Those who have been following this site from its inception are aware that my relationship with 21st century thrash is a complex one. Despite growing up in the heart of the so-called thrash resurgence, the bands of that movement who “did it” for me were far and few in between. I always found Municipal Waste and Havok to be painfully cheesy (to their credit, Waste took themselves seriously). Revocation bored the crap out of me with their metalcore leanings, and Vektor’s tech-thrash wankery impressed me for maybe a minute. Why Toxic Holocaust got lumped in with this bunch is beyond me. They were always my favorite, if only for sounding EXACTLY like classic Venom.
I can go on and on, giving my 2 cents all day on the good and (mostly) bad of modern thrash, but this review isn’t about any of those aforementioned bands. Today’s review is about Demolizer. Hailing from Denmark, Demolizer has been around in some capacity or another since 2014 when they initially formed under the moniker Radtskaffen (Say that 3 times fast!). Now I seldom blindly check out newer thrash bands, but considering my surprise enjoyment of the new Soul Grinder album, I found myself in a sympathetic mood. These Demolizer dudes can’t be THAT bad…right?
In their defense, Demolizer really aren’t bad. What they are, however, is generic and unfulfilling. By and large, their latest album, Post Necrotic Human, finds one speed and sticks to it. This isn’t exactly the worst offense in the world. Vio-Lence’s Eternal Nightmare immediately comes to mind in this category. However, whereas Vio-Lence were characterized by Sean Killian’s lunatic vocals and downright devastating breakdowns, Demolizer don’t boast any unique characteristics of their own. In fact, the first 3 songs, “Post Necrotic Human”, “Fascist State”, and “The Butcher” all sound like they boast the same damn riff, albeit slightly rearranged.
I hesitate to use the word “interesting”, but there are some moments that can be described as such during Post Necrotic Human‘s second half, for better or worse. “Day After Day” and “Capital Punishment” recall the Power Trip crossover formula that has dominated the underground for the past 5+ years, in which chunky, skull-smashing riffs take precedent above all. “The Wheel” stands out as well, its attitude driven riffs and Motörhead-esque double bass drumming charging to the finish line as the strongest cut on this uneven outing.
Unfortunately, these salvageable moments are held back by the redundancy of “Sarnarth” and “Warmonger”, and the absolutely unnecessary Metallica inspired dirge that is “Killing a Friend”. I’m guessing the purpose of this one was to prove pessimistic online music reviewers such as myself wrong. “Look at us! We can do more than just thrash!” Okay, but at what cost? To make it perfectly clear, I don’t hate Post Necrotic Human. Matter of fact, it would’ve made an adequate 3 or 4 song EP. It just rehashes everything we’ve heard a million and one times before, diluted to the point of exhaustion and futility.
5 out of 10
Label: Mighty Music
Genre: Thrash Metal
For fans of: Warbringer, Exodus, Destruction