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DISTILLATOR
Revolutionary Cells

Empire (2015)
Rating: 6/10

Thrash metal from the Netherlands is the order of the day here, Distillator being a rather routine stalk slash and thrash trio which formed in 2013.

The curious vocal yelps are provided by one Laurens H. (who also plays guitar), who is actually more of a force when he sticks to those devilish sneers. Nevertheless, he always seems too eager to squeeze the balls and deliver high end squeals and screams which don’t always sit comfortably with the ears. Indeed, it’s like listening to a poorer version of Slayer’s Tom Araya at times.

Even so, Revolutionary Cells is a reasonable thrash metal tour de force, which also features the galloping bass of Frank R. and drum talents of Marco P.. The trio joins in riotous fashion for the clunking ‘Guerrilla Insurgency’ and the hasty ‘Saturation Bombing’, which features some nice leads and frantic percussion.

For all of its passion and thrashing energy though, I’m guessing that Distillator could well be swallowed by a genre which will no doubt disappear up its own arse due to too many bands all sounding the same. Although Distillator prefer to take their thrash metal conjuring more seriously than others, it’s still very much standard fare that hints at those ever recognisable Slayer hammerings with a vein of Teutonic pulverisation thrown in for good measure.

The hyper ‘Shiver In Fear’ hurtles by without any real effect although it does boast a nice passage of chugging, but thankfully the lengthier tracks such as ‘Distinct Or Extinct’ and ‘Sacred Indoctrination’ allow the listener to sink the teeth in just a little further. However, the harsh reality is there is nothing overtly memorable about what ultimately is a formulaic thrash record. The aforementioned ‘Distinct Or Extinct’ sort of serves itself up initially as a cross between Slayer and Anthrax, and there’s a nice groove going on with ‘Bloody Assault’ which also evolves into a belligerent if somewhat fleeting mosh up.

‘Suicidal’ begins with a nod to traditional metal mixed with more Slayerisms before rattling at such a pace that to headbang to such a row could be nigh on fatal but again, for all its vigour and frothing it is still a mediocre thrash-by-numbers exercise. It brings nothing new to the table, but then again I have a feeling these sort of bands have no interest in that and are more than happy to spend their brief careers paying homage to the 80s.

Distillator are not the first and certainly won’t be the last when it comes to digging the grave of thrash metal and resurrecting those old riffs and vocal outburst, but if I had to stand every one of these new bands in a line and separate the wheat from the chaff then I’d happily highlight this Dutch posse as being one of the more listenable, in spite of its numerous flaws.

Neil Arnold

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