March 19, 2010

Reviewer: J.A. Burt

When I first saw the cover art for this demo I thought to myself, “Man this is really going to suck.” Thankfully I was dead-ass wrong, but unfortunately for this relatively new Quebec thrash band, I’m saddened by the belief that most people (prospective labels included) are going to jump to the same conclusion, and simply skip over Fucking Metal.  I mean Christ, it’s really really REALLY terrible cover art!  It makes similarly monikered RIOT’s 1981 album art for Fire Down Under look like the fucking Mona Lisa.  It’s bad, but thankfully, it couldn’t be further from representative of the fantastic thrash this band puts together. 

I hesitate to outright call Riotor a blackened thrash band, but vocalist Ismarevil’s vicious rasp and unhinged delivery, coupled with the tight yet frantic nature of the band’s music, really makes a case for such a labeling.  There’s as much Aura Noir in their sound as there is early Kreator or Cryptic Slaughter, and to be honest with you, on first listen, I thought there was a good chance they were from South America.  Extremely well produced for a demo, Fucking Metal is six tracks of sinister and exciting thrash madness.  They throw in some blast beats right off the top, and they get a tad melodic with the riffing on the title track.  The solos are all nice and maniacal, and there’s really some spectacular bass playing on here.  Riotor really surprises with their talent for coming hard and fast with some very serious shit.  “Sworn to Thrash” alone is worth the price of admission, to borrow an overused phrase.  It’s a rare thing indeed for me to immediately re-listen to a demo upon its completion, but I spun Fucking Metal damn near an entire day and didn’t get sick of it in the least.  I’ve kept going back to it multiple times since as well.  This is absolutely a band to watch, and certainly any band that outdoes saps like Skeletonwitch so handily is one that deserves to be signed.

Release Date: October 31, 2008
Label: Band Self Released

TRACK LISTING

1.  Riotor
2.  Nuclear Solution
3.  Fucking Metal
4.  Sworn to Thrash
5.  In Decadence
6.  Internal Burning

Total playing time:  22:02

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Riotor - Fucking Metal (Demo)