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GAMA BOMB
Speed Between The Lines

AFM (2018)
Rating: 6.5/10

I’m gonna be honest here and say I drifted away from Irish thrashers Gama Bomb after their second release 2008’s Citizen Brain, although at the time I did appreciate their brand of feel good thrash. In a way I’m glad I veered off the Gama Bomb path, as now, hopefully, I can reboot my interest with what is the bands sixth full-length album.

With this new release we get the usual humorous tales, the splashes of moshing colour but enough sturdy music to keep the head banging. Admittedly the new wave of thrash that began around 20 or so years ago left me cold for the most part, probably due to the constant aping of the 80s acts and the really poor injections of humour. Fortunately, with Speed Between The Lines there’s enough of an identity to separate Gama Bomb from the original gods of the field such as Anthrax, who were and still are an influence on the lads.

Opener ‘Give Me Leather’ showcases the solid, smooth production and the charging guitar dynamics of John Roche and Domo Dixon who provide some admirable leads. But, and it’s a big but, Gama Bomb still remains nothing more than a steady thrash monster that just doesn’t have the ability to bite its listener. Instead, we get a rather all-round feeling and there’s something cosy and very much groove-based and warm about the melodies on offer.

The only real spice is provided by the shorter, snappier titles such as ‘A Hanging’, ‘Alt-Reich’, ‘Stay Rotten’ and ‘We R Going 2 Eat U’, all of which are infectious thrashers straight out of the American book of 80s cranium-splitters. Each tune slips into punky aesthetics whereby gang chants are matched by chugging speed riffs and I’m swept up in a whirlwind of memories as images of Anthrax, Exodus, Lääz Rockit et al spring to mind.

I do feel that because of that initial new wave of bands, a lot of stuff that has emerged since seems rather Americanized, which is a shame. Long gone are the days when acts such as Sabbat told tales of rustic evil and ancient, clandestine beliefs.

However, Gama Bomb, like, say, Re-Animator back in the day remains a steady force able to supply a tirade of technicolour riffs, mainly in the form of favourites such as the pacey ‘666teen’, the bruising ‘Motorgeist’ and the bass heavy rumble of ‘Bring Out The Monster’, which is still essentially daft, dated metal. Damn, if this had come out in 1987 the critics would have panned it as another cartoon-stained thrash in the pan, and that’s still my issue with so much of this tomfoolery that an abundance of current thrash acts seem so eager to incorporate.

But behind those silly, goofy faces and dodgy lyrics is a band that remains belligerent at least, although I still remain on the fence towards such an outing, wondering why such themes remain appealing. But each to their own, and I’m sure Gama Bomb and new wave of thrash fans will enjoy this platter of pleasantness.

Neil Arnold

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