Metal
AFM Records
Release Date – September 13th 2024
Line Up:
Eric A K – Vocals
Michael Gilbert – Guitar
Steve Conley – Guitar
Bill Bodily – Bass
Ken Mary – Drums
Tracklist:
1 – A New Kind Of Hero
2 – Primal
3 – I Am The Weapon
4 – Burned My Bridges
5 – The Head Of The Snake
6 – Beneath The Shadows
7 – Gates Of Hell
8 – Cold Steel Lights
9 – Kings Of The Underworld
10 – Running Through Fire
11 – Black Wings
Flotsam and Jetsam were kind of outsiders back in the day. They didn’t come from the Bay Area or New York, but that didn’t deter them from delivering some of the best thrash metal for over 40 years! Their debut, Doomsday for the Deceiver, is considered a classic, and rightly so, but their recent output has been just as good. Now we have another fine album to sit alongside all the others.
Opening with “A New Kind of Hero,” it’s a song of our time, and boy, do they put the point across on a raucous slab of thrash, showing Eric AK has lost none of his power or range. “Primal” eases back a bit and has a huge melodic chorus on top of some serious riffage. The title track goes for the throat but grabs you downstairs instead, and it doesn’t loosen its grip while Ken Mary’s double kick uses your head like a boxer’s speedball. Do you submit? It doesn’t let up on “Burned My Bridges” either. “Head of the Snake” offers some respite on the intro before launching into a huge groove metal banger that’s sure to go down well live. Imagine ZZ Top going metal with Ronnie James Dio, and that’s what you get on “Beneath the Shadows”—superb. “Gates of Hell” goes like the clappers on another Ken Mary double-kick fest, then “Cold Steel Lights” goes even faster with some serious guitar work from Michael Gilbert and Steve Conley. “Kings of the Underworld” is more power metal than thrash, then we get the crash-bang-wallop of “Running Through Fire” before more power metal on the final cut, “Black Wings.”
Wow! Just wow! Flotsam and Jetsam have nothing to prove, but here they are knocking out a world-class thrash metal album and making it look easy. Forty years in the game, and they show no signs of letting up. On this evidence, they could go another 40 years. Great riffs, hooks, and solos, and Ken Mary’s rhythms are something to behold. Singer Eric AK is still at the top of his game, sounding very much like Ronnie James Dio. If you like metal, you will love this.
Written by: Smudge
Ratings: 9/10
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