Angelus Apatrida – Aftermath
Reviewed by: Kenneth Gallant
Review Score: 9.0
At the start of the 2000’s, the new wave of thrash metal blitzed the ears of many mosh fanatics who grew up on the big four and all the subsequent bands that came after. This new wave gave birth to such bands as Warbringer, Havok, Hatchet, Bonded by Blood and Toxic Holocaust on the American side. While on the international scene you had bands like Gama Bomb and Evile carve a piece of that same action.
There is another band from Spain deserving the same adoration and I feel like they don’t get a lot of love. Of course I’m talking about Angelus Apatrida who have returned with their eight studio recording entitled Aftermath. This is a raucous affair of hard hitting thrash tunes with an abundance of meat on the bone, while adding heaping amounts of attitude onto the plate.
Right from the get go, ‘Scavenger’ is a gnarly romp of a track that clocks in at a little over three and a half minutes. I like the fact this is straight to the point thrash metal, so you know we are off to a good start. Next up we get pounded by ‘Cold’ and treated to vocalist/guitarist Guillermo Izquierdo’s best snarl, while leading the charge of the relentless chugging. This song drips with Sepultura vibes and it’s one of the better tracks that will get tons of replay value from longtime fans.
The pace picks up when ‘Snob’ roars to life and shreds all over the song and delivers the fist pumping action. The riffing and lyrical content is catchy as hell and I suspect this will slot well into the live set. ‘Fire Eyes’ starts out slowly, but comes back at you chugging hard and providing one hell of a solo. I get a ton of Defiance vibes and it doesn’t surprise me how much Bay Area love finds a way into the songs on Aftermath.
I love the pacing of ‘Rats’ because it’s clear from the start how much chugging energy pours out through this composition. When the solo kicks in the song goes into a complete frenzy of thrash metal goodness; also, the lyrical perspective regarding the horrors of mass media really hits home on this one. The longest track ‘To Whom It May Concern’ follows and what immediately comes to mind is Machine Head’s The Blackening; especially how it spirals and spits about through somber and harsher tempos. It drags a bit for my tastes, but I will give them an ‘e’ for effort for trying to stretch it out for the eight minutes of run time.
The band’s strength lies in the shorter tracks such as ‘Gernika’ and how it provides a ripping solo and socially charged lyrics. I think the same can be said for ‘I Am Hatred’ which tears quickly; chugging and speeding along at a torrid pace. The riff here is balls-out and once it gives way to the solo, the song becomes an instant thrash classic. You can definitely expect the same brutality and intensity with ‘What Kills Us All’. This track is a bit unique in the sense that it switches into Spanish singing mid-way through, then falls back into English. Then we end off with ‘Vultures And Butterflies’ which gives me some slight Queensryche vibes, but shows off the strength of their lyrical content.
Angelus Apatrida have been in the thrash game for quite a while now and are growing stronger with every new release. Lyrically, I line them up with Bay Area thrash stalwarts Defiance, but they are not mere clones. Both bands like to write about social issues, but Angelus has a harsher sound overall. I also like their output since the arrival of bands forming in the new wave of thrash metal from the early 2000’s. They are a forward-thinking thrash band that continues to improve and evolve into a beast of a band and their label Century Media should be damn proud the band is on their roster.
Aftermath dropped on October 20th via Century Media Records.