Review Summary: Hatchet knows exactly what they want to do, but they still don't know how to execute it. They're still a young band and their flaws are very noticeable.
Do you love classic metal and need a new band to check out? Hatchet might be what you're looking for. Hatchet are yet another young band that play old-school style thrash metal with their own twist on it and they recently released their first album, Awaiting Evil. There have been so many of these bands appearing in the mass lately that each band has to do something to contribute to the scene rather than just be a follower of it. What makes Hatchet different from most of these other bands is that they sound more like a band that just wants to play thrash metal rather than copy their influences.
Hatchet's sound is basically a mixture of thrash and NWOBHM with an overall raw and vicious sound. The dueling guitar harmonies of Julz and Sterling are very solid and their riffs are heavily influenced by Testament, Slayer, Metallica and Exodus. There are also a lot of tempo changes in their songs which adds some flare to them. The duo provide a lot of solos too, some of them are impressive for a young band. However, they are sloppy at times. Awaiting Evil also has a few parts which sound improvised, kind of like an extended jam session, partly the reason why half of the tracks clock in at over five minutes. Markus' vocals remind me a lot of Paul Di'Anno, the vocalist on Iron Maiden's first two albums. He delivers with a very fast and ferocious vocal style that fits this type of music perfectly. He also lets out a few high pitched shrieks which also sound great. As I said earlier, Hatchet don't really sound like a rip-off of their influences but rather they are just five dudes rocking out and putting everything into their music.
The flaws on Awaiting Evil are mainly from it's production. Drummer Alex Perez doesn't really stand out on this album at all as most of his drumming just fades into the background unnoticed. He doesn't ruin the songs at all but he could be such a huge force for this band if he had a better kit. The bass on this album is also somewhat audible which is different from a lot of thrash albums. However, the bass is in time with the rest of the music and doesn't drag down the album at all, it's just a bit odd. The guitar tone does sound a bit watered down at times too. Hatchet aren't perfect at all and mistakes like this are bound to happen since they are a young band recording their first album. The members do their best to not let their flaws get in the way of the quality of the album, but some of them are kind of unavoidable.
Awaiting Evil starts out with the intro track "Darkening Skies" which is a build up into the next track, "Frailty of the Flesh." This one is a faster song with one of the most impressive solos on the album. "Sealed Fate" sounds like a thrashier version of Iron Maiden. One of the most technical tracks is "Morlock's Tomb" with it's riff and tempo changes, it also features a more melodic solo. "Frozen Hell" is also a lot more technical with the lead in it's intro and speedy solo. The rest of the songs are straight up thrash for the most part, aside from a couple of bad eggs. One of them being "The Dead Will March" where the drumming is somewhat weak and the closing title track. It's not a "bad song" but it shows the bands sloppiness especially with the guitar soloing.
Hatchet knows exactly what they want to do, but they still don't know how to execute it. They're still a young band and their flaws are very noticeable, the main one being decent production. However, they are very good for what they are. Many thrash fans will love Hatchet as they are a newer band that doesn't sound like a clone of other bands. It's good to see more originality in the modern thrash scene and there's no telling how good they can be with better production. Hatchet's next release could be huge.
Favorite Tracks: Frozen Hell, Frailty of the Flesh, Storm the Gates
