Lazarus AD – Black Rivers Flow

10 November 2011

1.American Dreams
2.The Ultimate Sacrifice
3.The Strong Prevail
4.Black Rivers Flow
5.Casting Forward
6.Light A City (Up In Smoke)
7.Through Your Eyes
8.Beneath the Waves of Hatred
9.Eternal Vengeance

Sweet Jesus, what a kick in the ass.

Expectations were pretty grim for “Black Rivers Flow” thanks to this writer’s prejudice towards new bands. Of course, the ingrained prejudice has its reasons, borne from suffering through so many albums that were riding on a trend or some other ephemeral abomination. Experiencing second-rate copycat metalcore bands, talentless/tasteless power metal, and sub par death metal have all withered his soul, leaving it coarse and angry at the very scene it has sworn allegiance to.

Melodrama aside, the present material from Lazarus AD is indeed quite the boot to the arse. It starts off without a boring intro or orchestra-driven filmscore pomp, which is a lingering bad habit among a vast multitude of inferior releases today. Indeed, the music here commences with a rousing groovefest that kindles the expectant listener’s enthusiasm for what “Black Rivers Flow” has to offer. The first song “American Dreams” is a worthwhile appetizer catchy enough to merit a few additional repeat listens. But those who forge ahead will find themselves amply rewarded by its far heavier siblings “The Ultimate Sacrifice” and a vigorous title track.

The irresistible visceral music is extended past the album’s halfway mark. While “Casting Forward” might strike discriminating ears as too catchy—too commercial—and uncomfortably upbeat for a ’serious’ metal album, rest assured what comes after is pure raging thrash. Personally, this writer doesn’t consider Lazarus AD a pure thrash band, for this is inaccurate and putting tags on artists are convenient but not entirely useful in the long run. Aside from these reasons, Lazarus AD have a powerful inclination for massive choruses and hooks galore that indicate a broader musical tutelage beyond the speedy confines of the mighty thrash school. With songs like “Light A City (Up In Smoke)” and the utterly stupendous “Eternal Vengeance” Lazarus AD prove they’ve got what it take to pull off great things, epic things, timeless things.

Those looking for faults in this masterwork might fuss about Jeff Paulick’s vocals, but that’s just being a twat about boring details. Nitpicking performances here is a pointless task because the band are stellar for most of the album’s running time, be it the Dan Gapen-Alex Lackner twin guitar pyro or Ryan Shutler’s effortless drum work. These bastards have raised the bar so high, it would be awful if what came after this sucked in comparison.