Here’s a question for you: is thrash metal the hardest genre to get wrong?.
That’s not meant as a criticism either, more that, listening to “A New Kind Of Hero” – the opening track in Flotsam and Jetsam’s latest album and hearing Erik AK Knutson roar “Superman is gone”. You kind of think: why do we need new heroes when the old ones are still right here?
This is their 15th record in almost 40 years. This means that for nearly all my record-buying life, they’ve been here, with solos slashing and drums pounding, as on “Primal” here.
The challenge, of course, is to keep evolving. It’s 2024 after all, not 1984 and Flotsam And Jetsam seem to understand that better than most. The mighty title cut is proper thrash but with a modern prism. It’s not dated, but it’s moshpit ready as the muscular “Burning Bridges” underlines.
Strident in the way that Symphony X, say were but drummer Ken Mary thunders.
Epic, slightly grandiose, even when it needs to be, like on “Head Of The Snake” but there’s even just a little sense that the groove of “Beneath The Shadows” is ready to swing its big ol’ balls about.
That, perhaps is indicative of the band this time around. Collaborating all around and stretching themselves.
For all that, you can’t beat a good metal gallop, and arguably the heaviest this album gets, “Gates Of Hell” provides that. Horns up. Heads down. Toxic Waltz. All of that. That said it sounds like Flotsam.
It’s striking that there are no let-ups in quality here. Just one fantastic song after the next. Whether that’s from the heavier end, like “Cold Steel Nights” or in the eerie darkness of “Kings Of The Underworld” almost doesn’t matter because they’ve got the class that only lifers have.
There are so many textures here, and so many of the songs are a journey. “Running Through The Fire” oscillates through most things before its rapid-fire ending, and the closing song “Black Wings” – the longest one here – nails its colours to the power metal flagpole, and does so gloriously.
Indeed, everything about this is glorious. You could argue that you’ve heard all this before, but equally, you could argue that it doesn’t matter when a record is as good as “I Am The Weapon” is.as varied as Flotsam And Jetsam have been in their nearly 40 years, they don’t make bad records. That said, this one is a cracker.
Rating: 9/10
REVIEW: FLOTSAM AND JETSAM – I AM THE WEAPON (2024)
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