Register Forgot login?

© 2002-2024
Encyclopaedia Metallum

Privacy Policy

Virgin Snatch > Act of Grace > Reviews
Virgin Snatch - Act of Grace

Neo-thrash without truly killer songs - 67%

Lane, May 13th, 2012

I've known the band's name for years. I always thought that their trade must be stupidly humorous porngrind, played by some teenage boys. But no, as all my assumptions provided to be wrong. Now that I've got the taste of Virgin Snatch (no pun intended), I've learned that the guys are in their thirties. Oh I see it, it's us guys in thirty-something, that are after... You know what! And they play modern thrash metal with a twist. Well, there's always something new to learn.

'Act of Grace' is this Polish band's, who started back in 2001, fourth full length album to date. This incarnation of the band features vocalist Zielony (Anal Stench, ex-Death Sea), guitarists Grysik (Anal Stench, ex-Death Sea), and Hiro (Sceptic, Dies Irae etc.), bass player Novy (e.g. ex-Vader, ex-Behemoth, ex-Devilyn) and drummer Jacko. It's easy to expect death metal, but the guys need something else sometimes I guess. One would also expect great musicianships and that's what we get. It's just fantastic work all-around, really enjoyable listening! They really add more dimensions even to straighter parts. The vocals are magnificent job. Variety of growls, throat vocals, and clean singing styles, is big. Most notable clean styles are quite similar to Nevermore's Warrell Dane and Testament's Chuck Billy. Generally, every guy seem to give their everything here, also energy and vibe-wise.

The music is modern heavy, groovy and blasting thrash metal with near-death edge to it at times. Modern "blunt" riffing meets old school thrash riffs. There're also some technical moments to be adored. The title track opens the album with flirting bass line and soon truly ripping guitars and damn loud and punchy drums enter the picture. The band names Testament as their biggest influence and it is easy to conform with that. A bloody rolling thrash metal song with loads of parts. 'Slap in the Face' presents the band's more brutal face with its fast-paced smacking. 'Through Fight We Grow' smells of Machine Head's 'Burn My Eyes' (1994) with its slow build-up. 'Daniel the Jack' is like thrashed-up Texan rocker without any originality. 'It's Time' is dedicated to late Witold "Vitek" Kiełtyka of Decapitated, and is a melancholic slow song with acoustic bits. It's not so out-of-place as it at first sounds like, and there's a good reason for it to be there.

All in all, 'Act of Grace' is very North American sounding neo-thrash album. By the way, majority of the lyrics are very USA-tinged, too, about warring governments and dirty politicians, Jack Daniels, and "no money, no to heaven" stuff. It feels like the first five songs are linked, and not only theme-wise, offering the best music on the album. After this, the music strays to wrong paths. Only thrashing 'Don't Get Left behind' can get close to the first half's goodness. And the same tricks are used through the album, e.g. clean sung choruses and parts, which appear in every song.

The production is, in one word, loud. It's skilfully built, because it's filled with nuances and it covers everything from vibrating bass to tinkling cymbals, from ripping guitars to punchy, and does not clog. There's still room for varying vocals over all that.

While the band sound just and just like themselves, thanks to good vocals, it's just unoriginal. Plus, the band like to recycle their own stuff too much from song to song. The first half is good, the second only partly. The first song's intensity is never achieved again, even the band clearly try hard. The performances are energetic, at times exploding. But one thing that really made my head turn towards the score I gave this, is the lack of killer songs. So...

(originally written for ArchaicMetallurgy.com in 2010)

Decent brutal thrash with grooves - 65%

autothrall, October 27th, 2009

Much can be said for the vast Polish death metal scene, perhaps even so for the developing black metal scene, but what of thrash? Aside from a few classic bands in the 80s/90s, some of whom still exist, who carries that torch there?

Virgin Snatch has been developing their brutal thrash for years now, and their previous few albums have been pretty good. Act of Grace is their fourth full-length, and it's a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, the band continues to excel when they're performing the faster paced thrash/death, but the clean vocal touches, and more 'modern' groove metal elements on the album often feel unnecessary. Not 'bad', mind you, but certainly the weak points of the effort.

The title track starts off raging with some driving and exciting, thrashing speed, then some pit grooves before picking up again. The bass is nice and the leads are pretty good. "Slap in the Face" begins fast as fuck before breaking out into some clean vocal breaks and even a pseudo-Meshuggah breakdown. Some of the more exciting riff-fests arrive a little later on the album. "Through Fight We Grow" begins with some great riffing, as does the generally slower "Walk the Line". "Make Another Donation" is an exciting hybrid of melodic death and thrash, with again the exception of some of the clean vocals.

The mix on the album is decent though the harsher 'death' vocals are a little loud. The bass playing is good and the guitars evoke some worthy riffs. I hear more than a little Testament in the charging songs, harmonies and the way the bold vocals, even if they don't sound exactly like Chuck Billy. In fact, the album is far more reminiscent of Bay Area style 80s thrash than the Germanic influence you might expect from a Polish band. The songs here are decent but not really anything I'd return to often. However, fans of 'modern' thrash metal might just have something here to appreciate.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

The album I've been waiting for all 08 - 95%

Kinslayer6, November 26th, 2008

The average person would scoff at a name like Virgin Snatch, and unfourtanetly for them, they have. There's really no doubt that their 'offensive' name scars their reputation, and leaves many missing out on the unique approach to modern - and new age thrash alike, that Virgin Snatch have established as their own. With three previous releases under their belt, S.U.C.K, The Art of Lying, and In The Name of Blood, the band has proved that they are amongst the better bands this millenium has to offer, in terms of thrash. Act of Grace does nothing but solidify that belief, and prove to skeptics that, once you learn to look past the name, this is a band with something unique and fresh to bring to the table.

Act of Grace picks up where In The Name of Blood left off, intense rhythmic guitar work, with beautiful melodies delivered by either the lead guitar, or Zielony's improved clean vocals. To those who are unfirmiliar with Virgin Snatch, they incorporate powerful, and heavy guitar work with complimentary drumwork and basslines, with melodic hooks and alternating vocal styles between a soothing clean and a harsh snarl. The production and mixing is just as one would hope for, everything is mixed flawlessly. Vocals are loud enough to not be drowned out in the mix, but not overpowering. The tone of the drums feels like taking a jackhammer to the chest, and the guitar tone is no exception to this, either. At first glance, this album is everything In The Name of Blood is, but that is certainly incorrect.

Granted, this album does share some shocking similarities to the release before it, but that's merely the band recognizing their unique style, and capturing it to use to their advantage. Unlike many bands who tend to milk their original styles and tend to grow old and predictable over time, V.S. have learnt to utilize their clever approach to a classic genre without growing stale. Infact, noticable improvements are at every turn - from Zielony's stronger clean vocals, to vocals that don't reek of broken english and lack of depth. Of course, hailing from Poland, one would be foolish to expect the band to speak fluent english, and that a heavy accent should be expected, but it seems far less prominent than past releases.

Virgin Snatch continue to show off their diversity on this album, with yet another mellow track titled It's Time. Past mellower songs from the band have lost their emotion through poorly written lyrics, and while the instrumentation and concepts were powerful and thought-provoking, they didn't always hit home quite like one would expect. The closing track is where they showcase their improvement the most, as the vocal delivery is much stronger on this track than past slow tracks. The instrumentation is more powerful, and the lyrics are intelligently strung together, leaving one's doubts (if they could possibly have any) that this band doesn't deserve recognition, in the dust. This album is the furthest thing from a clone of In The Name of Blood. Instead, it's a giant step forward as a band, towards a more defined and captivating sound and style.

In conclusion, this album is easily the best release of 2008 that I have heard. I had high hopes for this album, but it was hard to get an idea of what was to come. I can sincerely say that this album not only met my expectations, but it surpassed them by a landslide. If you are a fan of melodic, and technical thrash metal, I recommend you check out this album. You will not be disappointed.