FLOTSAM AND JETSAM
“FLOTSAM AND JETSAM”
Album Review By Iron Mathew
10/10
Flotsam And Jetsam are a thrash metal band from the USA formed in 1984 who released their debut album in 1986. The band have always been a major force in the thrash metal arena, releasing eleven more albums in their lengthy career. 2016 will see the release of ‘Flotsam And Jetsam’, album number thirteen.
In the eighties I was a teenager, very much into heavy metal, loving the pace, power, attitude and angst. In 1986 I heard ‘Hammerhead’ off the debut album ‘Doomsday For The Deceiver’ and was blown away by the sheer pace of the song. From that moment thirty years ago I was hooked on Flotsam And Jetsam, so it comes as a pleasure that I have been given the opportunity to review their new, self titled album. As with many fans, when the band released ‘Iron Maiden’ as a single, the first thought was “is it a cover?”…definitely not. ‘Iron Maiden’ opens with a superb buzzing riff and the song itself is a head banger of top quality. Flotsam And Jetsam have always been one of those bands that have stayed true to their routes. Catchy and infectious, ‘Iron Maiden’ rattles like a freight train speeding across the country, pounding the senses with its heaviness.
‘Seventh Seal’ opens the album in a blaze of guitars and rampaging rhythms that prove old school thrash metal is still alive and sounding as good now as it did thirty years ago. Singer Eric AK Knutson has lost none of his passion for metal and his voice is sounding great. ‘Life Is A Mess’ trundles in and then races off like a scared rabbit. Top notch, top speed, high intensity thrash metal ‘Life Is A Mess’ is a pulsating journey that will leave you breathless. A heavier guitar sound brings ‘Taser’ to life as it races on at full speed, taking no prisoners with a brutal, thunderous rhythm that will pound and pummel you relentlessly. Lesser mortals would be crushed, but die hard fans will stand their ground, head banging furiously with fists raised high in the air.
Chainsaw style guitars and a mid tempo pace, allows the listener a small breather as ‘Verge Of Tragedy’ thumps its way into the airways. Heavy and brutal ‘Verge Of Tragedy’ proves that Flotsam And Jetsam have more in their arsenal than just out and out, top speed thrash. With a lower tone, a dark and moody vibe, ‘Creeper’ strolls in and strides majestically with an awesome guitar riff that will have your head nodding violently and your feet stomping so hard you may break your ankles. ‘Creeper’ is intense and resonates with the sound of old school thrash. ‘L.O.T.D’ picks up the tempo, pace and power and is a breath taking slab of thrash metal. Guitars duel with support from a thunderous back line, ‘L.O.T.D.’ screams at you with anger, attitude and angst. A screaming guitar solo to boot. Awesome, just awesome.
‘The Incantation’ serves as an eerie, spooky and chilling intro to the thunderous ‘Monkey Wrench’, a song that oozes addictiveness. With a catchy chorus ‘Monkey Wrench’ is gonna be a crowd favourite. ‘Time To Go’ weaves a path of destruction as its brutal riffing chops and chugs through the air. As I mentioned earlier, Flotsam And Jetsam have always stayed true to their roots, delivering top quality thrash metal with pride and passion. ‘Time To Go’ has some blistering guitar work and the solos just scream. ‘Smoking Gun’ is a masterpiece of thunderous proportions. It is full of pace, it is brutal, yet retains a certain catchy and infectious vibe making it accessible to both thrash metal and heavy metal genres. The album is brought to an end by the six minutes plus epic ‘Forbidden Territories’. A superb intro, thunderous and full of pace ‘Forbidden Territories’ is full of screaming guitars and rampant rhythms bringing a brilliant album to a conclusion in a blaze of old school sounding thrash metal.
Overall, proof that old school style thrash metal is alive and doing very well. A pulsating and breath taking album from legends of thrash, Flotsam And Jetsam.
This review was written for Frenzy Fire [http://www.frenzyfire.co.uk/fa_flotsamandjetsamreviews.htm]
TRACKLIST
Seventh Seal
Life Is A Mess
Taser
Iron Maiden
Verge Of Tragedy
Creeper
L.O.T.D.
The Incantation
Monkey Wrench
Time To Go
Smoking Gun
Forbidden Territories
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