By DJ Monk
For the past decade or so, Shrapnel have been one of the bands at the vanguard of the new wave of British thrash metal. While they may not have earned the international recognition or acclaim enjoyed by some of their contemporaries, they have continued to fly the flag for the genre in this particular corner of the Überverse, guaranteeing one thing along the way: anytime you put a Shrapnel album on your deathdeck, or go to see them live, your neck muscles will end up resembling the band’s name… ‘Palace For The Insane’ marks something of a new beginning of the East Anglian lads, as it is the first album since they stripped down to a four-piece, with the newly recruited Aarran Tucker taking over both the bass and vocal duties…
This change has given the band the time to evaluate their position, with the result seeing them strive to develop a new approach to both their song writing and delivery, in an attempt to produce a canon of work more diverse than their previous offerings, while still remaining true to their thrash roots. And they have struck the balance well, as ‘Palace…’ is an ambitious album (not least in its length), and one which combines technicality with raw aggression in a way which many thrash acts fail to balance. It also has a sense of maturity, both lyrically and musically, counterparted with that of a band having fun doing what they do best.
The sound of ‘Palace…’ is huge. It is rich and vibrant, with multiple layers to explore and consider, but at the same time never losing sight of its main goal, which is to get necks snapping in time to some seriously heavy riffage – and there certainly is more than enough of that present to sate the appetite of even the thirstiest thrash-head \m/. With the twin guitars bouncing between the speakers, and Tucker’s vocals bringing a renewed sense of anger-fuelled hunger, the balance between the attention to detail and keeping things fresh and vibrant is finely wrought and achieved with aplomb. A prime example of this is the epic ‘Begin Again’, which enables Shrapnel to do just that with its evocative mix of traditional thrash miens, hardcore challenges and atmospheric prog interjections: a heady mix, but a truly rewarding one.
It’s a real shame that, as with every other artist, the current crisis is preventing Shrapnel from promoting this excellent collection of songs in the traditional way of getting out there and laying them down straight into our faces and souls in the live environment, as it is also easy to hear how the band have thought about how to deliver them on stage. Hopefully, they’ll get that opportunity in the not too distant future… until then, turn the volume up another notch, crack open another beer and make sure there’s an icepack in the freezer, ‘cos your neck muscles are gonna need one!
- ‘Palace For The Insane’ is released on 15 May. You can get your copy HERE.
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