THE ACCURSED – Seasons Of The Scythe

Thrash is out of fashion … maybe. Once in a while, though, a nice kick in a sensitive part of your musical anatomy will do you good. So you reach to the same old Slayer album again? Oh, come on! You can do better than that!

How about The Accursed? They have what it takes, starting with the Thrash cover you see on the right. Cool guy, this Scythe-wielding, gas mask-disguised, head-chopping apprentice of Death (you know, the guy who always speaks in CAPITALS). And, you should see the reverse side: A basket full of heads! Fitting … and funny.

When you don’t want to demonstrate your appreciation of the, uh, fine arts (cough), you want to listen to some heavy stuff. That is where the album delivers what the cover promises. From the instrumental intro (that deserves better treatment than just being an introductory piece of under a minute, until the last note of “Armageddon Eulogy,” The Accursed take no prisoners. As old-fashioned as it may seem, this is a good, straight piece of Thrash music that, if released during the Eighties, would probably stand in one line with classics like early Show No Mercy, Pleasures Of The Flesh, Power And Pain, Oppressing The Masses, or Forbidden Evil. The vocals, though, are much rougher, consisting mostly of harsh, guttural shouts. That style may not be favored by Melodic Rock fans, but you guys wouldn’t touch this album anyway, so the others out there can now continue cruising down the historic American Route 666 Thrash … already the song titles show the way.

“Sawtoothsmile“ is a boisterous, mean piece of two and a half minutes of in-your-face aggressiveness with great guitar leads. That trait is actually the part that reminds most of the old-fashioned ways of Thrash. Remember, those were the days when not only brutality counted, but also the ability to play interesting riffs, vary your drumming, and use the bass for more than background noise. If a band wants to impress today, it mostly sounds like you have your ear next to the rails when an Amtrak train passes by. Musical abilities? Not needed for the new generation, but if you grew up with or learned to love the early days of Thrash music, you know exactly what satisfaction these guys can give you. The brilliant chorus from the title track, or the almost-too-melodic refrain of “Fire Of A Thousand Cries,” are too wimpy compared with the Shock Metal extremes other bands have fathomed, but are exactly the balance between heavyness and melody that a lot of you out there will love!

If it becomes too mellow, The Accursed surprise you with blast beats. When you are close to saying it has gotten too heavy, they crank out another old-fashioned, virtuous (but brutal) riff, and then they still surprise you with a typical Power Metal opening all the way in Track 7, “The Rider.” Truly, early Anthrax, Griffin, or Omen can be heard, but still engulfed in the same, Thrashy sound. Even the typical Fantasy lyrics are there. Strange stuff, indeed, but all well done.

Two more songs of this style, “Land Of The Dead,” which has guitar riffs and leads like early Exodus, and “Armageddon Eulogy,” plus another couple of melodic Thrash tracks, of which one even has an acoustic intro (“Funeral March”), end the very entertaining 44 minutes, 12 tracks in total, plus the intro that put you in a time warp back to the early days. Remember, that was when you went into the record store to see if anything new had arrived (there was indeed a time before the internet, and it is not called the stone age!), and carried home your new purchase on your bike as fast as you could, and tomorrow it would be the talk of the day in the breaks between classes. Seasons Of The Scythe should have been one of those albums, but it still unfolds its magic today. As with a lot of the bands mentioned, the singer is the factor that will divide you into friend or foe towards the band. If you could (and can) stand singers like Paul Baloff, Kerry King, Sean Killian, and Neil Turbin, and can imagine that with a splash of Death Metal growls, then this is the album for you!

Recommended if you like five bands out of this list: Exodus, Dark Tranquillity, Mortal Sin, Demolition Hammer, Destruction, Forbidden, Blessed Death, Vio-lence, Grip Inc., Carcass, The Haunted, Massacra, Dark Angel, Children of Bodom, Kreator.