ROCKET REVIEW: THROWDOWN – “Intolerance” (CD)

American groove metal band THROWDOWN returns in 2014 with possibly their most brutal collection of songs to date. The album was produced by Davey Warsop and mixed by Chris “Zeuss” Harris. Let me say that Dave Peters on vocals no doubt sounds as pissed off on this collection of eleven tracks as Philip Anselmo did on PANTERA’s “Reinventing The Steel”. That’s what I want in a heavy metal vocalist. Somebody that sounds like they just want to rip someone’s head off, not the lightweight screamo shit that the mainstream continues to try and pass off today as heavy music when it is nothing more than pop music in disguise. Throwdown on this album puts together both groove and sludge elements to deliver a totally crushing record.

Throwdown were early on classified as a metalcore band but they have grown to be a much meaner beast in recent years and are not afraid to kick you in the nuts from start to finish. Thankfully, there are no shitty ballads included here to slow things down. Jarrod Alexander handles drumming duties again as he did on the hard hitting “Deathless” from 2009 and the overall album production is top notch. The songs are short, which is cool too. I hate long fucking songs that just go on and on.

It all starts off with the unrelenting “Fight Or Die”, a tightly wound ass kicker that makes you want to put your head through the nearest wall. The next skull crushers come in the form of “Borrowed Time”, “Avow”, and “Hardened By Consequence”, but it’s track five’s “Defend With Violence” that really kicks the most ass for me. “Do what I must do to survive”… barks out Peters. The riff here is a definite pit starter. Very catchy. You will definitely play it more than just once.

The next track “Suffer, Conquer” is one of my other favorites finds Peters yelling, “Pain is not the end of me…”. No fluffy bullshit here. Just straight up, killer lyrics. “Intolerance” features some guitar solos from Dave Nassie (Bleeding Through, Infectious Grooves), and overall just is flat out explosive – but for me it’s vocalist Dave Peters that really pulls it all together via his perfectly furious, Marine Drill Instructor vocal delivery. Any fans of Pantera and Hatebreed, who have never heard this band, will love Throwdown. You are not going to be blown away by their technical musicianship because they keep it simple and focus on what matters most, crafting heavy as hell songs.

TMD

ROCKET REVIEW:
[starreview tpl=16]
THROWDOWN – “Intolerance” (CD)
(eOne Music/2014)

01. Fight Or Die
02. Borrowed Time
03. Avow
04. Hardened By Consequence
05. Defend With Violence
06. Suffer, Conquer
07. Cut Away
08. Intolerance
09. Without Weakness
10. Born And Buried Alone
11. Condemned To Live

https://www.facebook.com/throwdownOC