Pelata
Laaz Rockit has been around a lot of years. In spite of this fact, though, I have never listened to them. Now, after hearing their latest offering Left For Dead, I am going to make it a point to dig into the catalog as this is some good quality Metal.
I didn’t know what to expect. I knew they were considered Thrash Metal, but that word covers everything from Anthrax to Usurper, so that didn’t exactly clear anything up. The cover looked good, kind of serious, so I knew not to expect “party Thrash”. Anyway, what I got was quite pleasing. To my ears, it’s a blend of Bay Area Thrash with a touch of American Power Metal. It’s got melody, but it’s got balls too. The riffs are mad crunchy. The vocals are a combination of shouted and close-to-sung. The vocals on “Ghost In The Mirror” remind me of Tim Owens’ more subdued moments, without the vibrato. Opener “Brain Wash” is a brain beating…fast & furious with teeth. “Erased” sounds like something straight off of Souls Of Black (and that’s meant as a compliment). I think you get the point.
Anyway, suffice it to say that it’s new school enough (mainly in the production and the occasional groove riff) to not be complete retro, yet old school enough to not sound like a bunch of old guys trying too hard to be hip. Get it and bang your head.