Two things can happen when you produce your own band’s record: you either lose objectivity due to your deep involvement with the whole creation process, or this is genuinely an asset, you’re in total sync with everyone else’s goals, and the outcome is a masterpiece. Primal Attack’s “Heartless Oppressor” fits in the latter.
Of course, ultimately is still the writing/performance of the songs that matter, but the production is so stellar that it deserved a few words on its own.
Those songs offer a bridge between old-school and modern, but they don’t fit the vague label of “alternative metal”; this is solid thrash/groove metal, just pushing the envelope a little further. Take “Halfborn”, for instance, where the dynamism of White Zombie meets the rage of Slayer. And as out-of-the-box as uttering these two names in the same sentence may sound, Primal Attack do it so naturally that you won’t think of it as daring but simply as right. Extremely right.
There’s also the progressive nuances in “Heart And Bones”, the obscurity of “Truth And Consequence”, which also features some cross-over vocals – a-la Suicidal Tendencies – and the wildness of “Hypersonic Generation” living up to its name; but all of it built upon a foundation of juicy riffs, classy solos and a menacing groove that won’t allow any doubts about the nature of Primal Attack and therefore are bound to please both open-minded and die-hard thrash fans. There’s also a pretty good chance that “Heartless Oppressor” will land on many best-of-2017 lists.
