HELL'S THRASH HORSEMEN „Going Sane”

Music: Thrash metal
Website; http://www.myspace.com/hellsthrashhorsemen
Country: Russia
Duration: 35:27 (12 songs)
Cool songs: Abomination, Global Genocide

Drawing influences from all the usual suspects (SLAYER, ANTHRAX, TESTAMENT and the like), Russia-based thrash monsters (in case their name didn't give it away) HELL'S THRASH HORSEMEN have created a debut full-length release of sturdy, solid tracks. “Going Sane” is a hate-filled and turbulent record – Alexander Ivanov spits out lines like “Mass murder is quite easy” (is it?) and something about injecting amphetamine, so you know you're in for a treat. Of course they cover all the standard thrash themes, with mentions of war and genocide popping up at regular intervals.

Unfortunately, HELL'S THRASH HORSEMEN weren't blessed with the best poetic license. No one seems to have told them that you don't have to rhyme every single line; in fact you don't have to rhyme anything if you don't want to. Instead the cringey couplets include “gun” and “fun” (groan), “mood” and “good” (pushing your luck a bit there lads, can't let you get away with that one) and so on and so forth. That aside, this is a band who know a riff when they see one, and so they pack every song to the rafters with 'em. See“Abomination” or “Global Genocide” for prime examples of HTH on top form. “Death Sentence” opens with a sort of drum solo type affair which does Fador Masuev absolutely no justice whatsoever. For starters, the bass drum sounds like an annoyingly incessant tapping. They should have really unleashed his skills with the sticks for this intro, but instead it sounds decidedly amateur and like he's stuck in a tin can. That's all forgotten when the full ferocity of the track kicks in; it's full of those aforementioned riffs that they're oh-so-good at.

And of course the best is saved til last. “Going Sane”'s closer “Kill Fucking Bitch” is a mere minute and forty three seconds of garbled throaty shouting over swift riffing which culminates in a cry of, that's right, “KILL FUCKING BITCH!”. What a way to end an album, eh?

note: 5/10

Tracklist

Injection (Intro)
Black Label
My Last Resort
Global Genocide
Stop The Corruption
Razor's Edge
Nuclear Attack
Death Sentence
Rifle Shots
Abomination
True Lies
Kill Fucking Bitch

Line-up

Alexander Ivanov – Vocals
Nick Komshukov – Guitar
Konstantin Rodin – Bass
Fedor Massuev – Drums