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Eliminator > Breaking the Wheel > Reviews
Eliminator - Breaking the Wheel

A Simplistic Masterpiece! - 100%

MorbusFrancisco, September 18th, 2018
Written based on this version: 2008, CD, Suffering Jesus Productions

Was my immediate reaction when I first heard this album. The project of a member from Mutiny Within, (a band fairly known in the NJ metal scene and one I was never a big fan of honestly) this album is pedal to the metal, balls to the wall, extreme metal. "Breaking the Wheel" features the lightning fast, technical riffing, blazing guitar solos, and jagged song structures of thrash metal, played at death metal intensity and with vocals that border on black metal. Consider it an extreme metal whirlwind tour!

The music is mind blowingly fast and technical, with guitar work that will slaughter your soul. It changes up often, usually on the flick of a switch. The drumming is largely composed of blast beats, sprinkled with crazy fills and breaks of machine gun double bass. There is not enough ways to say this is insanely talented music.

That could become a bit much quickly, but thankfully nothing stays the same for too long. The songs change it up quickly and often, sometimes between varying degrees of madness but also some slower, groovier sections and even...the rare mellow moment! That is rare though. The songs are short so they don't overstay their welcome, and there's even a segue to give you a breather from thrashing like a madman.

The finale is almost 9 minutes long, but there is a lot of slower stuff that keeps you interested, and alive, throughout. In fact it's variety, (and impressively melodic touches) makes it my favorite song on the album.

The vocals are generally raspy screams, as well as some thrashy style shouts. They fit the music and are pretty good, except for some really deep, cheesy (and frankly poor) growls. There aren't many though.

The production on the album is pretty good, you can hear everything fine although the actual drums sound fake. At first I was sure it was a program, until I found out otherwise. I later found out from my brother all the drums were triggered which is why it has it's unnatural sound. Not a major problem really and I got used to it easy enough.

If you like extreme metal I highly recommend you give this a listen. Break neck speed, intensity and technical skill, with good song writing that keeps the songs and album from getting boring or going on too long. There is just enough "slow down" time and really, I marvel at these kids musical skill. Although, the craziest thing you'll hear on the entire album is at the very end...

Awesome album, that is not for everyone and is not an any time listen for me, but a very solid and impressive extreme metal album that any fan of that style should enjoy.

An incredible display of modern thrash metal - 91%

psychosisholocausto, May 12th, 2013

So many people have let great modern thrash metal albums slip by them that it is getting ridiculous now. Eliminator are a band that released their first album, Breaking The Wheel, in 2008, and nobody gave a fuck. The band were just completely overlooked and even the people who heard that album are largely unaware that they now have three albums with a fourth on its way. Those with a little wisdom, however, would know that this band are something quite special. Their first album is a mixture of some of the most technically proficient riffing you will find in thrash metal anywhere, fast paced drumming and evil-sounding vocals. All this from a three-piece band. This album truly is something special.

This is one of the most relentless approaches to thrash metal since its glory days. From the start to the finish their is no sign of an unnecessary clean sung passage, but what there IS is nothing besides non-stop thrash metal. Every moment of this album is ridden with rage, hate and aggression and there really is nothing to be done about it. This does not need anything changing about it and is a formula that works throughout its entire thirty five minute duration. The soloing is fast, chaotic and kept to a small period of time per song, the drumming is some of the fastest in the genre, bordering on typical death metal speeds, whilst the riffs are a mixture of lightning fast tremolo picking and some very intricate fills scattered throughout. The bass work is audible throughout and makes a lovely back drop among the chaos, being highly technical. The lyrics are not the strongest out there, with lines such as "i am clinically insane, using my weapons to kill" sounding somewhat forced, but they get the job done. This is an album where every musician is on top of their game and it is hard to believe that the band will ever accomplish such a masterful display of incredibly fast and creative thrash metal ever.

The title track is probably the best thing here, with an amazing clean guitar section leading into one of the angriest mid-paced chord based riffs I have ever heard. Vocalist Warchild, who also handles the bass and guitars, roars out the titular words with a voice sounding like Satan himself, and then in comes one of the coolest solos on the album. This relies heavily on the bottom four strings and a lot of quick runs right up the fret-board, and is one of the longer solos on the album. Do not think that this release is a one-trick pony, however, as each song has something to talk about. Despite the fact that they are all songs that thunder along at one primary speed, each song is still distinguishable from the others, and it takes no effort to recall moments such as the furious scream that introduces the first track and the incredibly fast guitar fills found on it; or else the manic solo on Disgust. This is a frantic, relentless approach to thrash that is hard to forget and sticks out as arguably the finest example of thrash from a modern band (yes, including Vektor). The only slightly negative point about this release is that the production is a little mediocre, as it was recorded on an extremely low budget, but that does not detract from the album whatsoever as each instrument is still more than audible.

Breaking The Wheel is an incredible debut from Eliminator and it is hard to believe the band ever topping this work. Service Your Leader and the title song are two tracks that I recommend checking out, with the former having some incredibly technical fills scattered throughout to keep you interested.

inconsistent yet Promising! - 60%

morbert, July 14th, 2010

Damn! When I first heard songs from this album I was overwhelmed. An un-American aggressive and dark thrash assault normally only South America and Europe could pull off. However after a few listens, slight cracks do reach the surface.

First the good. This band has energy, real aggression and when they put in a clean part or mid paced section it doesn’t even really damage the continuity and actually adds something to the flavour. The vocals are heavily Angelripper-influenced with a more than obvious hint to ancient Brazilian days. The title track is a highlight of catchy yet extreme aggressive thrash metal but ‘Prescription For Extinction’ is the real highlight of the album. A 9 minute thrash epic with gruff vocals and a fantastic atmospheric middle section actually adding something to the song.

And now we come to the bad. The drums reek of computers, being too neat, too digital, too tight, too monotone even at parts for a thrash album which should sound natural and honest. Thrash is a truly organic kind of metal in which digital drums always damage the sweaty atmosphere it needs.
Secondly each song sounds as if it was recording somewhere else. Maybe this was due to time restrictions or budget. This damages the continuity of the album.

Next: The Mustainish high speed NWOBHM riffing on ‘Punisher’ really is cheesy on a brutal album such as this. This is the song I often skip if I want to stay in that old Kreator/Sodom/Sepultura mood the rest of the album gives me. The opening of the album ain’t it at all either. First a pop music sample and when the very first riff kiks in, it is blatantly stolen from Exodus. Ouch! ‘Service Your Leader’ has too much black metal vocals and guitar wankery. Quite a bad song. Also the drums are mixed in way too loud here.

So in the end there are actually more complaint than positive aspects. Eliminator is a band I hope will release much more albums, with natural drums next time and a more coherent production, songs with a clear direction and such. They have so much talent and relentlessness already but still so much to improve. Yet the title track and ‘Prescription For Extinction’ are so damn good, they are the reason for me this album should be kept alive. In total I just can’t give it more than 60 points because of the huge lists of flaws.

Highlights: Breaking The Wheel & Prescription For Extinction. Two songs everyone who loves thrash should hear!

good new thrash - 90%

VikingThrone, February 18th, 2010

I picked this album up after hearing a couple of the songs off it and I have to say I was not disappointed one bit. This album is filled with all sorts of goodies from the vocals, guitars, drums, and bass, everything here is fast and aggressive.

Eliminator is a kind of black/death/thrash band from Edison, New Jersey consisting of Warchild on vocals lead/rhythm guitar and does the bass on the recording, Scythe guitars as well, and Samus on drums. They are also a part of this kind of rebirth of thrash. Vocals on this album are tinged with a black/death kind of style that fit very well with the music. Guitar work done by Warchild and Scythe is nothing short of awesome as they display their taste for old school thrash and a nonstop assault of licks, scales, and tremolo picking. Bass duty is filled in by Warchild as well and follows the music well but could be brought forward a little more. The drum duty is filled by Samus who sounds like he should be having a massive coronary at the speed and precision he plays at.

The record starts off with what sounds like the girl from the movie Eraserhead singing the in heaven everything is fine song when all of a sudden… BOOM the album kicks off into full force and almost doesn’t give u a chance to find out what the hell just happened, quickly you come to realize that this shit is the real deal as it begins to take an all out assault on your ears of: speedy bass lines, extreme drumming, brutal, precise, shredding guitar, and killer vocals. The next song The Breaking Wheel (same as title) is in my opinion one of the best off the album, once again it just kicks off into full speed ahead and has a quick little lead right in the beginning that sounds awesome. The next track kind of throws you off a little cause the tone of the guitar has changed quite noticeably as it does through the album but that defiantly does not bring it down in any way and actually kind of gives it a nice change of sound keeping you more interested. The album continues on with speed and aggression and keeps your head banging at all times. At on point you run into a song called Disgust that is just an instrumental which gives the band a chance to shred and tear it up but I think this band doesn’t sound full without the vocals.

If Eliminator wanted to make a point with their first full release they defiantly have done it. All you will find here is intensely fast thrash metal with no remorse and no bullshit. I would defiantly have to say that they are amongst the tops of this new wave of thrash and I would recommend this album to old school and new school thrashers alike. The only downside is the album shoots by in just 34:53

Quick and dirty, yet structured thrash - 60%

autothrall, October 27th, 2009

Thrash metal...oh my poor thrash metal. Everyone and their grandmother has had a new dead horse to beat, and it is my beloved thrash and speed metal of the mid to late 80s. Having done this myself, I can't really blame them. But as with many trends, there will be a few who succeed and many that fail.

Eliminator are a New Jersey 2-piece playing excessively brutal thrash. They succeed. It's fast, it's furious, the vocals are similar to Sodom and Kreator. The musicianship is top notch, in particular the guitars. The solos are well constructed. There isn't much distinction between the tracks, but they do seem to have several levels of 'production', as if the record might have been recorded at different times or places. You'll even notice this between the album opener "World Obliteration" and the second, title track.

One distraction is the drum tone...they are listed as having a drummer but this seems more like a drum machine to me. If the former, they might want to develop some better fills for a more organic, exciting flow. If the latter, just replace with the former. These days it is getting even harder for me to distinguish such details.

Anyhoo, these guys have done a decent job with this album. The riffs aren't quite exciting enough for me to come back to, but they have done a service to their influences without being too cheesy in a 'retro' sense. The lyrics don't completely suck, and they've got some crazy guitar playing, i.e. "The Punisher". If you like your thrash metal quick and dirty yet structured and proficient then Eliminator should make their mark on the new generation.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Kind of disappointing as a whole - 50%

dalecooper, October 20th, 2008

This is one of those bands where their demo tracks were so promising, I put their upcoming full length on a list of must-haves, and ordered it as soon as the label had them for sale. It arrived in the mail a few days ago, and just yesterday I first had the opportunity to sit down and listen to it. But as the first track started up, I reached for the CD case to make sure my ears weren't deceiving me.

Unfortunately, they weren't.

There's nothing wrong, exactly, with any one track on this release. Everything rips along at a frantic, Sadus-worthy pace. The fretboard pyrotechnics are frequently jaw-dropping, and the vocals alternate between a raspy howl and a throatier, more tradtional thrash style. This is aggressive, very well-made stuff. Best of all, for a modern thrash release, it doesn't sound retro at all. It's modern without being core, current without losing its metal edge. Eliminator makes very good, inspired music. So let me be clear about one thing: if you buy this and play any single song off of it, and you're a fan of warp-speed thrash and flashy guitar work, you'll probably love the song you're listening to.

But I have to register my disappointment with the project in its entirety, which is really where the problem lies. First of all, half of these tracks are old... really old. They've been on the band's MySpace page for a long time. A while back, Eliminator posted the title track from "Breaking the Wheel," and it showed marked differences from the older songs: the drum sound was much more live and less mechanical; the guitars were heavier and crunchier; the vocals were deeper and more forceful. It was distinctive enough from their older stuff that they almost sounded like a new band. I was fine with that and thought it was a good evolution for their debut - if anything, the earlier tracks had sounded a little too mechanical and thin to me. "Breaking the Wheel" (the song) was more energetic and fierce. But "Breaking the Wheel" (the album) recycles all the old tracks, putting them right alongside the new ones. Tracks 2, 5, and 7 sound like the updated Eliminator; tracks 1, 3, 4, and 6 sound like the demo Eliminator, and except for the flashier guitar work, it's the inferior version. I'm not certain if these are literally tracks from their demos - the band and label's sites are both very non-forthcoming on the subject - but they may as well be, so clear is the line between them and the better three songs on the album. On top of that, track 5 is a one minute instrumental, so in effect this comes off as a demo release with a couple new tracks that serve as a teaser for what an Eliminator full length might have been.

I would still give this a mild recommendation to anyone interested in this style, and wanting to hear a band exploring the outer reaches of extremity in modern thrash metal. For myself, however, I find that now I'm waiting for the next album - which will hopefully all be recorded in one place, at one time, in one style.