FLOTSAM AND JETSAM
“I Am The Weapon”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

10/10

Flotsam And Jetsam are a thrash metal band from the USA formed in 1984 who’ve released sixteen albums to date (and I’m including 2014’s re-recorded ‘No Place For Disgrace’ in my count) across an incredible four decade career! The band are just one of the pioneering American thrash metal bands that emerged during the eighties along with luminary countrymen Anthrax, Death Angel, Exodus, Megadeth, Metallica, Overkill, Slayer, and Testament – every one of these bands enjoying the same, or longer, lengthy and prolific careers as Flotsam And Jetsam! All these bands maybe seen as “the old guard” these days, but boy are they still showing the young guns how to deliver fast and aggressive thrash metal of the highest quality! And with a shit tonne of head bang ability too!

2024 is the bands fortieth anniversary, and among all the celebrations there’s a new Flotsam And Jetsam album too – ‘I Am The Weapon’ a ferocious forty-eight minute march with eleven songs! The band are immediately into their stride with ‘A New Kind Of Hero’, pulverising listeners with the bands unique blend of bone crunching riffs and head crushing head bang ability! Flotsam And Jetsam have always delivered fast paced thrash with an almighty mega melodious streak to attract traditional metallers as well as thrashers to the bands music – and in the shape (of album opener) ‘A New Kind Of Hero’ the band are still doing that! And doing it fantastically well, ‘I Am The Weapon’ storming on with the faster and more bruising ‘Primal’ – the diehard head bangers of the world loving the albums opening brace, every mosh pit everywhere just a sea of frenzied head banging! And let’s be honest here, did ya really expect anything less than brilliance from the American thrashers!

And with the album now up and running at full tilt, the title song ‘I Am The Weapon’ rockets in at a hundred fucking miles an hour, the intensity rising through the roof as the band hurtle across the land at phenomenal speed! Yet as mentioned already, the incredible melodious nature of everything Flotsam And Jetsam do keeps the bands music infectious and very attractive – ‘I Am The Weapon’ (the song) a magnificent thrash metal rampage that’s head bang-able to the max! I dunno about you guys, but my head hasn’t stopped rocking since the album began, and is unlikely to stop any time soon as ‘Burned My Bridges’ thunders in with more venomous fire than any of the three songs heard so far! ‘Burned My Bridges’ does drop a gear as it settles into a traditional metal gallop – a fucking savage traditional metal gallop, the band not losing sight of their brutal roots as the bone crunching power of the bands music shines through ever so brightly! And it’s not just bones that are getting crunched either, skulls are taking their fair share of the brutal barrage too, ‘The Head Of The Snake’ entering the fray with a heavier attitude than everything heard up to this point! Yet the monolithic melodious intent across the chorus break is simply sensational, every metaller and thrasher uniting as one to thoroughly enjoy the unrelenting thrash metal attack! And when I say “enjoy”, I mean head bang vigorously and punch the air harder than a heavyweight boxing champion gunning for a round one knockout!

The pace and power since ‘I Am The Weapon’ (the album) began has been top level stuff, the band bringing a massive Southern rock swagger come majestic march to the fore as ‘Beneath The Shadows’ bounces into sight like a trampolinist in full flight, err height! The band have managed to create a smile a mile wide on my face with the songs hard rocking nature here, departing somewhat from the bands more usual array of savagery, yet there still is an element of thrash simmering just below the surface! A brief moment to surprise and shock many listeners, Flotsam And Jetsam immediately return aggression fuelled thrash to the airways, ‘Gates Of Hell’ roaring louder than a force ten hurricane! And leaving just as much devastation behind too, for ‘Gates Of Hell’ is a supercharged fire and brimstone barrage of total savagery, the band wrecking the necks of every listener, fan, follower and head banger around the world! Boy A&E’s are gonna be busy tomorrow – ‘I Am The Weapon’ (the album) maintaining an all conquering intensity level with the blistering speed of ‘Cold Steel Lights’. By far and away the fastest song on offer, ‘Cold Steel Lights’ is thrash metal personified, displaying the exact ingredients needed to please every thrasher in the world! And out of this world too, the bands far reaching thrash metal onslaught stretching beyond the stars and out in to space!

Flotsam And Jetsam are kings of thrash metal, and have been for forty fucking years – ‘I Am The Weapon’ (the album) putting in a performance that’s gonna keep the band on the throne for another forty years! The bands uncompromising thrash attack continues at pace with ‘Kings Of The Underworld’, and a return of the iconic metal gallop, the band once again weaving a little traditional heavy metal into their all consuming thrash metal roots! I’ve been a fan of Flotsam And Jetsam ever since ‘Hammerhead’ from their 1986 debut album ‘Doomsday For The Deceiver’ dropped my jaw wide open – the pace, power, speed and aggression was everything a rebelling sixteen year old was looking for – well, not quite everything (if you know what I mean) – and for four decades the band hasn’t disappointed! And they’re not here either, ‘Running Through Fire’ exploding into life with higher levels of menace and aggression than heard all album long! And the speed too is quicker than motorway speed limits, ‘Running Through Fire’ faster than any vehicle the traffic cops may have, Flotsam And Jetsam roaring towards the albums finale – ‘Black Wings’ bringing ‘I Am The Weapon’ (the album) to a close in glorious style with another genre spanning rampage. The band stand proudly on the bridge between traditional and thrash metal, leaning a little more in the direction of thrash I’d say – but this is a position the band have occupied throughout their entire career. Long live one of my life long icons – Flotsam And Jetsam.

Overall, a foot to the floor, fast paced and aggressive thrash metal assault with immense head bang ability.

TRACKLIST

A New Kind Of Hero
Primal
I Am The Weapon
Burned My Bridges
The Head Of The Snake
Beneath The Shadows
Gates Of Hell
Cold Steel Lights
Kings Of The Underworld
Running Through The Fire
Black Wings 

http://www.flotsam-and-jetsam.com/
https://www.facebook.com/flotsamandjetsam.official

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