EP Review: Insanity Alert – Moshemian Thrashody
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
If you attended Damnation Festival on their eagerly anticipated return to Manchester in Nov 2022, you were probably one of the masses piled into the main room in the middle of the afternoon to watch, what turned out to be, one of the highlights of the day, as Austrian thrashers Insanity Alert tore the Pins & Knuckles stage apart they came and fucked shit up!
For those who enjoyed the five piece thrash outfit, wonderfully led by the diminutive ball of energy that is Heavy Kevy, they are back with 'Moshemian Thrashody' a four song EP that “rides the thin line between familiar and super awkward – like seeing your grandpa in the mosh pit”. With a running time of just over twelve and a half minutes, it’s putting the party atmosphere back on the map as there’s nothing better than having a good time.
'Welcome to the Moshpit' is a parody of quite a famous song by Guns N Roses, with some wonderfully appropriate lines as “You know where you are? You’re in the moshpit fuckface, You’re gonna die” which made me howl. It’s fast and furious, just like a thrash song should be, but as soon as it begins, it’s over in a flash and we head straight into 'Beer in the Park' their homage to Iron Maiden, with such wonderful lyrics such as “I have an ice cold beer that just won’t drink itself” and again, it’s all over far too quickly.
The third song of the EP gives the crossover thrash treatment to that bastion of 80’s pop George Micheal, with their magnificently titled 'Beerless Fiesta'. This has had me in stitches, as it is just epic, with such hilarious lines as “I’m never gonna drink again, poor old liver has taken a beating” I mean, who hasn’t thought this from time to time after a night out! This, to a super-fast thrash beat is going to be a winner for years to come.
And then it all ends with one of Queen’s classic tracks getting a thrash makeover, with 'Moshemian Thrashody' full of theatrics and chaotic solos, in between Heavy Kevy shouting “I’m just a small dude, this is no place for me, It’s the wall of death, please God no!” or the comic “I see a little silhouetto of a beer, On the bar, on the bar, will you grab it and drink it?”
Seriously, if you don’t enjoy this then you really need to get a sense of humour bypass done as this is full on bonkers and demonstrates the genius of Insanity Alert.
