Album Review: Thrasherwolf - We Are Revolution
Reviewed by Paul Hutchings
If you listen to the UK Thrashers podcast or follow the sites various social media streams, you may have heard the recent interview with London four-piece Thrasherwolf. A genuinely entertaining listen, the band appeared as humble and honest musicians striving to get a foothold on the ever more crowded ladder of UK thrash metal bands. Formed in 2016, the band consists of Daniel Lucas on Vocals/guitar, drummer Billy Lucas, Jack Saunders on guitar and bassist Alex Mitsis. 2018 saw the release of their EP ‘Blood Moon’ and now their debut long player ‘We Are Revolution’ is ready for release.
After a stirring oratory which serves as an introduction, the band do something audacious. They open the album with ‘War’, an eleven-and-a-half-minute opus. Now, for your debut release that takes some balls. ‘War’ also allows the listener to acquaint themselves with the various influences that permeate through the band because in this one song you can hear a thousand different thrash motors all humming away. There are elements of everything from Slayer to Kreator, Sodom to Xentrix, Onslaught to Exodus. And at the end, it is a rather good start to the album. A raging rallying cry against oppression, a defiant fist in the sky, the spirit of an independence that is being ground down in society today. Powerful subject matter delivered against a backdrop of multiple changes of tempo, from straight up thrashing riffage to the slower brooding and muscular style.
Once this behemoth of an opener is complete, Thrasherwolf head to a slightly more conventional approach with ‘Vortex’ an old school rager. Unafraid with changes of pace and direction, this is as straight up and in your face as anything on the album. Daniel Lucas has a snarling delivery which works well whilst the band are tight and on point. A short, sharp kick to the chops is next, with the two minute ‘The Pack’, before their recent release ‘Good Old Fashion Violence’ arrives. I really enjoyed this track when it first emerged, and nothing has changed the opinion. It’s gritty, ballsy and drenched in the sweat of the old school. A track destined to cause carnage in the pit, it’s got a great hook that lingers long in the memory and a simple delivery that works well.
Thrasherwolf aren’t afraid to mix things up as you’ll have guessed by now. The pacey power of ‘Vermillion Steel’ is followed by the stomp of ‘Vanity’. One of the weaker tracks on the album, there’s still plenty to enjoy with the heavy riffs taking on an almost Slayer style at times. The dark, atmospheric ‘Ruin’ leads us into Metallica territory, and the one track I struggled with slightly. The darkness of the song works well, as does the brooding build up but there is something missing. It’s ambitious, and with further plays I think my slight anxiety will dissipate. That leaves album closer ‘Blood Moon’, already a known song to fans of the band and another impressive, lengthy track that demonstrates the determination and ambition that burns within the band. ‘Blood Moon’ has an epic feel; a slow burning first section erupts into a raging, explosive maelstrom of thrashing riffs with the singalong chorus catching in the memory banks. With a wall of riffs leading the second half of the song, the explosive solos scream out of the darkness as things move to a conclusion.
This may come across as slightly patronising which is not the intention. ‘We Are Revolution’ is a solid and impressive debut album. It’s slightly raw in places, a little routine in other areas but overall is a throbbing, pulsing record that sits nicely in the pile of 2020 UK thrash releases. It’s well worth getting involved with.
The album is released on 18th September.
Header image credit: Jay Russell Photography
