lovely fretwork. Unfortunately the bass and drums seem to serve no other purpose than to accentuate the guitars and even though they do it very well they leave a lot to be desired from a technical and creative point of view.

The production does nothing to harm the overall effect of the music. I would say that it is quite similar to the production on Exodus' "Bonded by Blood". It adds a gritty texture to the music, no doubt being intentional, and one could almost be fooled into believing that it was released circa '84. Everything is clear-cut and well pronounced which makes for a better experience considering the genre. I'm a sucker for bass though and it's difficult to distinguish on this CD. Too many bands make this mistake. Obviously nothing has changed.

The vocals are done in a typical thrash manner. High pitched, spat out rapidly with an arrogant tone, much like Dave Mustaine in some aspects. Lyrical themes include fighting, gambling, frustration at current metal scene and a fair helping of arrogance/introverted glorification from whoever wrote the lyrics. They aren't inspiring and don't stray far from the norm and tend to regress into meaningless warble about killing and fighting. Some would argue that "it's metal dude". Those people would be punched by me. There is attitud
e and aggression, yes, but they just don't fill the void.

It's a good start to a career in music (not a classic by any means), but hopefully a little more maturity will shine through in their following releases and perhaps something that will truly set them apart from the metal scene that they so scorn. They are a lot better than most modern thrash bands but still, for a band to make the claim that they are "metal as hell", they have to be either really special or really cocky. Highlights include the songs "Terminal Aggression", "Bring Back the Days" and "Shock Treatment". Recommended for fans of Megadeth, Annihilator, Overkill, Nuclear Assault. (Quelle: metal-archives.com)

Persönliche Wertung: 8 Punkte (kann noch in beide Richtungen schwanken, hab das Album erst einmal gehört)

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/fatalityriffs

[The_Seventhson]

legga

[Wizz21]

Ein Rock Dungeon Review von michse

Oldschool Thrash all over the World! Die bereits seit einiger Zeit anhaltende Retrowelle im Genre, die sich so langsam aber sicher über den gesamten Erdball ausgebreitet hat, macht auch vor der Insel nicht halt. Nachdem im letzten Jahr bereits die Engländer Evile mit "Enter the Grave" ein Thrashbrett allererster Kajüte rausgehauen haben und die Nordiren von Gama Bomb in diesem Jahr ihr in Szenekreisen gefeiertes "Citizen Brain" Album releasten, legen nun ihre Landsmänner Fatality mit "Metal As Hell! Chapter I" ordentlich nach.

Die vier Jungs aus Belfast zocken auf dem Longplayer ein Brett das ihren offensichtlichen Vorbildern in nichts nachsteht. Man höre sich nur mal den rasanten Albumopener "Terminal Agression" an, der den Geist alter Megadeth zu "So Far, So Good, So What"-Zeiten atmet. Munter weiter geht es mit "Bring back the Days", ein Brecher der mit seinem Riffing stark an Metallica zu Zeiten ihres Debüts erinnert. In "Almost Broke" gehts dann wieder etwas speediger zur Sache, und abermals erwischt man sich dabei Paralellen zu Combos wie Megadeth, Overkill oder auch Annihilator zu ziehen. Das etwas melodischere gehaltene "Gritface" kann mit einem richtig geilen Solo aufwarten und auch "Shock Treatment" fetzt einem beim bangen die letzten verbliebenen Haare vom Kopf!

Auch die restlichen drei Songs auf "Metal As Hell! Chapter I" können den vorher gesetzten hohen Standart locker halten und mit dem letzten Track "Are you ready to rock" nochmal einen überraschend-abwechslungsreichen Schlusspunkt setzen. Der Song ist anfangs ein hymnenhafter Hardrock-Stampfer wie er im (Kiss)-Buche steht, bevor sich dann gegen Ende die Handbremse nochmal ordentlich löst und Gas gegeben wird.

Bleibt zu hoffen das Fatality so schnell wie möglich an einem Plattenvertrag kommen, verdient hätten die Jungs es allemal! In diesem Sinne: Bring back the Days of Metal! \m/

8 von 10 Punkte (Reviewer: Wizz21)

[braindad]

neeee, diesmal leider nicht. die jungs können mich keinen moment lang fesseln...jedenfalls den msypsace-tracks nach. liegt hauptsächlich an den vocals, die kommen mir irgendwie zu schleppend rüber und bremsen den gesamten sound der band.