Mantic Ritual – Executioner
Nuclear Blast Records

(3.5/5)

Nuclear Blast Records has been a label of great artists for years and there have been quite a few great debut albums that have come through the label. Mantic Ritual’s Executioner is no exception! Now, as much as I love Heavy metal and many of its sub genres, Thrash metal has never been at the top of the list and it probably never will be, but I have to give it to these guys. When first listening to the album, I heard the first track or two and thought “Great. Just another Thrash band with the same old repetitive drum beat.”, but I was proved wrong. It does start off with the obligatory Punk style drum beat, but the rest of the album progresses into a great mixture of old school Thrash influences such as Slayer, Metallica, and Megadeth with the new Thrash to create an excellent overall debut. The members I have to give the most credit to are the guitarists Dan Wetmore (also vocals) and Jeff Potts. I am a firm believer in the rhythm section of a band (being a bass player myself), but these two guys really help the experience of this album turn away from the same old same old sound of today’s Thrash, and they bring a true form of Thrash to the table. Some of the main tracks I would focus on for these guys’ shredding solos and guitar play are “Black Tar Sin” (Track 3), “Death and Destruction” (Track 4), “By the Cemetery” (Track 10), and “Next Attack” (Track 11). “By the Cemetery” is the main one of those four because the opening shred in the song and the later shredding guitar solos as well as the smooth transition into “Next Attack” where there are no holds barred to finish out the album. Overall, Executioner is a great album for any Thrash fan to have in their arsenal.

Loren Battle – Words Begin Wars
Unsigned

(4/5)

The battle has begun and this war has been started by words! This is not a literal battle, but the debut album from Phoenix-based Metal band Loren Battle entitled Words Begin Wars! With an extreme similarity to the sound of early August Burns Red and early As I Lay Dying, Loren Battle is showing that “beauty” and “brutality” can be combined in musical and vocal aspects. This style of, what I would call, Metalcore combines an in-your-face brutality in the music as well as in the growled and screamed vocals with a more “beautiful” vocal style in the clean singing and some great melodic aspects in the music. These guys already have a reputation for a great live show and it’s reflected in this debut album by the intensity of the music and extremely talented musicianship of the individual members. Just to take it over the edge, Loren Battle also incorporates 808′s into their music giving it that extra bass blast at moments to really keep you pumped up. If you thought I couldn’t get any more excited about this album, then realize I haven’t even gotten to the overall theme of it. The title Words Begin Wars was influenced by the albums lyrics that are aimed to inspire the listener to “stay positive and keep your head up in turbulent times” according to bassist Eric Davis. That just makes this album that much better in my opinion. Getting deeper into the album, I have a hard time elevating any one track over any of the others, but to get a good feel for this band, I’d suggest listening to “Intro/A Hero’s Nightmare” (Tracks 1 & 2), “Remember the Archer” (Track 5), “Paper Hearts + Scissors” (Track 6), and “When Angel’s Sin” (Track 11). These tracks are all very powerful and provide a glimpse at what this band is about musically. Overall, Words Begin Wars is an excellent album that will have you pumped up and ready to jump into the mosh pits in no time!