Review Summary: Here's something to passive-aggressively neg if you are throwing a tantrum and don't like my opinions.
Insinnerator are one of the few thrash revival bands that bring hope to the genre. Although the band is marred by a few missteps, the group is also young and determined to deliver quality thrash with a bright future ahead of them. In 2011 the world saw the release of their debut album ‘Stalagmite of Ice’ which displayed for the most part tight musicianship held back by occasional awkward timings, poor production and laughable vocals. Luckily this young band is willing to learn, with a visit to their youtube page you’ll find the band replying to nearly every comment so it is no wonder that they took their criticism to heart and shaped up on ‘Hypothermia’.
Insinnerator still do what they have always done best: provide some hard hitting, balls to the wall thrash metal that never lets up until it ends. Riffs are abundant, exhilarating hard thumping drums are galore and this time around there is a much more refined vocal performance to boot. It isn't all praise however, production is still a bit of an issue on this EP. On their debut album the production was a bit unevenly mixed, and the album became muffled at the most chaotic of times due to small budget recording equipment from the sounds of it. This time around the production takes a drastically different approach from the debut. Everything is much clearer on this album; the sounds are vibrant, crisp and more refined than ever before. Although not overproduced the production sometimes sounds a bit too friendly for the gritty substance of a thrash metal album. There is some welcomed variety in the delivery as well fortunately although often put forth as just brief misadventures such as the roaring intro to ‘Elemental Ice Dragon’ but overall the instruments hold some pretty firm places in the mix.
Vocals are much more present, and now that the band has some decent ones they may as well use them. Although good for this style of music the way they sit with the rest of the band can sometimes sound kind of awkward in that the throaty roars stand out so much rather than optimizing aesthetic by blending into its surroundings. The drumming shares a similar problem, Speed’s style is very fast, clunky and both shamelessly as well as ferociously stagnant. There isn’t much else to say about the drumming so it is puzzling why the band decided to place the drumming in such acclaim as at the forefront of their sound. While solid the drumming is nothing really exceptional beyond creating a fast environment which it does well.
The guitar work is where the real show is at folks, the riffs are extremely diverse for a thrash metal album and even the bass adds a tastefully powerful punch to the flavour of the album with the addition of a few standout spots here and there. Bass changes up nicely and allows for some rolls and transitions that add an oomph that the drumming cannot provide on its own. Although there is some interlude section referring to a sort of ice theme it is half baked and forgettable. To add atmosphere there are acoustic interludes which are interesting on their own right but acts as nothing more than a shallow break from the crazy riff fest.
Insinnerator hold a lot of potential and show their maturity through this EP, excellent guitar and bass work make this album a real treat. Although the band works together quite well in providing an unrelenting atmosphere there are still some missteps for the band to pick up along the way before they can become true contenders in the thrash scene.
