CRADLE TO GRAVE

Drink whiskey, listen to "Texas Medicine", and piss off as many people as possible! It might as well be the slogan for the sophomore effort from Vancouver, British Columbia's CRADLE TO GRAVE. For a band not from the Lone Star State, CRADLE TO GRAVE sure do sound like a group of crazy ass Texans burnt by the hot sun and drowned in beer. Featuring guitarist Denis "Sasquatch" Barthe (former AGGRESSION),vocalist Greg Cavanagh, drummer Matt Fowler, and bassist Glenn Chisholm, "Texas Medicine" is about as purely and aggressively metal as it gets.

The boys bring the hot licks, battering rhythms, and rage-spitting vocals as though they thought "Texas Medicine" would be the last metal album any of the members would ever record. Special notice should be given to Fowler's vocals. He's got a super violent deliver that sort of mixes a standard gruff/bark vocal with a higher end, screamy vocal at the same time, giving him a fairly unique sound. He's a master of channeling aggression, subtly changing tone and patterns, and even tossing in a raspy, yet whispered vocal on "Light", one of the album's stronger tracks.

As far as song selection is concerned, you will find multiple opportunities to get your storm-trooping boots moving with tracks like the PANTERA-esque (which defines many of the songs) "Broken God" and the groovy "At War with Myself". What really helps the affair is the band's avoidance of being mere clones of the Cowboys from Hell; far from it in fact. CRADLE TO GRAVE skillfully changes up the arrangements, yet always retains the jagged edge and angry demeanor. When they thrash it up on a barn burner like "From Nowhere to Nowhere", the roof will in fact come down, yet there is a pinch of melody in the main riff and a slight punk feel that makes it anything but run of the mill. That quick-and-to-the-point punk feel is most conspicuous on "Fuck it Up", while "I Am Nothing" features more of a traditional, old school thrash lick. An acoustic instrumental called "Daughters" is the only track that seems a tad out of place. The nine-minute "Beheaded in Paris" is an interesting song and more effective that I would have predicted for one of this length by a band playing this style of metal.

Best of all, there is nothing fake about "Texas Medicine". Hell, it's not like the rules have been broken, but goddamn do the guys in CRADLE TO GRAVE know how to tear things up and leave a smile on the face.