Review:
The Retro-Thrash revival is still in full effect. Just as quickly as it re-exploded on the scene it has seemed to already have left a bad taste in some of the metal "elite's" mouth. Personally, since we can't freeze time and stay in the 80's I'll gladly take new material from bands that stay true to the groundwork the founding fathers of thrash laid down.
Not every band is going to be worthy of praise but Mantic Ritual definitely gets some kudos. It sounds like these guys spend most of their time listening to records like Kill'em All and early Anthrax. Instead of going straight for the throat like a band like Warbringer, Mantic Ritual decides to keep some melody in their music. You can bang your head, toxic waltz, or just simply party to this record. The blend of straightforward thrash, melodic breaks and choruses, and catchy guitar solos are sure to please anyone that enjoys some good old American thrash.
Dan Wetmore's vocals are also something that caught me buy surprise. At first I couldn't quite put my finger on it but eventually I figured what he was going for. He sounds remarkably similar to James Hetfield in his early days. Some decent singing ability mixed with a high scratchy growl. At times though Wetmore definitely sounds pretty close to Joey Belledonna as well.
I also love the fact that dudes look the part. If you look at the back of the booklet to this record you'd have a heard time not believing me if I told you this record was released in 1986. From the sound to the look, these dudes are legit and I full respect that. They're also from Pennsylvania. Being from the Land Of Kings also earns some brownie points.
I seriously recommend this to anyone that enjoys the thrash of yesterdays. I'm really enthralled by this record. A friend of mine recommended them to me awhile ago (when they were still called Meltdown) and I just kind of blew them off figuring they'd sound like a bunch of the other generic bands he was bragging about. I'm glad I completely blow them off and gave them a shot now. This record is going to be staying in the rotation for awhile.
I found this hard to get into because it didn't bring anything new to the table. Thought it was executed well but it was just too much of a peaen to the past.
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