When I reviewed this album, I was on a doom metal kick. I thought this might limit my enjoyment of a thrash metal album, but I was proven wrong eight times over. All eight of the tracks on Isolated Existence, debut full-length of Cape Town melodic thrash band Infanteria, were highly enjoyable, and none were filler.
Infanteria released the album at Metal 4 Africa's SummerFest 2013, rising from opening act at the 2007 event to co-headliners.
The album's lyrics speak of a world in the midst of disaster; war and opression are the main lyrical features. Isolated Existence begins the story with mournful, echoing riffs. Cataclysmic Opression is a catchy number with a chorus that contains a powerful mix of instruments. The riffs that come after the chorus are sure to make a whole room of metalheads headbang. Harmonised riffs make the mid-tempo solo even more aurally pleasing. The guitar harmonies are one of the musical highlghts on an album with plenty of great moments, like the keyboard-guitar combination on Deceived By the Blind and the keyboard solo on Making a Killing.
The guitar work is masterful throughout, with well-matched harmonies and stellar solos. The leads balance very well with the rhythm parts; technicality comes out to play without hindering the cohesion of the song.
Keyboardist Jared Phillips gives an impressive performance, with fills that fit perfectly in each song. I enjoyed how the keyboard was given a chance to shine, instead of being relegated to background effects. Bringing the keyboard to the fore added an interesting dimension to the thrash sound.
Vocalist and guitarist Chris Hall has a great set of pipes, and he is equally adept at soaring clean notes and gritty thrash growls.Hall goes from the agression of Let Death Decide to the balladlike Beyond All Strength (with an ominous vocal harmony) and to various shades in between.
The album's sound was a bit muffled in some places, but not so much as to hinder the overall production quality.
Infanteria have done very well on their debut album, and I see Isolated Existence as a sign of even greater achievement in the future.
Personnel:
Chris Hall - guitar and vocals
Adriano Rodrigues - guitars
Jared 'Phil' Phillips - keyboard
Mark Pote - bass
Rob Hall - drums
Web presence:
www.facebook.com/infanteriasa
www.myspace.com/infanteria
twitter.com/InfanteriaSA
www.last.fm/music/infanteria
Infanteria released the album at Metal 4 Africa's SummerFest 2013, rising from opening act at the 2007 event to co-headliners.
The album's lyrics speak of a world in the midst of disaster; war and opression are the main lyrical features. Isolated Existence begins the story with mournful, echoing riffs. Cataclysmic Opression is a catchy number with a chorus that contains a powerful mix of instruments. The riffs that come after the chorus are sure to make a whole room of metalheads headbang. Harmonised riffs make the mid-tempo solo even more aurally pleasing. The guitar harmonies are one of the musical highlghts on an album with plenty of great moments, like the keyboard-guitar combination on Deceived By the Blind and the keyboard solo on Making a Killing.
The guitar work is masterful throughout, with well-matched harmonies and stellar solos. The leads balance very well with the rhythm parts; technicality comes out to play without hindering the cohesion of the song.
Keyboardist Jared Phillips gives an impressive performance, with fills that fit perfectly in each song. I enjoyed how the keyboard was given a chance to shine, instead of being relegated to background effects. Bringing the keyboard to the fore added an interesting dimension to the thrash sound.
Vocalist and guitarist Chris Hall has a great set of pipes, and he is equally adept at soaring clean notes and gritty thrash growls.Hall goes from the agression of Let Death Decide to the balladlike Beyond All Strength (with an ominous vocal harmony) and to various shades in between.
The album's sound was a bit muffled in some places, but not so much as to hinder the overall production quality.
Infanteria have done very well on their debut album, and I see Isolated Existence as a sign of even greater achievement in the future.
Personnel:
Chris Hall - guitar and vocals
Adriano Rodrigues - guitars
Jared 'Phil' Phillips - keyboard
Mark Pote - bass
Rob Hall - drums
Web presence:
www.facebook.com/infanteriasa
www.myspace.com/infanteria
twitter.com/InfanteriaSA
www.last.fm/music/infanteria
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