Review: Shovelhead A.D. – Timeless Old
Shovelhead A.D.
Timeless Old
(Broken Curfew Records)
Broken Curfew has been feeding us a small, but steady diet of metal releases over the past couple of years, and the quality has been consistently high. With a variety of subgenres under their belts (from deathcore to death metal to grindcore so far), what will this release have in store? Shovelhead A.D. comes to us from Virginia, and little is known of the band or its members, though we do have a guest appearance from Rocky Gray. Let’s see what they’re up to.
Following a short, and almost military-style snare intro, the album rips straight into some high-speed thrash metal. This isn’t crossover, or neo-thrash or anything very ‘modern’, just some good old classic thrash with Slayer-esque (or early Living Sacrifice) tempos and vocals. Somewhat ironically, the tempo offsets lyrics about the dangers of drug use, particularly cannabis, which might instead slow one down. “Paralysis (Nocturnal)” does slow things down into a groove not unlike Pantera’s fusion of thrash with slower tempos. Roughly halfway through the song, the song changes pace altogether and utilizes a nice, clean tone with some compelling guitar solos, reminiscent of clean solos from Deliverance or Vengeance Rising from yesteryear.
“Justice to Gain” starts with a really nice, heavy, chunky riff. This one makes you want to bang your head, preferably while watching the band live. The track reminds me of some of the mid-tempo tunes from Grave Forsaken or Coram Deo’s thrash era. “Tormented Aggressor” brings back the rapid-fire tempos evocative of late 80s thrash bands, while “Shell Shock” keeps the tempo high but adds some melodic groovy riffs to the pace. This juxtaposition creates one of the more interesting tracks so far. The bridge has a nice, crunchy riff, comparable to some of Testament’s earlier work.
“Pray for War” starts off with a slow, heavy groove that would be at home on a traditional heavy metal album or even doom, save for the thrashy vocals. The coolest part about this is the dominant bass in the latter part of the song—not really a solo, but certainly an emphasized bass riff. “Into the Slaughterhouse” is up next with another mid-tempo crunchy riff. This one reminds me mildly of Prong’s “Prove You Wrong” era, except without the industrial leanings. Some awesome, semi-technical riffing comes in after the halfway mark in the track, followed by a tasty guitar solo. Rocky Gray makes a guest appearance on this track, so presumably this solo is some of his work?
“Pump-Action Therapy” is an adrenaline-fueled thrasher with some tasty, thrash-styled breakdowns (yes, I said breakdowns—remember when they were a thrash thing, not just a hardcore thing?) The lyrics are somewhat cryptic in meaning, but there is clearly a critique of violence in some way. It appears to be mocking those who seek attention by harming others, but it’s not totally clear. The album finishes with “Fire from the South” another mid-paced romper warning of the dangers of hellfire, but written from the perspective of someone who is headed there:
Born into light
Heat burns my eyes
Once you feel it man,
Burn it all
Southbound soul
Battered and bled
Come feel my heat
Down you’ll fall!
Shovelhead doesn’t preach, but there is definitely some food for thought in the lyrics. Overall this is a strong addition to the thrash field, which is nice considering how Christian metal for the most part has left that subgenre behind and moved into other territory. There’s nothing incredibly groundbreaking here, but it is a decent debut from a band to watch.
Rating: 3 / 5
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