Havok (Colorado - USA) - Time Is Up
This album is like a time machine back to the mid/late 1980s, mixing Slayer, Exodus, Whiplash, Destruction, and 666 more into something I didn’t think I’d hear in 2011: new Old School Thrash. There is no stupid Groove Metal influence here, no Metalcore, no Nu-Thrash, no Post-Thrash. No shit! Havok really impressed me. I had deliberately skipped their debut album, 2009’s Burn, because, honestly, I thought it would have to suck. I can admit when I’m wrong, and I’m going to track down a copy of Burn and check it out ASAP. In the meantime, though, there are a couple flaws to point out here. The songs, while supremely high-energy and amazingly well-played, could be more memorable. I’ve listened to Time Is Up many times now, and really enjoy it, but as I sit here in silence, I’m having some difficulty remembering how any of the songs go. And their songwriting influences are so transparent that this might as well be a tribute to 1986. David’s vocals are thankfully not of the high-pitched wailing variety (except for his kind of awesome “Angel of Death” homage scream in “D.O.A.”), and are what might be described as gruff, and where I get the Whiplash comparison even more than musically. He does, however, very occasionally get a little too close to sounding like the terrible modern Thrash squealers, or otherwise misstep. But, the only real problem here is what my associate Jack pointed out to me when I mentioned how good Havok is. He said, “I have Slayer to meet my Slayer needs.” In 2011, any new Thrash that’s worth two shits in a cup is rare indeed, and I’m glad that Havok exists, but the originators all had unique identities, which is the single thing that this band lacks.
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