Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
Thrash Metal has been a huge part of my life since its original uprising back in the early 1980s.
Granted, probably a bit more then than now, perhaps, but my love for it is no less legitimate and long-running. This is why I’m always excited to discover a modern band that is keeping the old-school spirit of thrash alive and volatile.
That is certainly the case with today’s band, the Vancouver, British Columbia-based Revenger featuring the quartet of Andrew Bailey (Vocals), J.P. Poulin (Bass), Sean Parkinson (Guitars), and Julia Geaman (Drums).
They have just issued their latest EP, the five-song ‘The New Mythology Vol. 1‘, and make no mistake, the volatile intensity is but a starting point here. Clearly influenced by the bands that pioneered the first wave of thrash, this is the contemporary result of their inspiration within the modern era.
Furiously face-melting, with a riff-driven sense of urgency, songs like “Hex” and “We Want Blood” are raging mosh pit-worthy manglers. Those guitars rip and shred their way through everything, reinforced by the machine-gun drumming and topped off with acidic, searing vocals.
A couple of highlights for me here, the back-to-back fourth and fifth songs especially. The first is “The Man That Shot God“, a monstrous number that explodes after a brief bass-bolstered intro. Chunky and chugging right along, this dense wall of metal features some superbly tight-knit playing, especially in the astounding, kit-killing drum work.
The fifth and final song gets a nod just for its namesake, if nothing else, for who do you know that’s composed an ode to an all-knowing celestial being from Marvel Comics? Yep, that’s “The Watcher (Uatu)” for you, and the song itself is a fitting and most worthy homage indeed.
If you want to indulge yourself with some powerfully aggressive, ferocious metal, then ‘The New Mythology Vol. 1‘ EP from Revenger should do the trick. It is streaming here for your enjoyment and listening pleasure… as well as for purchase at this location.
FYI: Revenger will embark upon a Canadian tour in April and here’s where you can catch them live:
April 21 Kamloops @ Dirty Jersey
