Review Summary: Better than an ice cold beer.
Everything about Alkoholizer’s debut album
Drunk or Dead… screams 80’s thrash, including it’s ridiculously cool cover. This is misleading however, because the album was actually released in 2009. Considered to be a thrash revival band, Alkoholizer are surely one of the most promising new bands in the genre.
I’ve heard Havok and a few other revival thrash metal bands which proved to be decent, but not in the same league as Alkoholizer on the impressive
Drunk or Dead.... It has all the elements I’ve come to expect from good old fashioned thrash, but it has more of a bite to it than I was expecting. The vocalist is in prime form and lets out some of the most blood curdling, heart stopping screeches I’ve heard in thrash. At times his voice reminds me of the vocalists of Razor or Exodus, but he also has his own sound entirely. The high pitched screams are timed perfectly and not overdone making them more effective. The music itself is thrash at it’s finest. Heavy riffs, frantic drums, and jaw dropping solos are in every song and there’s hardly a dull moment. As you may have guessed, the lyrics are often about alcohol and are full of humor. With song names like ‘Alkoholic Metal’, it’s obvious the band isn’t meant to be taken seriously. It’s just a damn good time.
Unfortunately the band may never get the attention they deserve since they borrow most of their ideas from the kings of thrash. Nothing is worse than a bad copy cat band, but Alkoholizer are nothing of the sort. The execution is nearly flawless and all the members in the band clearly know what they’re doing. Little is known about the band other than the fact that they formed in Italy in 2006 and
Drunk or Dead... is the only album they have released to date. I’m crossing my fingers that they continue to make music, because this is one of the best thrash revival bands I’ve had the pleasure of hearing.
