Blood Feast - "The Future State of Wicked" (Hells Headbangers, 2017)

Band: Blood Feast
Title: The Future State of Wicked
Genre: Thrash Metal
Year: 31th March 2017
Time: 43 min
Rating: 83/100













Now you could say that Hells Headbangers is specialized at releasing reunion's albums of bands that, in some cases, had no chances to realize their long-held debut album during their ole good days. And I have to say that these reunions supported by Hells Headbangers gave often to life true masterpieces like the debut "Sights of Suffering" (2014) of the Chileans Atomic Aggressor or the deadly "Emanations from the Crypt" (2016) of the US Embalmer but I cannot say the same thing about, for example, the comeback "Heaven Bled" (2016) of the Aussie thrash metal cult Hobbs' Angel of Death, that I found too black metal to be an album of theirs. And you think that "Descent Into Hell", the long-desired debut album of Death Yell, a band of pure cult like few others, will be released next month. But, instead, today we are talking about Blood Feast, a sanguinary quintet born in 1985 as Blood Lust that released two seminal albums between 1987 and 1989, especially the ultra-wild debut "Kill for Pleasure". Now, I think that you know all but Blood Feast were reunited in 2007 with two original members as the drummer Kevin Kuzma (but he is out from the band since 2014) and the guitarist Adam Tranquilli, the main songwriter of Blood Feast since their very early days. So, it is with an incredible old-school spirit that he composed "The Future State of Wicked", that looks completely to be a thrash album from the '80s also because its cover artwork see the return of that abominable and screaming blue creature that belongs to the aesthetics of the band since "Kill for Pleasure".

The first thing I like about "The Future State of Wicked" is the fact that it starts without one of those fuckin' intros now fashioned into the today's extreme metal slaughtering, instead, the ears of the listeners with the devastating "INRI". It's from here that you have to expect an hammering and savage thrash metal mania supported by the tortured screams of Chris Natalini and by the two guitarists Adam Tranquilli and CJ Scioscia that have a fuckin' fun to spew forth a blood shower of guitar solos, especially starting from the second song "Off with Their Heads", also if the two guys are very able to adapt them in according to the various situations. The incredible thing is that the thrash metal made in Blood Feast is so hammering and savage that the first not fast tempo is listenable only into the intro on tom-toms of the fourth song "By the Slice" but, in spite of all this speed and ruthless, Blood Feast never tire the listeners also because they offer a sinister and dark atmosphere during unexpected slow tempos.

In this sense, are exemplary the longer songs like "The Underling" and, especially, "Who Prays for the Devil", both long 6 minutes. The first one contains an obsessive doom metal passage interrupted abruptly by a very fast and angry restart. Instead, "Who Prays..." surprise everyone with its dark intro which remind to me some evocative proto-black metal moments of bands like the British Sabbat, then developed wonderfully during the last seconds of the song. There is need absolutely to mention also "Remnants II", a short instrumental that starts ferocious and ends in a slow and atmospheric quasi-black metal way with the addition of arpeggios full of a cursed aura but this track is nothing than a sort of continuation of "Remnants", the closing number of the second album "Chopping Block Blues".

At the end, you discover a thrash metal album which is both traditional and surprising with its unexpected touches of class proposing also light modern solutions like the guitar dissonances of "Brethren" (one of the better songs also due to a contagious and groovy riffing). And finally, a bit particular is "Last Rites", that is the less fast song of the album but strong of menacing drums and a riffing sometimes close to death metal.

But now stop with all this because "The Future State of Wicked" is very fit for the most diehard thrash maniacs considering that the songs are intense and well structured, there is a good level of inventiveness and it is perfect for the fans of Slayer/Exodus/Kreator with sinister proto-black metal moments à la Sabbat. Sure, someone will prefer still "Kill for Pleasure" also because the original singer Gary Markovitch had a diabolic voice à la Jeff Becerra but fuck these considerations and listen to the new album of Blood Feast. In every case, it's always fantastic when you listen to an old band that, after many years, returns with a new album playing with the same convinction and passion of the ole good days.

Tracklist:

1 - INRI
2 - Off with Their Heads
3 - Brethren
4 - Slice
5 - The Underling
6 - The Last Rites
7 - Who Prays for the Devil
8 - Nein
9 - Remnants II
10 - The Burn

Line-up:

Chris Natalin - vocals
Adam Tranquilli - guitars
CJ Scioscia - guitar
Tom Lorenzo - bass
Joe Moore - drums

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/bloodfeastlegions
BandCamp: http://blood-feast.bandcamp.com/
Hells Headbangers: http://shop-hellsheadbangers.com/