Burn

Okay, first of all this is going to be a very broad review hitting on the main notes and skipping most in between. Now this new thrash album may be a bit generic at times, but that is okay because the album itself is a old school sound album, which is fucking badass. As I said, it is going to be very broad so I will hit on a few songs and leave it at that and give a few complaints.

Okay, the high points first. The opening is a slow and very nice piece of music that leads into the all-out thrash assault that the album is, which is a great fast-paced album. After that, the album hits its high point at Morbid Symmetry. This song has a Havok-style opening riff because there is really no other way to describe it. Then it goes into the heaviest song on the album with the best solo fill. The chorus is great and the riff backing it is amazing. Identity Theft is about posers, which, at the time when this album came out, was a huge issue in the thrash scene and still is. The solo is the best on the album and the rest of the song has a lot of emotion to it. Of course, there is the ending, with the main song Afterburner. Is there really much to be said? Okay, I’ll put it into words. This song kicks your ass 'til you vomit shit. It’s fucking thrash at its finest with a part shouting "Burn" with a Shawn Chavez solo that you can't go wrong with and the group shouts fit so well.

The overall sound is great as well in the sense that it has sort of an old school sound, but a modern one, too, which is okay I guess, but I wish it was just straight old school, though. Think of if like if you have heard another great local band called Vivicide; they mix modern and old school brutal technical death metal for an overwhelming sound. That is probably the best way to describe it, that crunch of the guitars, the boom of the bass, and the power of the drums.

Now the one complaint: it is a bit generic at times. One solo in Identity Theft sounds just like Kirk. That is my only complaint and it’s not too big. Overall, a great addition to the new wave of thrash and a great album if it was released back in, per say, 1991. The new wave needs something non-generic and this band, Exmortus, and Vektor do that. They give you that edge we have always wanted. Anyway, buy this album.
EDIT: changed from 93% to 100%

Havok took me a bit by surprise with their debut EP “Pwn ‘Em All” by making a rather impressive appeal to the past. The element that took me in was that in spite of all the tried and true elements, the thing just managed to thrash like an absolutely motherfucker, taking all the better punk and metal elements of Nuclear Assault and a few other New York outfits and distilling it down to its most potent form. Their first LP “Burn” takes a bit of a more contemporary approach, throwing in a heap of technical elements reminiscent of the past couple of Overkill albums and all the speed a crack addict could ever hope to be able to handle.

Interestingly enough, the first sounds that jump forth from this impressive opus are that of a reserved, restful ballad at the start of “Wreckquiem” (yeah, it’s a corny title, but damn does this song work on every level). Once the thrashing starts on “The Root Of Evil”, all of the most radically heavy parts of “Bloodletting” and “Killbox 13” spring forth like a bad habit, pummeling the ears into submission and softening things up for an awaiting beat down session. For a band cut from the retro-scene, there’s a heap of newer, technical devices at work here that would make Jeff Waters proud.

But for all of the incredible thrashing that goes on right from the beginning, it isn’t until “Morbid Symmetry” that things really get going and all the flurries of notes start circling the speakers like a swarm of angry bees. Amid the occasional low end groove is a mountain of impressive lead guitar work and maddened drumming fit to put a crack right in the middle of the earth. There’s definitely a fair share of older Bay Area tricks worked into the lower riff work, particularly in the rapid gallop work heard on “The Disease”, but for the most part things are held firmly in the New York mode, as can be heard in the melodic as hell “Scabs Of Trust” which listens like an outright return to the early days of Nuclear Assault.

There’s plenty more classic thrashing to go around before this thing is through as well, from the somewhat more restrained and bass heavy “To Hell” to the Annihilator on crack technical wonder that is “Melting The Mountain”, taking a good number of cues from “Human Insecticide”. At times it’s almost a wonder that this band didn’t end up writing “Ironbound” instead of Overkill given the more Pantera-like direction that the latter had been going down the past few albums. And leave us not forget the final brutalizing of what is probably already a severed spinal cord in “Afterburner”, a speeder with literally enough grit to the vocals to make Schmier blush.

You basically can’t go wrong with an album like this, it covers all of the essential bases for a truly kickass thrash album. If there’s any weak link to this otherwise unbreakable chain it’s that the drum production is just a tad bit too loud and kind of gives the rest of the album a semi-mechanical feel not all that different from the first Fueled By Fire album. The clicks in the bass drum are not nearly as bad, but their definitely noticeable. Still, if you’re looking for an auditory bludgeoning to seal the deal, this band is definitely hitting somewhere near the weak part of the skull.

I’ve been listening to Havok’s “Burn” for over a week now, and I have three extremely important opinions on it that I believe the entire population of the world must know about. Yeah, I’m a little self-important like that.

To spoil the main potatoes, here are the three precious opinions of mine as appetizers:

(1) This is the first band I’ve listened to from Denver, Colorado. Now, I don’t know what this “Denver” is, but I’m assuming it’s in the vicinity of South Park (OK, this wasn't exactly an opinion).
(2) This is a great, great album.
(3) It is incredibly un-original. In fact, it is the closest thing to taking someone else’s album and re-playing it in a different key, without it being called plagiarism.

Let's start with (3), and why this is a great album despite being so un-original. "Burn" does nothing new whatsoever. Instead, it chooses to walk and quack exactly like the greatest thrash records ever made. Then, the American saying goes, it must be a great thrash record. Yes it is, indeed.

The most important thing to mention, of course, is the songwriting. Each song is dynamic, well-structured, and well thought of. After the useless (but harmless) intro track, you are taken in with the mid-paced thrashing of "The Root of Evil". It sounds a bit too much like a Testament riff, but it’s a good one. They don't insist on playing the same riff/melody over and over, and throw in a harmonizer, than a few tempo changes and nice riff variations. A good surprise is how high the chunky bass guitar is recorded in the mix, and how beautifully it works for the songs. Ladies and gentlemen, an incredibly enjoyable listening experience is going on right here. They take the time to throw in a little solo right after the bridge, which adds greatly to the feel of the song. These guys know how to play good riffs; they know how to mix them up; they know how to create multiple moments of greatness during each song. They know when to slow it down, and when to go nuts. They have exactly what every band of evil youngsters should have: they care about what they play, they think about it, and they make an effort to make it sound as best as they can. They want to write good songs above all, and succeed greatly in that.

So then, where is the problem? The biggest obstacle to this near-perfect listening experience is that it is impossible to listen to “Burn” without constantly being reminded of its so-very-immediate influences. While the opening track is mostly reminiscent of Testament, the accelerating riff-solo-riff ending of "The Path to Nowhere" takes you to "Hangar 18". The overall Megadeth feel in this song is just too apparent. Various times during "Morbid Symmetry" you will find moments that are directly ripped-off from Testament. Even though they know how to make up for that, the song leaves me thinking about my favorite Testament albums, and I can’t help but wonder whether I should spin one of those instead of this one. See the depths of the problem? Overall, the most immediate influence of “Burn” is early Testament, but there are Slayer (Category of the Dead, Afterburner), Metallica (The Disease, Scabs of Trust, Identity Theft), Kreator and Megadeth moments throughout the album.

In fact, these references are so obvious, and it is so incredibly impossible to write anything about “Burn” without naming thrash giants that I am inclined to reach the conclusion that they do all this a bit too deliberately. Listen to the vocals on "The Disease" and tell me this dude (David Sanchez) isn't deliberately imitating Hetfield, and just having fun with it. Doesn't he sound like he is impersonating Chuck Billy in “Morbid Symmetry”? Haven't I heard parts of “Identity Theft” already from Metallica? Isn't the opening of "Category of the Dead" just a different take on a Slayer riff? Doesn’t the entire intro of this song sound plagiarized? Hence fuckin’-forth, I am left wondering whether the song "Identity Theft" is meant as a playful admission of guilt by the band. Otherwise, the very existence of this song in this album would be too fuckin’ ironic. On the other hand, they perhaps like the aforementioned bands (and thrash classics in general) so much that they don’t get to listen to anything else. What the hell, let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and assume this one. I guess if I tried to envision the music I would have played when I wanted nothing but to headbang to “Hell Awaits” all day, it would’ve been something like “Burn”. As you can see, I’m also generous, forgiving and kindhearted like that (besides being self-important, if anybody is keeping score).

All things considered, "Havok" is a great band who has an urgent need to grow into its own shoes. I hope they find their own path and sound over time, since there is a great amount of talent here that deserves to be remembered as something more than a collection of things ripped off from the eighties.

Highest moments: Afterburner, Morbid Symmetry.
Lowest moment: Identity theft.

The retro thrash/speed metal scene continues to expand and explode here in the USA. At its core: a rabid new generation of 80s worshiping, hi-top sporting maniacs. All but a few arrive with little more than wishful thoughts and an exaggerated sense of nostalgia. Then there are those who really 'get it' and release albums like this one, Burn, debut from Colorado's Havok (naught to do with the German and Swedish death metal bands of the same name). This is no significant contribution to the genre, but it's a well balanced attack and far superior to many of their flash-in-the-pan peers.

Burn is a crisp and punchy debut effort following up a short series of demos and EPs. A lot of the material here is from those prior releases but reworked, and it all sounds good. Had this released in its 'spiritual' decade of origin, the 80s, it'd be the type of album the Bay Area thrash connoisseurs would devour on a Friday night while throwing empty beer cans at poseurs. That isn't to say Havok fuck around, you will not find the corny (and not at all entertaining) lyrics here. These guys have things to sing about aside from beer and 'thrash' itself, and for that I am grateful. As for influences, I believe I already covered this, but you'll hear some Exodus, Megadeth, early Metallica and Testament. Like some of these bands, they've tastefully incorporated the occasional use of acoustics (intro) and a lot of charging melodic hooks in addition to the thrashier riffing. Vocal/guitar-slinger David Sanchez has a hybrid of grit and squeal not unlike a mixture of Chuck Billy, Schmier and Zetro.

There isn't a single track on Burn which fails to deliver consistent songwriting and a few riffs sure to quicken the blood and move the neck into its jackhammering position. I personally enjoyed the frenzied hooks of "Ivory Tower" and "The Disease", but at no point was I moved to skip a track when listening through. Talented but reined in tightly, the riffs are complex enough to keep a guitar fan interested and the leads tend towards memorable. The production is great, good enough for the present but entirely representative of the Golden Decade. I'm glad to see this band hook up with Candlelight Records. Though they offer nothing new in the grand scheme, they're one of the better 'new is old' school thrash metal contenders here in the States and deserve some exposure.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

With the likes of Blood Tsunami, Onslaught and now Havok on their roster Candlelight Records is a label very much getting involved in today's thrash movement, a deviation from its traditional extreme metal leanings and a decision which reflects the popularity for all things thrash again over two decades after the genres' undoubted peak. The problem remains however that of all the bands to have released old-school thrash orientated albums in the past few years, to my ears it is only Blood Tsunami and Municipal Waste who have done so while adding something new to the template rather than simply rehashing past ideas. I'll leave you to decide if Blood Tsunami's extreme metal pedigree has anything to do with that, but for someone who was a thrash obsessive long before this renaissance took full swing the dearth of new styles and ideas is worrying for the longer bands go on repeating what their heroes did the sooner the genre is going to die a stylistic death, resulting in an army of high-top clad 18 year old guys wandering round with no opportunities to get their thrash on. Noone dares imagine the consequences of such a situation...

Of all the areas for comparison against the bands of the mid-80's one thing that can't be levied against today's thrash crop is a lack of ability in playing their instruments. Yes greater and more efficient production techniques these days have accentuated the nuances of the band members performances but the fact remains that today's leading bands (Evile, Gama Bomb, Bonded By Blood, Warbringer, Toxic Holocaust and the list goes on) can handle their weapons, resulting in albums that are always at the very worst mediocre and never bad. Such is the same with Colorado's Havok. The vast majority of their debut album "Burn" is a blur of buzzsawing hyperactive riffs laid atop some intensely speedy drumming and galloping rhythms, all in all being a veritable lesson in how to thrash.

And therein lies part of the problem. For a listener new to thrash metal will find more to enjoy in "Burn" than a miserable old fart like myself but on more occasions than I would like to bare witness Havok's take on the genre feels simply like an excuse to play fast, with no real menace or conviction behind their approaches. Thus on the surface "Burn" plays as another commendable dose of Vio-Lence meets Slayer meets Testament meets Metallica meets Kreator with some good songs like "Ivory Tower" and "Morbid Symmetry" standing out, but Havok's long-term potential cannot be guaranteed from this example such is the over-abundance of band's doing a similarly good job.

Frontman David Sanchez does bewilderingly go through a few styles in the album's 11 tracks, with an overall balance nudging Mr. Chuck Billy on the way to settling down to a fairly standard thrash fare. As my notes dictate however after a number of listens, hard as I may try I do not come away from the album feeling like I have been given a new lesson in thrashing. This feeling can largely be attributed to a lack of truly killer riffs and a production too clinical it has sapped away any individuality that I'm sure the band do genuinely possess in themselves.

Coming up somewhere as a second-tier thrash band of today, Havok have laid a ground mark they can well work to beating next time around; however in the interim "Burn" is a very solid yet largely unmoving thrash album to add to the genre's current revival.

Originally written for Rockfreaks.net