WRATHCHILD AMERICA — 3-D (review)

WRATHCHILD AMERICA — 3-D album cover Album · 1991 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"3-D" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US thrash/heavy metal act Wrathchild America. The album was released through Atlantic Records in January 1991. "3-D" is the last album released under the Wrathchild America monicker before the band changed their name to Souls at Zero and started playing a more groove metal oriented style.

The music on "3-D" pretty much continues the thrash/heavy metal style of "Climbin' the Walls (1989)". No groove metal elements on this album. The humourous approach from the debut album is intact, which songtitles like "Gentleman Death", "Surrounded by Idiots", and "I Ain't Drunk, I'm Just Drinkin'" are a testimony to. They are not silly humourous though just a bunch of happy guys playing music they love, doing it with a gleam in the eye (alright..."I Ain't Drunk, I'm Just Drinkin'" is pretty silly, but it´s still great). There´s an infectious rock´n´roll element that runs through the entire album, and it´s greatly charming. Lead vocalist/bassist Brad Divens delivers his vocals with attitude and passion, but it´s the full band that should be credited for how great the music works. These guys are incredibly well playing and successfully incorporate stylistic elements from other genres than heavy and thrash metal. An example is the swing rhythm in "Spy". One other feature that needs a mention are the many well played guitar solos. Wrathchild America feature two guitarists and they compliment each other perfectly. The tracks are generally vers/chorus structured and therefore instantly recognisable, but Wrathchild America always incorporate sections that go beyond the tried and true vers/chorus formula. A feature in their songwriting that ensures that "3-D" is an album you can return to and always find new details on.

The sound production is organic and suits the music well. It´s both powerful and detailed and takes the many stylistic elements into consideration. That´s an achivement. All in all "3-D" is a diverse, very well played, and quite intriguing heavy/thrash metal album, and while it didn´t exactly provide Wrathchild America with the commercial success that they had hoped for, I think it´s one of the albums from those days that still sounds relevant and fresh. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.
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UMUR wrote:
more than 2 years ago
This one usually gets a lot of criticism, but I enjoy it.

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