Customer Reviews

I Infidel

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is unfortunate that the vocals on this release ruin the potential it has. It's unfortunate because Japan's Ritual Carnage plays a very accomplished style of thrash that is hard to find these days (no, Soilwork isn't thrash). The guitar riffing is of the highest quality, you can tell that these guys know Hell Awaits by heart, and the solos I heard were quite killer and placed in all the right spots. The drum playing is as equally impressive, changing into different tempos to avoid the sameness that most modern thrash albums fall trap to, and it adds a lot of color and dynamics to the music. If I were to judge this release by the instrumentation alone, it would get almost a perfect score. This avoids being retro in the sense that it loves ripping off the gods of yesteryear, and instead it injects you with direct, pure thrash songs. But as mentioned in the beginning of this review Dan Montgomery's semi-pitched whiny vocals are simply annoying! It is the impediment that takes away any intensity the material offers. Just picture a bad Geddy Lee imitator singing over Slayer-influenced thrash. It doesn't work.

If anything, I applaud Danny for going back to his 80's style vocals. These guys have been around since the 80's. Quite honestly, I get sick of the "Retro-Thrashers" with the cookie monster vocals, It destroys the music. Maybe he wanted to isolate himself from all the weak cookie monster thrash being released? We will never know. But all around, this CD KICKS BUTT! Wataru and Eddie are definitely 2 of the most under-rated guitarist! These guys SHRED!

This is my 1st Ritual Carnage album I own and am a lifelong Metal fan.(Black,Death,Thrash,Speed.) Most of Ritual Carnage's members are Japanese, their vocalist is Caucasian, Dan Montgomery. This band knows how to Thrash and does it convincingly. I Infidel sounds like old Slayer, DA. and other 80's Bay area Thrash bands, but faster. The only minor thing is Dan Montgomery's vocals. Yes, they do sound whiny. But after a while I got used to them.I'll definitely buy their older releases as well.If you're into Thrash Metal, pick this up.

Here is a thrash metal band from Japan that totally worships Slayer circa Hell Awaits, but there are plenty of other classic thrash bands you can hear in their music. Moments of Anthrax, Vio-Lence, Dark Angel, and even Destruction pop up through and through in their songs. However, there is one major setback to this band - the vocals of Montgomery.

Unfortunately Montgomery's weak, almost Geddy Lee style whiny voice doesn't fit the otherwise kick-ass thrash onslaught on the album. The guitar work is frantic. You probably haven't heard anyone rip it up so mercilessly on the guitar since the late 80's. Awesome twin harmonies transform into razor riffs or sick solos that are simply unbelievable. The riffs on the title track are mammoth with superb drumming. The lead solo on "Thirst for Blood" is out of this world and would leave even the biggest Slayer fans' jaws open. "Axiom" isn't any different. Killer guitars, rolling drums, full-on bass... but terribly weak vocals. The singer tries too hard to sound aggressive but the more he tries the worse it gets. His throaty voice is decidedly better, especially on the only 5-minute piece "Do Not Resuscitate". This is the most technical cut on the album, and the drumming is simply impeccable. The vocals are slightly growled and match the ultra-aggressive of the piece perfectly. There is even a bass solo on this track, and a great one at that. More intricate playing can be heard on "Straight to the Nether Regions" with speed-of-light fretwork. Also, this song features very few vocals, which makes it all the more interesting. The kick drums on "Room 101" and epic arrangement of "Twilight of the All Too Human" are also stand-out moments on the album, but unfortunately the way the vocals are sung just doesn't and won't do it for many a thrash fan. I heard the vocals were a lot better on their previous releases, so hopefully they'll write better harmonies and utilise a more powerful approach to deliver these anti-terrorism statements on their following releases.

Recommended to die-hard thrash fans who can handle incompetent vocals only.