Entera - Hate Factory
Entera are a 3 piece thrash group that have been around since the 90s from Germany, and while their discography release has been a bit all over the map as far as consistency, they have stuck to taking the thrash formula that tends to be a bit too serious for itself and poke fun at it while still making good music. “Hate Factory” is the group’s fourth full length and taken from a track off their previous album, “The War Goes On.” If one were to merge Metallica and Slayer riffs together from their late 80s/ early 90s albums that would basically describe the framework of Entera’s sound. It’s catchy, it’s fast, and bass heavy so that helps them stand out from all the other hundreds of thrash bands that also like to play speed riffs that are catchy while barking out socially biting lyrics while burying bass in the background. The bass adds quite a bit of melody to the music so those who like a little variation in their rhythms on a lot of the tracks will be quite pleased. Just check out ‘One Week Left’ and one will see for themselves. The chugging riffs can be a bit repetitive but that little plink in between will help one from getting bored.
One thing listeners need to keep in mind is that “Hate Factory” is that the lyrics are going to be a bit silly and don’t quite have that “war-face” intense seriousness that an album by Slayer or Exodus might present. When one considers tracks like ‘Getting Olf is Shit,’ ‘Pay to Play’ (maybe a reference to mobile game apps culture) and ‘Chatterbox’ it is hard not to chuckle a little bit and wonder if the band was half drunk when coming up with some of these tracks. It almost feels like hearing certain System of a Down pieces who are also well known for their more silly tracks amongst the more politically charged one, even if they aren’t blatantly obvious about it. Entera certainly have their own sense of humor about their music and while ‘War of the Zombies’ is probably the most ‘serious’ lyrical track on the album- leaning towards death metal lore- one has to be willing to overlook some of that silliness and really dig into the music, which makes up for a lot of tongue in cheek bits of the album.
The album is thrash riff heavy and feels like a lot torn from Slayer’s playbook; just check out the opening ‘Fake Persons’ along with about every 2 minute jump to on a lot of the tracks. Entera definitely live up the general thrash formula. However, a lot of their introductions on tracks like ‘Getting Old…’ or ‘I Just Can’t Hear It Anymore’ are what will sink into listeners and despite a rather generic meaty riff that carries most of the track, these starting bits will really stick with listeners. Vocally, the groups seems to emulate Slayer- perhaps that is part of the fun because when one usually thinks thrash they think Slayer- but they add a bit of death metal vocals here and there to mix things up along with gang choruses. Again, the music here isn’t anything seasoned thrash-heads haven’t heard before, but there is certainly a lot more melody injected during the solos especially when hearing a track like ‘Playback.’ And the drums come in clear across on each track even though they tend to feel a little monotonous.
Ultimately, one isn’t going to find the hardest or fastest thrash album here. A lot of tracks are mid paced and feel like there is one speed setting throughout the whole album, but it is still catchy. The lyrics might annoy some people who want their music to ‘say something obviously meaningful,’ but for those types of listeners there is always ‘Betrayal Against Time’ which feels like a mix of every eight minute introduction from Metallica’s work. No lyrics but some pretty awesome riffs that make up one of the most melodic tracks that “Hate Factory” has to offer and really showcases Entrea’s musicianship. It feels almost like more traditional heavy metal vs. thrash and breaks up a bit of the monotony, although Entrea never quite has a track that ever feels ‘truly boring’ as they make up for the flat tracks with sarcastic lyrics. It is a vicious circle, but something any fan of thrash should check out if they want a good smirk while head banging.
3 / 5 STARS
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One thing listeners need to keep in mind is that “Hate Factory” is that the lyrics are going to be a bit silly and don’t quite have that “war-face” intense seriousness that an album by Slayer or Exodus might present. When one considers tracks like ‘Getting Olf is Shit,’ ‘Pay to Play’ (maybe a reference to mobile game apps culture) and ‘Chatterbox’ it is hard not to chuckle a little bit and wonder if the band was half drunk when coming up with some of these tracks. It almost feels like hearing certain System of a Down pieces who are also well known for their more silly tracks amongst the more politically charged one, even if they aren’t blatantly obvious about it. Entera certainly have their own sense of humor about their music and while ‘War of the Zombies’ is probably the most ‘serious’ lyrical track on the album- leaning towards death metal lore- one has to be willing to overlook some of that silliness and really dig into the music, which makes up for a lot of tongue in cheek bits of the album.
The album is thrash riff heavy and feels like a lot torn from Slayer’s playbook; just check out the opening ‘Fake Persons’ along with about every 2 minute jump to on a lot of the tracks. Entera definitely live up the general thrash formula. However, a lot of their introductions on tracks like ‘Getting Old…’ or ‘I Just Can’t Hear It Anymore’ are what will sink into listeners and despite a rather generic meaty riff that carries most of the track, these starting bits will really stick with listeners. Vocally, the groups seems to emulate Slayer- perhaps that is part of the fun because when one usually thinks thrash they think Slayer- but they add a bit of death metal vocals here and there to mix things up along with gang choruses. Again, the music here isn’t anything seasoned thrash-heads haven’t heard before, but there is certainly a lot more melody injected during the solos especially when hearing a track like ‘Playback.’ And the drums come in clear across on each track even though they tend to feel a little monotonous.
Ultimately, one isn’t going to find the hardest or fastest thrash album here. A lot of tracks are mid paced and feel like there is one speed setting throughout the whole album, but it is still catchy. The lyrics might annoy some people who want their music to ‘say something obviously meaningful,’ but for those types of listeners there is always ‘Betrayal Against Time’ which feels like a mix of every eight minute introduction from Metallica’s work. No lyrics but some pretty awesome riffs that make up one of the most melodic tracks that “Hate Factory” has to offer and really showcases Entrea’s musicianship. It feels almost like more traditional heavy metal vs. thrash and breaks up a bit of the monotony, although Entrea never quite has a track that ever feels ‘truly boring’ as they make up for the flat tracks with sarcastic lyrics. It is a vicious circle, but something any fan of thrash should check out if they want a good smirk while head banging.
3 / 5 STARS
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Self released
Reviewer: Colin McNamara
Jul 15, 2020
Jul 15, 2020
Next review:
Eyeless In Gaza - Act I: The Protagonist
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