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Atrophy > Violent by Nature > Reviews
Atrophy - Violent by Nature

Twin of the debut - 77%

Felix 1666, May 30th, 2016
Written based on this version: 1990, 12" vinyl, Roadracer Records

Atrophy's second strike looked like a true copy of their debut. Normally, the successor of a first album shows more or less significant changes, either in terms of style or in terms of quality. Or at least with regard to the production. Yet in relation to "Violent by Nature", this is absolutely not the case. Atrophy still play their well produced, energetic and juvenile style of thrash metal. Do not understand the word "copy" in the first sentence as a negative assessment. The songs are fresh and pretty infectious, they just run in the same direction as those of "Socialized Hate". Indeed, "Violent by Nature" is neither more heavy nor more progressive than its predecessor. It's another (very) good thrash album, no more, no less.

Once again, the band has not released a milestone, but songs like the slowly growing "Too Late to Change", the catchy "Slipped Through the Cracks", the desperate "Right to Die" or the sinister and aggressive "Process of Elimination" enliven every metal party. Just put the needle on the vinyl carefully and thrash metal takes its course. The songs have a good flow, the necessary diversity is achieved with great ease and throwaway tracks have been obviously removed during the recording process. Harshness and musicality stand in an appropriate relation to each other and the album gives no indication that this would be the last sign of life of the talented group. Quite the opposite, the intelligent guys seemed to stand at the threshold to a bright future. Unfortunately, things went different.

In spite of all similarities, there is a little difference between the songs of "Violent by Nature" and those of the debut. A small number of the new pieces, in particular those of the second third, reveal a thoughtful facet of the guys. Some soft tones show up without giving the full-length a restrained character. It's just a subtle hint that Atrophy intended to broaden their spectrum cautiously. Anyway, these songs have enough power to be categorized as thrash metal and they are aligned with the remarkable lyrics. Many bands have "socio-critical" texts, or they just call their lyrics "socio-critical" while yelling pretty nonsensical lines like "F**k the Police". Everybody wants to be an outsider, because it goes without saying that the system is nothing else but a cold machinery of inhumanity and yada yada yada. Atrophy prefer to see things from a different angle. "Although things aren't perfect / They're trying their best / The choice is left up to you" is the key message of guitarist Lykins and this ode to self-responsibility is really unpopular, but exceptional and simply true. Well, the lyrics of "In Their Eyes" are a little bit kitschy, because they describe, seen through the eyes of children, an idealized picture of the world. Yet all in all, this text is also okay, because the band does not close its eyes to the real situation.

Summing up, it is a fact that Atrophy's second album offers all advantages of mid-harsh thrash metal. Enjoy the right degree of velocity, sharp riffs, technically clever solos, an industrious double bass, well arranged choruses and acceptable vocals that do not play the main role. The absence of any form of experiments does not indicate a lack of excitement, because the precise guitar work shapes a lively and energetic record which still sounds unconsumed.

Conquering both the debut and the desert heat - 85%

autothrall, May 4th, 2010

Atrophy's 1988 debut Socialized Hate was a solid, energetic affair strong on both riffs and vitality, but it was unable to force any wider ripples among a public consciousness for the thrash metal genre that was only then teething upon the 'big 4' US thrash bands (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax) with barely any room left in their attention spans for the exploding scenes out of Germany and the Bay Area, much less the rest of the world. A few other bands would slip through, like Testament, Annihilator, or the Teutonic trio of Kreator, Sodom and Destruction, and garner a reasonable level of success, but so many bright and talented upstarts would be hung out to dry. Atrophy but one of them...

However, the Arizona thrashers were able to cobble together not one, but two impressive LPs chock full of thick, semi-technical riffs, memorable structures and the glazed, almost constipated furor of Brian Zimmerman's vocals (I mean that as a compliment). Violent by Nature is actually a dash more memorable than Socialized Hate. It may lack some of its predecessor's overall focus on speed and intensity, but the songs are extremely well balanced, with bigger sounding bass and memorable chorus vocals. Armed with an iffy (though memorable) Paul Stottler cover image, who you may recognize from his numerous covers for fellow Arizona thrash squad Sacred Reich or his work in tattoos, Violent by Nature arrived just before the thrash wave broke in 1991-92 and was swept back out to sea. Sadly, it was hung up on some oil-stained reef, void of the attention it probably deserved.

The potentially ill-titled "Puppies and Friends" blazes its trail immediately, with some action packed, frenzied that carries through the gang shouts to the extremely cool descending hyper-breakdown around 1:30. The band's popping bass and dense, compact guitar tone (like Exhorder's second album, but better) create a very percussive feel, across which the leads blaze, though they're not highly interesting as far as their own internal composition. "Violent by Nature" opens with busy beat and some further winding, thrash grooves that meter out their complexity through a muted bombast, and Zimmerman enforcing his throat with some variance and emotion, and gang shouts galore into the chorus. "In Their Eyes" is a slower piece, perhaps Atrophy's interpretation of the 'non-ballad', fully loaded with melodic hooks and a powerful, meaningful climax. Do it for the children! "Too Late to Change" features a sweet acoustic intro that blooms into a lead reminiscent of Testament, and a killer thrashing break after 3:30. I also love the bass in this piece.

"Slipped Through the Cracks" is another poignant piece about the failures of the US education system in all the glories of its competitive castigation, with some mosh heavy rhythms akin to Sacred Reich or S.O.D., while "Forgotten But Not Gone" features not only a sweet song title but a series of arching melodic, gladiatorial riffs with a Megadeth-like groove packed into the verse. "Process of Elimination" further sears the band's quality guitarchitecture into your brain, a nigh endless onslaught of sick headbanging riffs that pick up to a frenetic brutality reminiscent of the debut album, only tempered in the more sublime melodies of the vocals in the bridge. "Right to Die" contains one of the best riffs on the entire album (behind the verse), with a very natural flow that makes it impossible to forget, and "Things Change" makes great use of its backing gang shouts, crumbsucking vocals and pummeling bounce rhythms.

As you can see, just about every song here is good, regardless of whether or not we find the very 80s subject matter of the lyrics to be relevant to our lives today (hint: it is, we just may not think so much about these particular topics). For many, this is another undiscovered gem of the 'Golden Decade' for thrash metal, well worth shelling out the coin to acquire. In fact, buy them both. It may be a product of the same well of utter brilliance that produced a Master of Puppets, Rust in Peace, or Reign in Blood, but it's a damn good thrash metal record which holds up 20 years later, as fresh and crunchy as the day it was laid to tape and delivered through a pre-suck Roadrunner Records.

Highlights: Puppies and Friends, In Their Eyes, Forgotten But Not Gone, Right to Die

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

A Commendable Thrash Assault! - 86%

SpyreWorks, March 1st, 2010

I found this tape at a thrift store one day, and I got pretty excited; I wasn't expecting much to be honest, since I wanted the tape more for nostalgic value than for actual listening, but I thought I should hear it nonetheless, so I popped it into my stereo when I got home and was pleasantly surprised by the quality thrash metal on here!

Reminiscent of early Kreator, Atrophy delivers a commendable thrash assault in a time when thrash was becoming a thing of the past. Raspy and mean vocals complement the dirty sound of the instruments and the nihilistic lyrics. The guitar and bass are pretty solid, and at times you really think "Woah! That's pretty good!", but overall they just deliver your general thrashy awesomeness, not much more. The drums are at pretty much at the same level as the guitar and bass: great, but not so much that you ever really care that much. The songwriting on this album is average, with some cool riffs and drum fills here and there, but most of the album just sticks with the basic thrash formula. Some of the lyrics are pretty cool too, most notable being "Slipped Through The Cracks", which talks about high school jocks refusing to learn and then failing in life (I hate jocks!).

All in all, this is a great thrash album. Although it seems like I don't care much for it, I really enjoy this album just because it delivers pure thrash, there's just not much that innovation or lack thereof for me to point out or write about. I really admire Atrophy for recording this album in the early 90's, since it sounds like it would fit a lot better a decade earlier, a couple hundred miles to the West. Now that they've re-released Violent By Nature and anyone can get it easily, I would definitely recommend a listen. If you're just looking for some gritty thrash, Atrophy is the band for you. A little bit of early Megadeth, Kreator and Nuclear Assault, and you have this late thrasher's outburst!

A more mature approach - 87%

CHRISTI_NS_ANITY8, March 16th, 2009

Let’s immediately say that, despise being at the beginning of the 90s in a period in which thrash was dying, Atrophy didn’t change their attitude and style on this follow-up to the good Socialized Hate. The new effort is called Violent by Nature and already from the title we can understand how the whole album will be: a quite fast and impulsive opus entirely devoted to thrash metal.

The beginning with “Puppies and Friends” is something that puts a big smile on my face. The up tempo is always there, the fast riffs too and the vocals have always conserved that raspy tonality that a thrash metal album deserves. Do not beg for innovation or different style because here it’s all about the sheer impact of the instruments. The few mid-paced moments are by the middle of the song while the rest is definitely more vicious and beating. The guitars solos often conserve a quite gloom approach to the melody and they do not always point on the sheer speed of the shreds.

The production is a bit clearer than the one on the album before but everything remains raw in a perfect way for the genre because all the instruments are perfectly audible. The title track is the first mid-paced example but it’s also remarkable for its high-intensity, the catchy refrain and the following “In their Eyes” continues this style on several sections, among the various restarts on up tempo. The long “Too Late to Change” features gloomy arpeggios by the beginning with the lead guitar to accompany. The atmosphere is not melodic in a cheesy conception but incredibly gloomy. We can listen to several mid-paced parts as the vocals turn to be more reflective before the blasting up tempo section after the middle that announces the fast solos.

When we come to “Slipped trough the Cracks” we can notice a bit of groove for the riffing but soon the fast pace returns. The arrangements, so far, seem always impulsive but a bit better structured with lots of tempo changes and dynamic switches. “Forgotten but not Gone” is immediately faster but I can say the same thing I said before, as far as the mid-paced parts are concerned: the show a bit of groove and they are always incredibly dynamic. The good tapping solo at the beginning of “Process of Elimination” and the return of few solo sections are good to give the right dark atmosphere to a generally fast song as the mid tempo of “Right to Die” arrive, despite the quite present fast bass drums sections.

To end the album we find “Things to Change” that is the classical mix of darker mid-paced sections and up tempo restarts, increasing my point of view about this album: here Atrophy pointed more on the complex structures and they perfectly mixed the “old” nastiness with a new acquired sense for a mature songwriting. A goal that was completely achieved.

Forgotten quality thrash metal album - 93%

morbert, September 12th, 2007

The album takes a flight immediately with the marvellous thrasher ‘Puppies and friends’ filled with strong riffs, breaks and a great vocal performance by Brian Zimmerman. The mid tempo middle section at 1:32 contains a superb chugging riff to which all self respecting thrasher cannot do anything else but bang his/her heads. The melodic riff at 2:25 right after solo is beautiful and from that point on the songs starts raging again. A very complete and almost perfect composition that shows how good Atrophy could be and what a shame it was this band has never released an album since!

The groovy title track is very catchy, has very good Exodus-inspired backing vocals and their most memorable chorus. ‘In Their Eyes’ is an unsyncopated thrasher that could’ve come straight from their debut album ‘Socialized Hate’. The vocal effects on the chorus of this song are a nice detail.

‘Too Late To Change’ starts off very laid back with clean guitars, a solo and contains a (by Atrophy standards) very melodic vocal line in the first half of the verse which makes this a quite refreshing song that really contributes to the atmosphere of the entire album.

‘Slipped Through the Cracks’ is another raging thrasher with a lot of good riffs and an incredibly good mid paced chorus (again with some good backing vocals). The intro of ‘Process of Elimination’ could have come straight from any of the first third Death albums and then continues as an unsyncopated thrasher with – unfortunately – the worst chorus on the album on which a rather dull vocal line is sung over the intro riff.

And yes, the opening riff of ‘Things Change’ is obviously very generic but still incredibly entertaining and simply ‘cool’. The song as a whole is a great mid tempo pounder with only a short up tempo moment (solo part) that rages in the way only thrash metal can.

On ‘Violent by Nature’ Atrophy were ably to write quality up tempo material as well as some marvellous mid paced thrash metal moments, therefore being their best and most complete album. Best songs: ‘Puppies and Friends’, ‘Violent by Nature’, ‘Too Late to Change’, ‘Slipped Through the Cracks’.

Much better than their debut - 75%

foshuggah, March 18th, 2003

Atrophy. Most metalheads have heard too little of this band or have never heard about them at all. Both of their albums are either too easy or too hard to get. And they played a good brand of thrash metal.

IMHO, "Violent By Nature" is much better than their first album "Socialized Hate". "VbN" shows a pissed off, aggressive attitude that their debut didn't have. The album is intense and doesn't let you down a bit, with a few exceptions ("Slipped Through The Cracks" and "Process Of Elimination").

Definitevely, "Puppies and Friends" is the fastest, most cachiest song in the album. "In their Eyes", "Too Late to Change" and the title track are also very good songs with a thrashy background, yet mixing in some melodic/harmonic ideas that work great with the up-tempo riffs. Clean parts are put in nicely and the songs have very good choruses (gang type screams) that help a lot to remember each song separately.

Roadracer used to have very good bands in their label. And Atrophy was one of them. Their debut was not as good as "VbN", but sure they played good thrash.

also ran - 72%

ironasinmaiden, February 18th, 2003

Atrophy (a.k.a. the band who did that "beer bong" song) are decent late 80s thrash... nothing worth tracking down, but more than worthy of a bargain bin purchase. Their riffs are solid, but hardly memorable... this is a problem. Asides from the frat boy shouts of "VIOLENT BY NATURE!" Atrophy go through one ear and out the other.

Opening track "Puppies and Friends" (???) kicks ass... it's uptempo, pissed off thrash in the vein of Testament circa New Order or Death Angel. Vocals are barked. "Violent by Nature" is the other highlight, an almost funky song with a cool riff. After that, I can't name you one standout track, because they are all the same.

If you really like thrash get Socialized Hate. If you really really like thrash get Violent by Nature.