Not quite Product of Hate… ‘Product of being cross’ is more apt.
Review by Mark Wrigley
Nuclear Blast
Release Date: 5th February 2016
Product Of Hate; the very name promises aggression… and with a debut album entitled Buried In Violence, surely faces will be smashed, ears will bleed, and it will be a bastion of thrashy goodness… Erm, nope, ‘fraid not.
It’s not a bad album by any means, just nothing special. In terms of thrash metal, we are talking “Tesco Value” or “Asda Smart Price”, rather than anything to get your teeth into. Nothing really stands out and grabs the listener on the first run through, apart from perhaps the cover of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Perry Mason” bolted on as a closing track. That in itself says something, when the track of note is a cover, and it’s only noted because “you recognise it”.
Production is spot on, and as a band this Wisconsin five piece are tupperware tight, but it feels too thrash by numbers, almost manufactured. It ticks boxes, there’s some decent riffage and Jeff Waters-esque fretboard bashing, the appropriate amount of gutteral vocals, a solid rhythm section… but there’s very little that could be classed as inspiring for a listener. It feels like a prelude to something bigger; an acceptable support band that lifts the mood, but nothing more.
Kill. You. Now. and Annihilation gallop along tightly without incident, they merge into …As Your Kingdom Falls and Blood Coated Concrete. Nothing makes you stand up, and think “fuck yeah, this is what I have been after”… it is a real shame, as these boys are tight.
It’s ten tracks of ‘OK’ thrash, and then one strange cover that sticks quite faithfully to the original. The sort of album you can put on when you want something heavy, but isn’t going to distract you from what you are doing. In the grand scheme of things, having a thrash album that could be deemed as background music, probably isn’t a the best accolade to have.
Not quite Product of Hate… ‘Product of being cross’ is more apt.
5 out of 10
Tracklisting:
- Kill. You. Now.
- Annihilation
- …As Your Kingdom Falls
- Blood Coated Concrete
- Monster
- Buried In Violence
- Vindicare
- Nemesis
- Revolution Of Destruction
- Unholy Manipulator
- Perry Mason
