Harlott - Origin - Album Review

Year: 2013

Something happened when I listened to this record. It was a cold evening in the north eastern Arizona in winter, and the only sounds were that of the traffic on the highway. Under the sound of the distant cars I sat outside somewhat loathing what I was about to hear. Although I had made up my mind to explore the current underground thrash movement, I was convinced that there wasn’t going to be anything to smile about. The judgment was made on prior experience with current thrash bands. One thing was for sure, and that was, I wasn’t ready for what I was about to hear.

So with reluctant fingers I pressed play on my MP3 player. It wasn’t what I was expecting. In fact it had been a whole shitload better than I had thought. My opinion had changed I was certain that this album was going just be ok. But as it progressed through it’s onslaught of galloping picking, and odd time signatures I was finding myself more and more into it. But I will say not all songs are up to par. But the songs that stand out will leave an impression.

With my initial idea of the band in shambles I was convinced after track three that the rest would prove to be an interesting ride. The sound of the album so far as I found seems to be heavily influenced by the bay area thrash movement. But then it happened and once again I was in a state of awe at what I was hearing. 'Heirophobia' began with its slow acoustic build up. I wasn’t sure what to make of the mid-eastern sounding chords had come as a surprise, leading into a song I can only describe as truly unique and as it began to gain pace and progression, I found myself surprised at the amount of gambling the band had done. I have never heard anything that resembles this at all. 

Convinced that they had showed me all that they could I reached the final track, 'Not Long For This World'. I again found myself breathless at their versatility. What had surprised me about this particular track was how melodic it was, it kind of reminded me of the Gothenburg bands. As a whole the album comes together extremely well. From the solos to the riffs everything about this albums is on point. We need more bands like this, this was an extremely refreshing dose of thrash. I would recommend this album for a number of reasons. But if you’re tired of the monotony that gets the label “thrash” these days this would be a good start. But all in the album was great and I can only hope that I review more that are this solid.

Rating: 100%