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GAME OVER
Burst Into The Quiet

Scarlet (2014)
Rating: 6/10

Judging by the band name and logo, I’m guessing that this Italian thrash metal act has an obsession with American thrash legends Nuclear Assault? I could be wrong, but knowing how the current thrash trend is going, before I put this album on I have to say that I was expecting another contemporary work-out that spends all of its time paying homage rather than trying to stand on its own two feet.

Burst Into The Quiet is the second full-length release from this quartet, following on from 2012’s For Humanity. It boasts nine tracks which – like so many thrash albums over the years – pays homage to a few horror movies, and then to sound intelligent likes to commentate on social issues amidst a flurry of surging riffs, wild leads and gang-chanted goofiness alongside the generic rasps of frontman Renato “Reno” Chiccoli.

Thankfully, it’s not the Nuclear Assault imitation I was expecting, but it’s still very much bog-standard thrash that boasts a decent album cover and the usual thrash “look” as Chiccoli is accompanied by drummer Anthony “Vender” Dantone and the guitar duo of Alessandro “Sanso” Sansoni and Luca “Ziro” Zironi.

Now, don’t get me wrong. This is very much passionate thrash metal that nods at goodness knows how many classic thrash bands that you’d probably lose count at the influences, but it’s all delivered with high levels of energy, especially with the racy ‘Masters Of Control’ and the traditional elements of ‘Seven Doors To Hell’. It does tend to sound rather lightweight though, particularly in the percussion department as the band rattles through a rather formulaic batch of songs where for every half-decent track there’s one let down by its mediocrity.

‘C.H.U.C.K.’ is okay, but it just sounds daft with the band members in unison chanting out the track title. ‘No More’ is a tad more rewarding initially with its opening chord, but this is where the tracks all seem to drip into one another. ‘Metropolis Pt.III’ opens with a nice bass tumble, but as usual, the band cannot resist but hurtle into goofiness – the track is literally seconds long and as pointless as a pencil with no lead. Next up is ‘Trapped Inside Your Head’ where the band shows its maturity, but it’s just a shame that this sort of experimentation is short-lived, because it’s easily the best track on the opus with its slow-building introduction of chugging guitars and hard drums.

‘Nuke ’Em High’ – featuring another interesting introduction – and the title track finish the record off; the former is again best as a low tempo stir and even the burst of speed exhibits nice melody, while with the title track it’s the usual moshing madness of galloping drums and gang chants.

When I was a child, I always feared that the world would become over-run with the living dead that – as the product of nuclear Armageddon – would walk the streets in search of human flesh. Now, I’m more concerned by the fact that the zombies have been wiped out by the screaming generic thrash hordes that seem to have bombarded our ears with their own contaminated brand of mosh.

Neil Arnold

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