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GAMA BOMB
The Terror Tapes

AFM (2013)
Rating: 6/10

Gama Bomb are an Irish thrash band who, alongside the likes of Havok, Hatchet, Warbringer, Bonded By Blood and Evile, have spearheaded the thrash revival and taken their brand of moshing metal to the masses.

After several trials and tribulations since their inception in 2002, Gama Bomb finds itself at a fourth opus which comes four years after their last offering, 2009’s Tales From The Grave In Space. The Terror Tapes is the first Gama Bomb outing to not feature co-founding member Luke Graham who is replaced by John Roche on guitar who, alongside vocalist Philly Byrne, lead guitarist Domo Dixon, bassist Joe McGuigan and drummer Paul Caffrey, does a sterling job at taking the Gama Bomb sound to the next level.

Admittedly, I’ve never been a big fan of thrash metal that is given a huge dose of humour, and boy do these guys like to inject the comedy. You only have to look at the track titles to see where the band are coming from – ‘Beverley Hills Robocop’, ‘Shitting Yourself To Live’ and ‘Metal Idiot’ to name just a few – but while this is very much tongue-in-cheek crossover thrash, it’s still a hearty listen from beginning to end.

Those unfamiliar with Gama Bomb won’t find anything original amidst the speedy riffs and rampant drums, with all manner of 80s thrash acts influencing the band, whether it’s Overkill – particularly in Byrne’s vocals, which remind me of a young Bobby ‘Blitz’ Ellsworth – or Exodus, in those violent chants and aggressive structures. Even so, when the band do put in the work they can certainly churn out a decent tune. Personal favourites are the hyper thrash workout ‘We Started The Fire’, with its infectious melody and devilish chug, and the fiery ‘The Cannibals Are In The Streets (Therefore) All Flesh Must Be Eaten’.

Gama Bomb are clearly talented musicians who just can’t help but indulge themselves in high levels of buffoonery – even the fantastic album cover is the work of their long time idol Graham Humphreys, the veteran horror movie poster artist whose work includes The Evil Dead and the first five A Nightmare On Elm Street films during the 1980s.

It’s unlikely that Gama Bomb have enough in the locker to establish themselves as serious contenders for the UK thrash throne. After all, what they are doing is nothing new – 80s acts such as Acid Reign and Re-Animator produced similar levels of thrash insanity – but all the while the revival is on then I’m sure they’ll continue with their zany antics. For similar bouts of zombie-infested, beer-guzzling foolishness then check out the godfathers of the thrash revival, Municipal Waste.

Neil Arnold

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