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Oakland, CA is the hunting grounds of a newfound
metal explosion in Watch
Them Die! "Bastard Son" is the quintet’s sophomore
release and is certainly an upgrade from their already high acclaim
on the 2003 self-titled debut. This crushing thrash/death metal opus
features 10 tracks (including a cover of Bathory's, "Armageddon"!)
and hovers somewhere around 45 minutes. The first two tracks are knife-cutting
aggressive like The Haunted or even The Black Dahlia Murder. The album
features a lot of this, but does have many old-school death elements
within just about every track. Most notably, "Horizon" and
"Under Flames"! These tracks have some keen Death (RIP!!)
reminiscence alongside their own aggressive tendencies. Slayer is
without a doubt, apparent with these guys! Hell, with so many referrals,
it leaves a lot of room for appraisal meaning that Watch Them Die
may indeed have something different to say about genres being genres.
They catch you a little off-guard and one cannot simply pin-point
exactly what it is about these guys that make them so good. Maybe
Chuck Schuldiner’s vocal similarities (but thrashier) with Slayers'
awesome aggression? I don't know, but this shit is bloody brilliant!! Rating: 90 Reviewed By: Thomas Mitchell |
