Time Signature Impending doom...

Genre: thrash metal

Having been out in the States for a while, Hemoptysis' debut album "Misanthropic Slaughter" is about to hit the European market, and the European market is about to get slaughtered.

Hemoptysis belong to the horde of thrash metal bands that draw extensively on the thrash and speed metal of the 80s, but unlike many retro thrash metal bands, there is a modern edge to Hemoptysis' sound. And I would say that Hemoptysis stand out from this horde of retro trash metal bands, among other things because Hemoptysis not only look back, but also draw on contemporary influences. One of the styles the pops on this album is melodic black metal; firstly, the vocals have the combined quality of black metal snarling and German 80s thrash metal vocals, and secondly, Hemoptysis make use of guitar melodies akin to those found in much melodic black metal. And I really think that the implementation these elements into their brand of thrash metal. Just check out the awesome track "Blood Storm" which is pretty much an epitome of this band's sound.

While their music is aggressive and quite brutal for thrash metal, melody is staple element in the music of Hemoptysis, as many of their riffs have a melodic quality to them. And we are not talking melody as in Gothenburg melodeath, but more like the sort of melody of classic heavy metal and early power metal. One has to respect Hemoptysis for using a different source of melodic inspiration than where most modern metal bands get their sound from. Tracks like "And the World Dies", "Impending Doom" and "Shadow of Death" are good examples of this.

None of the ten tracks in the album is bad, and i think that all of the tracks have some thing to offer. What I particularly like about Hemoptysis' brand of speed-thrash metal is the equilibrium between melody and brutality (and one of their fortes is really the use of melody and harmonies in the guitar riffage). Another strength is that Hemoptysis, while having a retro quality, still seek to be original and contribute to the development of heavy metal music.

This is a solid debut, and things look really promising for this band. Fans of thrash metal - new school or old school - ought to check this out.