Fireball

Well being the Deep Purple & Wargasm fan I am, I was fascinated with the idea of this album from the start. I hunted it down on ebay & won a copy. Worth It? No. Well this little EP is quite the mixed bag, a cover tune (actually two if you count Grievous Angel), a special edit & a handful of live tracks, so you know the production is going to vary.

But this mix bag is on the dull side. The live tracks have a sterile quality to them which I’m not fond of, they truly lack energy, and for the most part audible bass. The guitar work is worth while though, it’s exactly as you’d remember it on “Why Play Around?” but with a less energetic touch. Also the track Grievous Angel is an amusing little venture, originally performed by a local band Wargasm used to play with, Slaughter Shack. Dreadnaught Day is not my favorite track by Wargasm, actually I find it to be quite dull. It too seems to lack the energy needed to keep it going. The riff is pretty stale as well, the solo, eh, it’s ok not as dull as the riff I must say. But the title track is an interesting little endeavor. It’s the only one that seems to actually have some sort of energy to it. Mayo also does a fairly decent job on the vocals, but it doesn’t carry the old Deep Purple spirit. The solo is in shambles though, the keyboard intro is murdered in an attempt on a guitar, at that point it really sounds like shit, but the rest is executed fairly well.

Well to put this album in a nutshell, it’s mediocre, I’d say something worth having, but not to be played frequently-75%.

This album is originally an EP, which is why it only has 6 songs. Wargasm isn't your usual thrash band. Instead of taking the fast action thrash riffs, they have medium paced riffs, with more punkish thrash sound. To explain the music, compared to other bands, just think Vovoid, Wrathchild America, and the Misfits.

Although I generally don't care for this kind of thrash music, these songs aren't to bad. The album starts off on the song Fireball. Right away, we are introduced to a nice drum beat and interesting riff. The riffs aren't your typical thrash style, but there not quit punk riffs either. It's hard to explain. The singing is a bit difficult to explain to. He doesn't really scream thrash, more of a modern toned type of vocal with fast paced lyrics. As for the solo on this song, it's kind of weird sounding; it doesn't really shadow the song. Overall not a bad song, but the distorted full chords ruin the song.

Dreadnaught Day starts off very mellow, with a riff that reminds me a lot of Stone Temple Pilots. Then it busts into the main riff, which is probably the thrashiest riff on this album. What makes this riff awsome, is it's style and the way the drums are mixed in with the riff and vocals. Excellent job at blending every instrument in. Best song on this album (not including the live songs).

The rest of the songs are supposed to be live songs. I say "supposed to be" because they really don't sound live. These next songs actually show signs of Wargasm being a thrash band. Wasteland starts off with a sweet riff. In fact Wasteland has a lot of cool riffs/licks. The solo is nothing to get excited about, but it's not bad. It has a fast drumming style and all out in your face vocals. The production for these live songs aren't as great as the other songs. Every instrument overpowers each other. Drums are to loud and the singing is barely hearable.

The next couple songs promote this thrash style that the first two studio songs didn't. At parts the singer kind of sounds like James Hetfield, especially on Enemy Line, but other times he actually gets growly (Grievous Angel). Most of these songs sound the same, at least the drums are set at the same tempo for all these songs. If it is one band I have to say they ultimately sound like it would be Anthrax. The vocals have that Anthrax sound, while not really funny songs, they do have the thrash elements that Anthrax does. Besides the songs being just a little bit long, these live songs are worth every second of any thrash fans. Get this EP (if you can) just for the live songs.