| Written by Alex Stojanovic TRACK LISTING Post-Truth Era Fear Campaign Betrayed By Technology Ritual Of The Mind Interface With The Infinite Dab Tsog Phantom Force Cosmetic Surgery Panpsychism Merchants Of Death Don't Do It Release Date: May 1, 2020 Label: Century Media Records Website: www.havokband.com www.facebook.com/HavokOfficial |  |
HAVOK IS:
David Sanchez - Lead vocals & guitars / Reece Scruggs - Lead guitars / Pete Webber - Drums / Brandon Bruce - Bass
David Sanchez - Lead vocals & guitars / Reece Scruggs - Lead guitars / Pete Webber - Drums / Brandon Bruce - Bass
While there are some bands that are pushing back the release dates of their new albums due to COVID-19, many bands are still releasing their new albums right on schedule. One of the bands that released on schedule is Havok with their fifth studio album, aptly titled V. Now, in my opinion, the last two Havok albums: Unnatural Selection (2013) and Conformicide (2017) didn't really live up to the hype. They weren't terrible at all because there were some great songs on both records, I just felt that the songwriting wasn't as excellent as we hoped it would be, and on top of that, there were some flaws in the production with no punch in the guitars, and the drums were clicky instead of pounding. With the new album, it feels like some of the punch that was lacking in the production on the last two records has returned, but still, nothing beats the punch (and the songwriting) on Time Is Up.
The album begins with the thrashy triple shot of "Post-Truth Era", "Fear Campaign" and "Betrayed By Technology". The main riff in "Fear Campaign" sounds like a riff you would hear on a racing video game. For the longest time, I was always on the fence about David Sanchez's vocals. For a thrash vocalist, I find his high notes a bit too much on the screechy side, kind of sounding like nails on a chalkboard. "Ritual Of The Mind" seems to pay homage to Metallica, because the main mid-tempo galloping riff and groove fades in slowly, pretty much like "Eye Of The Beholder", and the double-kick section at the end gives off a vibe similar to "One", with a little mix of Gojira. As a matter of fact, the Metallica influence is so strong on almost this whole album. You can tell that the intro to "Post-Truth Era" was inspired by "Blackened".
Metallica isn't the only influence here. It goes without saying that as soon as you hear the opening riffs and fills of "Phantom Force", the first thing band that comes to mind is Slayer. To my ears, it sounds like they've created their own version of "War Ensemble". The closing track "Don't Do It" is the longest song on the album. The clean intro is also very Slayer-esque, sounding very much like something off Seasons In The Abyss. It's a mid-tempo groover of a track for the most part, with a faster thrashy section towards the end, which doesn't really last too long, and it closes with an acoustic outro.
One thing about Havok that nobody seems to address, but is so obvious, is the amount of bass players that they've gone through in their fifteen years of existence. Ever since Burn came out in 2009, they've had a different bassist on each album that came after, which makes us all wonder how long Brandon Bruce is going to last before the next album. Now, I don't say that with hate, it's merely an observation. Trivium have been a target for this kind of joke for going through several drummers, but I just found it kind of weird that nobody ever said anything about Havok going through the amount of bass players that they have.
To sum it up, V as a whole, seems like a collection of the same re-used riffs we've heard in thrash a million times already, and pretty uninspired lyrics. Lyrically, when Conformicide came out, much of the criticism for that album was pointed to the lyrics, which sounded like they were all based on conspiracy theories. If you weren't a fan of the lyrics on Conformicide, then I highly doubt that you'll be enjoying the lyrics on this album. While many of those cliche thrash riffs always sound great, especially with the great production, the album certainly struggles to stay afloat. The front half contains the better collection of riffs and whole songs, while the back half seems very lackluster.
Highs: Production is a huge improvement over the last couple of albums.
Lows: David Sanchez's screechy vocals and many recycled thrash riffs.
The album begins with the thrashy triple shot of "Post-Truth Era", "Fear Campaign" and "Betrayed By Technology". The main riff in "Fear Campaign" sounds like a riff you would hear on a racing video game. For the longest time, I was always on the fence about David Sanchez's vocals. For a thrash vocalist, I find his high notes a bit too much on the screechy side, kind of sounding like nails on a chalkboard. "Ritual Of The Mind" seems to pay homage to Metallica, because the main mid-tempo galloping riff and groove fades in slowly, pretty much like "Eye Of The Beholder", and the double-kick section at the end gives off a vibe similar to "One", with a little mix of Gojira. As a matter of fact, the Metallica influence is so strong on almost this whole album. You can tell that the intro to "Post-Truth Era" was inspired by "Blackened".
Metallica isn't the only influence here. It goes without saying that as soon as you hear the opening riffs and fills of "Phantom Force", the first thing band that comes to mind is Slayer. To my ears, it sounds like they've created their own version of "War Ensemble". The closing track "Don't Do It" is the longest song on the album. The clean intro is also very Slayer-esque, sounding very much like something off Seasons In The Abyss. It's a mid-tempo groover of a track for the most part, with a faster thrashy section towards the end, which doesn't really last too long, and it closes with an acoustic outro.
One thing about Havok that nobody seems to address, but is so obvious, is the amount of bass players that they've gone through in their fifteen years of existence. Ever since Burn came out in 2009, they've had a different bassist on each album that came after, which makes us all wonder how long Brandon Bruce is going to last before the next album. Now, I don't say that with hate, it's merely an observation. Trivium have been a target for this kind of joke for going through several drummers, but I just found it kind of weird that nobody ever said anything about Havok going through the amount of bass players that they have.
To sum it up, V as a whole, seems like a collection of the same re-used riffs we've heard in thrash a million times already, and pretty uninspired lyrics. Lyrically, when Conformicide came out, much of the criticism for that album was pointed to the lyrics, which sounded like they were all based on conspiracy theories. If you weren't a fan of the lyrics on Conformicide, then I highly doubt that you'll be enjoying the lyrics on this album. While many of those cliche thrash riffs always sound great, especially with the great production, the album certainly struggles to stay afloat. The front half contains the better collection of riffs and whole songs, while the back half seems very lackluster.
Highs: Production is a huge improvement over the last couple of albums.
Lows: David Sanchez's screechy vocals and many recycled thrash riffs.
FINAL RATING:
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