Abadden

And yet another new thrash band from the UK. Is there a cave where they breed these guys somewhere? This time, it’s the youngsters of Abadden, who recently won a band contest organized by Metal Hammer. And quite rightfully so, because on their debut album with the terrible cliché title Sentenced To Death, the quartet shows they’re able of creating an album full of thrashing craftmanship.

Especially the guitars courtesy of Dan Pool and Bill Robertson stand out right away. Their sound is very tasteful and that gives the riffs, that were good any way, that little extra. Their solos have a slight Iron Maiden vibe, maybe something a little Megadeth-ish as well.

Drummer James Bell isn’t too shabby either; he plays tightly and doesn’t overload the music with useless fills. The music has a distinct old school feel, but will probably appeal to fans of more modern thrash as well. The songs are generally constructed interestingly and hold your attention even if they last a little longer. I personally like these unexpected twists in songs a lot.

The only thing that slightly annoyed me were Dan Pool’s vocals. His screech sounds a little forced and unnatural. Plus, it irritates me that every song flows into the other sonically, but that’s only a minor complaint.Though Sentenced To Death already kickstarts fantastically with its title track, it gets even better later on – contrary to thrash tradition. Violent Assault and Atomic Devastation are successive outbursts of energie containing all the elements that made thrash brilliant in the eighties, but played by younger musicians this time.

I doubted this for a long time, given the seemingly endless stream of comebacks by third rate eighties bands, but there is definitely hope for the future of ‘good old’ thrash metal. The slightly more melodic closer is another brilliant tribute to everything that made metal so great in the first place.

If Abadden keeps on going like they do on this debut album, there might be a very nice future for the young Brits. I’m very curious how they will do this live, because it sounds like this music is made for the live situation. Until then, there’s plenty to enjoy on Sentenced To Death.

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