Album Review: Game Over - Hellframes
Reviewed by Sam Jones
The realm of Italian thrash might be one of the most overlooked avenues of thrash, at least within European metal. One of Italy’s most prominent acts, Game Over, now return with their fifth album, their first full length release in six years. Formed in Ferrara, Italy, back in 2008, the band have slowly become of Italy’s most successful thrash bands releasing g a slew of material that not only has seen the band advance in ability but also in international praise for each succeeding record has seen the band continuously praised for their particular take on thrash. Ever since their first album, For Humanity, in 2012, Game Over have released album after album that fans and the wider metal collective on the whole have throughly enjoyed with Burst Into The Quiet (2014) and Crimes Against Reality (2016) each pushing the band’s name further each time. With Claiming Supremacy, their last released album in 2017, this marks the longest wait between album releases so no doubt fans are ravenous to finally pick Hellframes up when it’s unleashed through Scarlet Records, and on October 20th.
You have to love thrash records that aren’t afraid to let their audience stew some more within the opening track; Game Over, in this instance, ease us into Hellframes with an introductory piano and ambient piece that, while far from anything we’ve never heard before, is absolutely unique from the typical string sections and operatic vocals that is often associated with symphonic sequences. What’s more, it clearly rises and falls as any standard work of songwriting would do too so it hasn’t been thrown in for superficial reasons, but situated for legitimate purposes to give audiences that rising tension before the music finally kicks in fully. When the band do begin in earnest, it’s a surprisingly polished and clear performance that enables us to move alongside the band at any given moment. There’s little to indicate the songwriting will become progressively dirtier either as the record proceeds, for the band’s aesthetic is rooted in providing fans, new and old alike, with thrash that doesn’t require much effort on their part to easily enjoy.
With that said, the band’s greater sense of clarity ensures there are fewer variables to get in the way of their performance and how the audience experiences Hellframes. There’s nothing to muddy or interfere with the gap between listener and band and therefore, it requires fewer listens to get the feeling that we’ve absorbed the majority of Game Over’s experience herein. Often that’d be viewed as a drawback, but since the picture is clearer here than in some other thrash acts it means the general impact of their riffs and songwriting finds its target with a much fiercer and pinpoint impact than if the band had deliberately dirtied their soundscape with a grittier and more biting aesthetic. The riffs themselves don’t linger for too long once the note or chord is played and therefore it doesn’t hammer away at the senses, nor do the band try to establish any sense of cacophony or enveloping sonic environment. The riffs and songwriting are played out for us, then they move on. It’s thrash that’s played aggressively albeit with none of the needless fat inbetween.
One curious element that Hellframes possesses is its ability to instil a bouncing, jovial sensibility without it coming across as directly cheesy. Let’s be clear: Game Over a seasoned thrash act through and through, yet they demonstrate an element you don’t hear from many thrash bands these days, a sense of journey. When you’re listening to these tracks, from time to time, you’ll feel like you’re seamlessly bouncing and vibing along to the songwriting because of how natural it feels. It’s worth noting that the band do give us faster, more typical thrash songs but it’s counterbalanced by these steadier, more time-investing pieces that really enable us to get fully on board as a song like “Path Of Pain” really makes the thrash in question feel like an adventure. This is supported by the vocal performance that, while is far from the most aggressive delivery I’ve heard, excellently complements the songwriting by seemingly working in tandem with the riffs and drumming so, when the band are enacting these steadier sequences of tracks, it feels like the entire band has merged into a single, cohesive unit. It makes their sound so much more believable and showcases that the band are here to do much more than rattle your head.
I have to admire the variety of tracks that the band have put into this record. Hellframes is absolutely a thrash album, but I appreciate how the band didn’t just chuck in ten simple songs and call it a day without actually trying to write music that people can become invested in. “Atonement” is a nice and short instrumental that not only gives us a breather but sees to it we are pumped once more for the oncoming second half of the album. The aforementioned “Path Of Pain” is much steadier and gives us a sense we’re riding with the band from start to finish, but then you have “Count Your Breaths” which is the band’s closest thing akin to a thrash ballad on record herein. Speaking of which, I can’t recall the last time a thrash band I heard, releasing a new album, included any kind of acoustic work. But throughout the record, the band’s thrash attacks is hardly the same form twice. Riffs are continuously unique and the drum’s strikes are always present, setting the pace calmly so we never lose sight of where the songwriting may be taking us. For Game Over, thrash is far from a one and done thing and, this record being their first in six years, it’s reassuring to see they’ve lost none of their expertise in that time.
In conclusion, Hellframes is a wondrous example of modern thrash done right. Game Over return with their first album in six years and just dominate the scene, showcasing thrash ought to be played when the intention isn’t solely fixed upon utter devastation at all times. Hellframes doesn’t merely let you breathe once in a while but is a breath of fresh air, whereupon one can fully listen and take in the experience this album throws up without feeling like your senses are being crushed. It’s excellently well written and has plenty of variety and balanced pacing to keep us entertained and satisfied all the way through. I feel like I’ve done this band a personal disservice by not checking them out properly years beforehand, for if their back catalogue is anything along the lines of Hellframes then Game Over are steadily building quite the repertoire of material for fans to delve into. This was a great album and I’m glad Game Over are now a band I can happily look out for.
