Impactor - Prepare For Impact
Admittedly this is not their current release on Final Gate Records, this was originally a self-released effort back in 2009 from these German thrashers. Thrash you say…yes…another thrash band, but in this case they have a humour (check out ‘April, April’) to match that of say Tankard and the ferocity of some of the other German bands from the mid-80’s period.
The bands namesake track ‘Impactor’ is a very strong effort (the tom drum beats at the beginning have you thinking of ‘Reign in Blood’!) and sounds very mature resulting in a fulfilling slab of thrash. Concerns over the six plus minute track are quickly buried as you can really sink your teeth into this one. That’s why I am a little disappointed actually when ‘April, April’ comes up next as the vocals make this sound less serious, a little like what Acid Reign used to do. Although these quirks in the vocal sound are in fact riddled on all tracks, some are less noticeable due to the quality of the songs in their own right. When I talk about quality, the riffs and solos on ‘Twisted Insanity’ make a respectful appearance and in some places the vocals go more guttural, at least the band are trying to mix it up here. The remaining two tracks are all a little different to each other, ‘Frightnight’ is very slow and long, whilst ‘Thrash, Thrash, Thrash’ is short and overall faster. The latter is much better I find.
Impactor certainly enjoy their fellow countrymen’s influence, some of the energetic takes on this scene remind also of recent upstarts Rezet (and yeah – fellow countrymen too!) and overall there is a nice deserved EP as a result. Although I hope their current material will improve and mature, especially in the vocal department, this effort is a cool introduction to the band for all things Germanic thrash without the raw production.
The bands namesake track ‘Impactor’ is a very strong effort (the tom drum beats at the beginning have you thinking of ‘Reign in Blood’!) and sounds very mature resulting in a fulfilling slab of thrash. Concerns over the six plus minute track are quickly buried as you can really sink your teeth into this one. That’s why I am a little disappointed actually when ‘April, April’ comes up next as the vocals make this sound less serious, a little like what Acid Reign used to do. Although these quirks in the vocal sound are in fact riddled on all tracks, some are less noticeable due to the quality of the songs in their own right. When I talk about quality, the riffs and solos on ‘Twisted Insanity’ make a respectful appearance and in some places the vocals go more guttural, at least the band are trying to mix it up here. The remaining two tracks are all a little different to each other, ‘Frightnight’ is very slow and long, whilst ‘Thrash, Thrash, Thrash’ is short and overall faster. The latter is much better I find.
Impactor certainly enjoy their fellow countrymen’s influence, some of the energetic takes on this scene remind also of recent upstarts Rezet (and yeah – fellow countrymen too!) and overall there is a nice deserved EP as a result. Although I hope their current material will improve and mature, especially in the vocal department, this effort is a cool introduction to the band for all things Germanic thrash without the raw production.
- Impactor
- April, April
- Downstairs
- Twisted Insanity
- Frightnight
- Thrash, Thrash, Thrash
