Conor Fynes 'Premonition' - Rapid Dominance (6/10)

I checked out the new Danish band Rapid Dominance on the rule that anything with a gas mask on the cover is worth the gander. Little is known about this band, but this debut EP paints a good picture of what they are all about. Rapid Dominance is a band who treads the border between thrash and death metal, with a moderate dose of prog to sew things up. The result of which comes off as a techy incarnation of Sepultura. Complete with a cover of Death's 'Spirit Crusher,' Rapid Dominance deliver a satisfying EP with 'Premonition.'

From the first moment of listening to 'Premonition,' it is clear as to what the band's greatest strength is. Their musicianship is very impressive, especially taking into consideration that the band is, to my knowledge, very new on the scene. While many thrash bands emphasize speed in their music, Rapid Dominance introduce a liberal dose of technical guitar riffs into the music. The drums are possibly the most exciting aspect of the music, being given a good pummeling sound to them. The vocals are where the Sepultura influence come through most readily, although the shout-growl wouldn't sound out of place on a melodic death metal album either.

The greatest display of the band's musical talent is on their cover of Death's 'Spirit Crusher', a killer track from the classic 'Sound Of Perseverance' album. Here, the bass is finally given a fitting showcase, and the instrumentation is handled admirably. The fact that the cover is the greatest piece here brings up my one apprehension with the album, however. While the music here is excellently played and Rapid Dominance have instantly pulled themselves above legions of thrash bands in terms of their technical abilities, I did not find any of their original tracks to be anything particularly memorable. Although there was power to the performance, the songwriting lacked melody, variety, or even a riff or two to stay hooked in a listener's head. It's very possible to have technical thrash that stays true to memorable songwriting, and that's the one thing I find missing on Rapid Dominance's EP. All the same, there is a great deal of skill at work on 'Premonition,' and here's to hoping that it won't be the last we hear of these guys!