Strident - On The Aim
Israel's thrash band Strident bring back an old school feel to thrash metal in the vein of early Slayer while using modern production in sound at the same time. "Dirty Blood" is a great track simply for the slow, foreboding intro that is soley the guitars and plodding drums that just keep listeners hanging before it blasts off. From this point on it is the typical chugging guitars, mid paced drums, and shouted vocals that tend to feel like they are a bit overproduced and don't realy flow as a whole with the other instruments as they are always a notch louder. "On The Aim" has some great bass work and catchy rhythms, but doesn't differ from many of the other tracks. A lot of these tracks have the chugging format down, such as "Prepare To Die" and "Who Cares," but they don't hold much variation in sound, save for the pace; some tracks chug faster than the others. Perhaps this is a bit of a shortfall for the group, but thrash fans in general probably will find it all catchy all the same.
The titles and lyrics of the album also tend to jump around. On one hand there is serious, war based themes such as "On The Aim," and then there are more 'sex, drugs, and rock n' roll' themes such as "Sex Toy," "Who Cares," and "To Beer Or Not To Beer." Depending whether one takes music seriously or not, these tracks may throw some fans off, but the musical content is certainly on par with the more serious ones, if not even more rhythmic. If there were no titles or lyrics, one couldn't even tell the difference. Think of it like the way when Dew Scented, another thrash band, recorder their song "Hobbit Motherfuckers." The title was hilarious but the music was just as furious as the other tracks.
The strength of Strident is best seen in their bass and drums, which usually get buried in the music, but when they shine they set the band apart from those thrash groups who just rely on the guitars and solos. Sure, overall the album has that raw 80s thrash feel, but it doesn't just use the cookie cutter patterns. Strident use their own style and own form to create an album that pays tribute to the thrashers of old while still setting themselves apart from the rest for the most part. Not a bad start.
The titles and lyrics of the album also tend to jump around. On one hand there is serious, war based themes such as "On The Aim," and then there are more 'sex, drugs, and rock n' roll' themes such as "Sex Toy," "Who Cares," and "To Beer Or Not To Beer." Depending whether one takes music seriously or not, these tracks may throw some fans off, but the musical content is certainly on par with the more serious ones, if not even more rhythmic. If there were no titles or lyrics, one couldn't even tell the difference. Think of it like the way when Dew Scented, another thrash band, recorder their song "Hobbit Motherfuckers." The title was hilarious but the music was just as furious as the other tracks.
The strength of Strident is best seen in their bass and drums, which usually get buried in the music, but when they shine they set the band apart from those thrash groups who just rely on the guitars and solos. Sure, overall the album has that raw 80s thrash feel, but it doesn't just use the cookie cutter patterns. Strident use their own style and own form to create an album that pays tribute to the thrashers of old while still setting themselves apart from the rest for the most part. Not a bad start.
- Dirty Blood
- On The Aim
- Terror
- Sex Toy
- Psycho Provocator
- Prepare To Die
- Buy The Flesh
- Strident
- Who Cares
- To Beer Or Not To Beer
- Fucking Army
Self released
Reviewer: Colin McNamara
Jan 19, 2011
Jan 19, 2011
Next review:
Psilocybe Larvae - Non-Existence
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