Blood Tsunami

For Faen!

Written by: EW on 06/06/2013 23:11:19

When I remarked four years ago how Blood Tsunami had created in "Grand Feast for Vultures" "one of the finest thrash albums of the decade" it came through an appreciation of their Kreator-tinged thrash that I was finding hard to expend on their contemporaries at the time. With the retro scene having quietened immeasurably since this Norwegian act remain and though no game-changer, "For Faen!" still represents a decent effort from Faust & co that makes a solid addition to the cannon of modern thrash.

Blood Tsunami make the most of a clear and heavy production through ten well-constructed songs that change tempo with an obvious base knowledge of the genre, though I'm hard-pressed to find here a song as good as "Horsehead Nebula" from the aforementioned "Grand Feast...". Vocally they have not changed, as the spitting howling Pete Evil provides the album a blackened vibe, but there is an added hardcore punk feel to the whole piece this time around which aids in the incessant speed attack. "Metal Fang" and "In the Dungeon of the Rats" are two examples of that, while elsewhere the fleet-fingered riffing of "Unholy Nights" and "Grave Desecrator" conjure up depraved thoughts of their countrymen Aura Noir. Instead of the lengthy forays of last time, the punk aesthetic results in three sub-2 minute tracks, the best of which "The Rape of Nanking" shoots out the traps like it has a rabid dog feasting on its balls.

What "For Faen!" is lacking against "Grand Feast..." is a touch of the unexpected, the sense that just because Blood Tsunami are pure fucking thrash metal they could still throw the listener a curveball. Thrashing as loud and proud as they do is not enough in this post-Vektor world where a substantial display of artistic bravado is required for the top marks but "For Faen!" has been getting a lot of listening time in these ears and hasn't let me down yet. For a veritable dose of powerful contemporary thrash devoid of many of the genre’s comical clichés Blood Tsunami are still a good bet to turn to.

7

Download: The Rape of Nanking, Unholy Nights
For The Fans Of: Aura Noir, Vektor, Skeletonwitch
Listen: Facebook

Release date: 08.03.2013
Indie Recordings

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