5/17/14

Review: Outrage – We The Dead (Metal On Metal 2014 CD)


 The German veterans are back once more, this is their 7th album. Three of the tracks are familiar from their earlier career, Death From Behind, Delos and Spherical appeared on their first, second and fourth demos. Definitely a good choice to include some old tunes, since the sound of their demos wasn't the best, so just like on 2011's Go To Hell, it's great to see these old songs getting the production they deserve. I'd like to make an exception for Delos though, the sound of their second demo is just perfect, and I consider it one of the finest black/thrash treasures of the 80's. Still, I guess I'm one of the very few people who actually have heard it at all, and Delos is simply one of their best songs ever, so re-recording it was probably a good move after all.

 The most interesting part of this album though, is definitely the new songs. With the release of Go To Hell, the expectations were drawn towards a more old school approach, but it's actually more in the vein of their albums from released the mid 00's. Sure, the sound is more or less the same (old school as fuck), but the arrangements and lyrics are way more complex and unique. It's way more diverse as well. You've got the thrash metal rippers like Eye For An Eye and The Biggest Wrench, mid-tempo parts like The Iron Door and Chastiser, and almost outright doom-metal tunes like Be That As It May and Sepia Eyes / Birth To The Flame. Everything flows perfectly together into a wicked symphony of darkness. What also speaks for this album is the production. Especially the drum sound on Go To Hell was a bit to modern, and that decreased the overall impression a little bit, this time the sound is flawless.

 Compared to Go To Hell, which was packed to the limit with songs that knocked you out the first time you heard them, this album will take some time to get into. But mark my words, once you do, it becomes clear that it's actually just as good, maybe even better, as it's predecessor. Outrage are really not taking the easy way out with their strange song-structures and weird lyrics, that sometimes makes no sense at all, but after all it's the dark atmosphere and waywardness of it all that makes this band so brilliant. I'd choose them any day before all the hordes of generic German thrash bands doing what has already been done a thousand times. Outrage stands supreme among all of them, and I really hope more people will check out this album and give it the time and attention it deserves. It will be worth it, trust me. 8/10 /H

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