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BURNING NITRUM
Molotov

Punishment 18 (2014)
Rating: 7/10

In 2010, vocalist Dave Cillo formed Burning Nitrum – a thrash metal quintet hailing from Bari in Italy. The band’s debut EP, Pyromani, was released in 2012 to favourable reviews, followed a year later by the ‘Turned To Ashes (Nothing Stands Still)’ single.

For this debut full-length outing, Cillo and original drummer Dario D’Ambrosio are joined by rhythm guitarist Francesco Vivarelli (who joined in 2011), bassist Angelo Fiore (who joined in 2013) and most recent acquisition, lead guitarist Walter Lanotte.

Molotov is a ten-track affair heavily influenced by American thrash legends Vio-lence and Nuclear Assault. Very much a pacey, chugging concern, the album will please those who like bass-heavy, moshing, gang-chanting generic thrash metal where the vocal rants are very much of that Sean Killian (Vio-lence) order – short, snappy raps and rasps – which almost playfully flirt and cavort with the fluent bass chops and guitar fizzes. It appears as reasonably serious thrash metal happy to wear it influences on its sleeve, and while there are times when it spends too much paying homage this is still a half-decent contemporary thrash record featuring strong melodies, good solos and a batch of songs which surprisingly do not begin to grate on the soul after just a few spins.

Of the ten tracks spouted out, I’m more than impressed by the lengthy ‘Remote Of Death’, the flailing ‘Apocalypse Of Pain’ and the whopping eight-minute instrumental ‘Nemesis, The Death Star’ where the band really shows its maturity and are no doubt trying to give those vintage Metallica instrumentals a run for their money.

Having said that, while this is an extremely youthful brand of thrash metal it isn’t without its flaws and at times there are weak elements to some tracks; ‘High Speed Bangers’, for example, is rather weighed down by the cheesy nostalgia when it would have been more beneficial to create something more serious.

However, with these youngsters pinpointing everyone from Kreator, Anthrax and D.R.I. as influences, it’s hard not to admire the way that Burning Nitrum have carved out a record that has taken the nest elements of these great bands and incorporated it into their own boyish strains. I’d still like to hear a touch more progression because there’s only so much a band can go on aping the past, but I do sense that within this straight-laced brand of mosh that there’s a great deal of talent that as times goes on should flourish and produce albums worthy of being slotted alongside peers. For now though, enjoy Molotov for what it is; an energetic thrash assault that hints at finer things to come.

Neil Arnold

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