It’s easy to forget aboot (sic) Canada when discussing thrash, but considering they have given us Annihilator, Razor and Sacrifice to name a few I think they have made a considerable contribution to the genre. Okay, so Annihilator went a bit crap but the first two albums have stood the test of time and Sacrifice produced one of the most kick-ass thrash albums of last year. So Vancouvians, Entropia, aren’t doing anything new by any means. They formed in 2006; the height of the thrash revival if you will, and despite being on album number two this is my first time hearing them and was pleasantly surprised.
Things launch straight for the jugular with ‘Voice Behind The Throne’ which has some tight and speedy hair-whipping riffage. It’s clear this is all about recreating that old school sound and Entropia do it rather well, seemingly having a winning formula many modern thrash bands lack. ‘Disciples of Aggression’ is a particular highlight and true to its name is packed full of aggression – so indeed are most of the tracks here but they also add in plenty of melody and a li’l bit of atmosphere that stops it sounding too generic. Their sound is in fact highly reminiscent of Testament and given that they are perhaps my favourite of the Bay Area thrash pack and by far the most consistent I can live with that!
‘Nothing Shall Stand’ has a real beefy sound and a mid-paced swagger to it that I like. Again, this is catchy and easy to bang your head to. It’s not too challenging and sometimes that’s just what you want from an album. The vocals have that smooth Chuck Billy-esque croon to them; it’s aggressive and mean yet easy on the ears. ‘Temple Of Solomon’ slows things right down and with a real slice of atmosphere this has that essential Bay Area ballad vibe about it. ‘Tears Of Blood’ is even more emotional; a mellowed out acoustic number with some especially nice guitar work and actually reminds a little of ‘Mama Said’ by Metallica. Towards the end of the album there’s a bit of a Hetfield-esque redneck twang to the vocals namely on ‘Shockwave’ and ‘Nowhere To Hide.’
‘InstruMETAL’ – see what they did there? Okay, yes, very clever, but it does showcase some particularly tasty lead guitar work. On ‘Nothing Shall Stand’ there’s almost and Amottian vibe to the solos as well. So, this is highly unoriginal; if it sounds new to you then you’ve obviously been on Mars for the past 30 years, or too wrapped up listening to your Celine Dion records (another of Canada’s finest exports, though not one I’d willingly subject myself to personally). But it is enjoyable, it’s energetic and well worth a listen if you’re in the mood for some straight up neck-wrecking.
http://www.myspace.com/entropiametal
