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THRASH BOMBZ
Mission Of Blood

Iron Shield (2014)
Rating: 7/10

With a name like Thrash Bombz you’d expect these Italians to be another band on the thrash revival trip, and you’d be correct in that assumption. This moshing Sicilian quintet have been banging heads since 2007, so it’s about time they got round to releasing their debut album. Only a demo, an EP and a split with fellow Sicilians Maghanat and Aneurysm has beefed up their discography, but this new 12-track affair should attract a few new fans.

As I expected, Mission Of Blood isn’t going to change the face of thrash metal, but it’s an upbeat and fairly aggressive record boasting the gritty vocal sneers of Leonardo Botta, who has a touch of the Max Cavalera (Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy, ex-Sepultura) about his voice mixed with a German thrash influence (think Sodom and Destruction).

Musically of course, it’s a mix of those too with the usual high dose of Slayer thrown in. In spite of its pace, Mission Of Blood isn’t as mediocre as one would initially assume because it is quite rough around the edges, offering ragged guitars and gnarly percussion. Admittedly, none of the songs really stand out, but as one long 40-minute thrash workout there are far worse works you could lend a severed ear to.

Of course, the lyrical theme is war and the results of such conflicts, with tales of toxic infection and upheaval. The more it goes on, the more Slayer-like it becomes, especially with some of the melodies. This is particularly the case with the opening ‘Mosh Tank’ and ‘City Grave’, but there are also occasional dashes of San Francisco Bay Area thrash as the bass clunks along, although with its greyer patches there is more of a Sodom / Destruction hue about it.

Of all the songs I really enjoyed the crunchy assault of the title track, and the classy melody of ‘Dead Body Hanged’ with its infectious riff and seething vocal. ‘Necrosis’ is equally scathing in its approach, but more impressive through its lead-work which introduces us to the forthcoming barrage.

Surprisingly solid throughout, Mission Of Blood does actually sound old rather than generic and full of mimicry. So, if you can get your teeth into the likes of ‘Fear Of The Light’ with its deathlier aspects, then I’m sure you’ll find that the myriad of influences don’t drag this record down. In fact, by paying homage to the 80s thrash scene, Thrash Bombz have constructed a rather fleshy little record – the sort that Slayer hasn’t provided us with since the early 90s!

Neil Arnold

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