Blood Tsunami - Grand Feast for Vultures

September 22, 2009

Reviewer: J. A. Burt

Love it or hate it, there’s an abundance of thrash around these days.  Tons of young, hungry bands are chugging away in numbers not seen in two decades, and a surprisingly large amount of high-quality material is being released.  This so-called revival is a blessing since the classic thrash bands that are still currently active are mostly no longer putting out music of an anywhere near acceptable level.  That’s always been one area where classic thrash and classic death metal differ, as the golden oldies of death are pretty much going strong in comparison. 

While this thrash explosion has been a largely American phenomenon, Norway’s Blood Tsunami have been hammering away at the genre with their own brand of Scandinavian ferocity, showcasing a great deal of maturation on their solid, enjoyable second album Grand Feast for Vultures.  The highly melodic, intricate thrash riffs and wildly harsh vocals are still the main focus here, but the overall tempo seems to have come down a bit since the debut album, and there isn’t really an overbearing sense of urgency with a lot of the material.  Songs are allowed to breath and “Personal Exorcism” moves into bluesy, soulful jam territory while the title track takes nice breaks from the speed to meander around inventive melodies.  These songs, as well as the fantastic “Horsehead Nebula”, a lengthy and progressive instrumental track with some impressive dual guitar harmonies and solo work, also allow the expectedly exemplary percussion performance by Faust to shine through.  He really is a wonderful drummer, and his experience playing much faster, denser material is quite evident here.  The self-done production is extremely modern, and nearly pristine with a slick and hearty low-end again much more in line with bands from Sweden than San Fran.  Still, it’s thrash, and it’s a rockin good time.

Release Date: April 27th, 2009
Label: Candlelight Records /
Nocturnal Art Productions

TRACK LISTING

1.  Castle of Skulls
2.  Nothing But Contempt
3.  Personal Exorcism
4.  Laid to Waste
5.  Grand Feast for Vultures
6.  Horsehead Nebula
7.  One Step Closer to the Grave

Total playing time: 51:19

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