Review Summary: The best thing I've heard in thrash metal in a loooong time.
Abandoned are a thrash metal band from Germany. They started their career in 2000 and have released three albums and an EP. The EP,
Forcefed, on analysis here, used to be free for download in their website, but now you can only listen to it there, and no longer download it. It’s a shame. Still, all those who didn’t have the chance to get it free should definitely order for it, because this is one of the best things I have heard in thrash metal lately.
This release presents four tracks of totally classic thrash metal. Apart from the sound quality – quite good – any of these tracks could have stepped right out of the 80’s. The influences are hard to define, unless, that is, you’re Portuguese (read on for explanation). The band take the edgy riffs of melodic Bay Area thrash, mix it with the aggression of the German strand of the genre, and add a few very subtle hardcore influences, above all through Eric “Kalli” Kaldschmidt’s raspy vocals. The end result sounds unbelievably similar to Portuguese thrash band Pitch Black. Everything about this record reminds me of Pitch Black’s debut, since “Kalli”’s voice is identical, the guitars have the same pitch, and it’s the same style of production. This is probably the only thing preventing me from rating this album higher, but I can’t help it. If you’ve never heard of Pitch Black, then I’m sure you’ll love this even more than I do.
For those less versed in thrash metal, I can describe this as a fusion of maybe Exodus and Sodom. They’re not as melodic as the first or as aggressive as the latter, but there are definitely some reminiscences.
As for the songwriting, it’s genius. It has everything a thrash fan could ask for: edgy riffs, thumping percussion, garbled vocals, huge-*** solos, and so on so forth. It never really strays much from the book, but it works three out of four times (the last track,
At The Gates OF Hell, is not as interesting). This formula reaches its pinnacle on
Demonic Invocation, the second track, a mammoth of a thrash anthem, with one of the best choruses I’ve heard in years, and a solo to fit it. It’s a pity this song is lost on the debut EP for an underground band, and it’s the 2000’s. Twenty years ago, this would have made
Metal Massacre, been a hit, and catapulted Abandoned to new heights. As it is, it remains a buried gem that urges to be discovered.
The other three tracks reuse the same formula with varying results.
Forcefed is the second best track on here (the second best chorus, too), with “Kalli”’s voice sounding a bit raspier than on the other tracks. It doesn’t work as well as
Demonic Invocation, but it’s just as memorable and a worthy thrash track in its own right.
The other two tracks don’t fare quite as well.
Haunted House holds on thanks to another cool chorus (I love the way he says «trapped here in this haunted HOUSE!!!!»), but the formula begins to wear a little thin. This track is still better than 90% of modern thrash metal, though. The real problem is the last track,
At The Gates Of Hell. Even though it follows a different pattern from the other three – with a more mid-tempo pace – it also lacks any sort of memorable chorus we can shout along to, making it the only weak point in this four-track EP. Fortunately, it’s also the last track, which means it does not stain our perception of the album.
And that perception is that of a decidedly excellent album, with tight musicianship, great songs and a decent production, which proves the band also has some respect for the buying listener. The only problem is that the formula is repeated a little too much, and maybe they shouldn’t have placed
Demonic Invocation so high on the tracklist, because that causes half of the album to be heard through that filter, thereby diminishing it.
Still, any retro-thrash fan should go out, get this and support Abandon. I know that after this, they got a brand new fan in me.
Track Ratings:
Forcefed – 4,5/5
Demonic Invocation – 5/5
Haunted House – 4/5
At The Gates Of Hell – 3/5
Reccomended Tracks
Demonic Invocation
