Album Review :
Outrage AD - New Blood

Having initially formed in 1992 as simply Outrage, the band released 2 independent releases by 1995 when they sadly broke up. Reuniting as the newly-christened Outrage AD in 2013, the band quickly began work on New Blood. On this debut the Canadian band apportion some classic thrash metal, with touches of crossover and groove metal. The 8-song full-length brings to mind mid-paced thrashers Thresher as well as Overkill, Bloody Cross, Detritus and Ultimatum. Their mostly-shouted vocals (hence the nod to Scott Waters of Ultimatum) occasionally employ a bit of death growls as well.

This isn’t really fast thrash, hence the borderline resemblance to groove metal. This is seen most notably on tracks like “Unreal Trip”, the strongest song on the album, where they lock into a slow groove and stay there through most of the track. From time to time, the bass guitar tones bring a Steve Rowe (Mortification) vibe to them—most notably on “Embryo’s Death”, but this leads them in a less productive direction. Lyrically the band tinker with typical Christian thrash fare, not excepting that last mentioned track. There is, however, a surprising nod to environmental stewardship on “Environmental Deficiencies,” though some more conservative listeners may be put off by the phrase, “what the h*ll is wrong?”

While there is some great songwriting, and a very nostalgic feel for mid-80s thrash, at times the riffs get a bit too sloppy for metal, particularly the main riff on “Death Crow.” Nonetheless, the band have some potential, so I hope they keep going, refining their craft as they go.