By Monk
Not to be confused with the Birmingham crüe of almost the same name, German quartet Eradicator have been kicking around the European thrash scene, and evoking the spirit of both the Bay Area and Teutonic progenitors of the genre’s sound, for 12 years now, during which time they have put their collective noses to the grist mill and self-released four albums, to growing amounts of recognition and success – factors which have now led to them finally landing a record deal with those nice chaps at Metalville.
Right from the opening bars of ‘Driven By Illusion’, Eradicator’s obeisance to the old school to the sounds of likes of Death Angel and countrymen such as Destruction, from the frenetic, intertwining riffage and melody-making of Sebastian Stöber and Robert Wied, to the former’s snarling, spitting vocal, all underpinned by Sebastian Zoppe’s solid bass work (although this does tend to get lost in the background mix in several places) and Jan-Peter Stöber’s immense drumming, which would put many of both his predecessors to shame with its mix of intricacy and power, both of which are superbly accentuated by the highly sympathetic production of the fifth Sebastian in this particular musical equation – Seeb Levermann (yes, he of Orden Ogan/Brainstorm/Rhapsody Of Fire fame).
Eradicator do possess that all-important ability to combine speed with melody, aggression with harmony, intricacy with immediacy, not afraid to hit you straight between the eyes and then gently caress your body as it falls to the ground, gently dusting you off and checking your pulse before throwing you, headfirst, straight back into the fray, begging for more of the same. Yes, they wear their generic influences on their sleeves as prominently, and proudly, as their studded wristbands, but that is no bad thing: in fact, it is a very positive one, as it gives the listener an easy reference point upon which to strike their aural basecamp before plunging into the depths of this hugely impressive album.
Eradicator have obviously spent a lot of time developing and crafting their sound, building on the lessons from their previous releases in order to create the maximum impact with this, their label debut. But, at the same time, they have done so without sacrificing any of the energy which the thrash genre, at its very core, needs to trigger the reactions which it does within its devotees. Why it does so is the sort of code that it would take a hundred Robert Langdons to break: maybe they should board the next express train to Rhine-Wesphalia, as Eradicator have decoded it with ease, producing an exemplary piece of modern thrash metal iconography in the process.
- ‘Influence Denied’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
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