Audiopain – The Traumatizer
The name of this project didn’t have me particularly excited about them, but this is pretty cool really. In many ways the spirit of the German Thrash scene comes alive on “The Traumatizer.” Audiopain manage to update the sound without sounding like a retro or tribute project. The riffing is speedy with just the right mix of technical flair, and the energy is of a nature I don’t come across much anymore. There is something about this that keeps bringing me back to Deathrow’s “Deception Ignored” it’s not as complex as that, but they carry a similar feel to them I think. Vocally, it is a bleach scarred snarl that works perfectly with the guitar tone and impetus of the writing. They do mix up the tempos adding a bit of melody and dissonance accordingly. There is some really nice discord on here in fact that harkens to the spirit of Dead Brain Cells and even a little Voivod. They just write really catchy songs that match the sprit of their predecessors well. There are 6 tracks on this, all but one of which is around or beyond the 5 and a half minute mark with the longest being about 8 minutes. The shortest track “Thrash Mental” at barely 3 minutes is an instrumental. The packaging on this also must be mentioned. The booklet takes a degree in engineering to figure out, it is a series of bizarre cuts and folds like I have never seen. I can’t imagine having to explain that to the printer. This is a great record in so many ways, the sound, the mix, the presence of the bass and the truly interesting writing. Impressive. – Scott
FIAS CO. PROD./VENDLUS/MISANTHROPICA ENTERPRISES
Worm Gear 