EARLY MAN

A metaphorically appropriate name on many levels, EARLY MAN is a musical translation of that scene from "2001: A Space Odyssey" where the prehistoric ape-man discovers that the leg bone of his fallen comrade made for a handy weapon and proceeded use the blunt instrument to bash the living fuck out members of a rival tribe. Don't let this spur-of-the-moment Stanley Kubrick reference cast any allusions towards a Neolithic, MASTODON-styled sound, as this NYC-based trio could have easily replaced the word "man" with "thrash" and the message would remain the same.

While the razor-edged, old-school thrashery on "Beware The Circling Fin" will surely and deservedly draw comparisons to the likes of the first-coming of EXODUS, Burton-backed METALLICA and pre-rehab MEGADETH, I have to stop short of likening EARLY MAN to the retro-thrash acts such as BONDED BY BLOOD or WARBRINGER. Beneath the frenzy of the four songs that make up the band's The End Records debut, there lies a substance and songmanship that tells me if guitarist/bassist/vocalist Mike Conte and drummer Adam Bennati would have hooked up two decades before that fateful day in 2003, EARLY MAN would have been on the short-list of the genre's pioneers. Aside from a few screeching KING DIAMOND moments, Conte's rather un-metal falsetto vocals lack the grapefruits one would expect from a release of this ilk, but otherwise, "Beware The Circling Fin" is fury incarnate. The title track and opener, "Sinking The Blade" would easily pass as lost outtakes from the "Kill 'Em All" recording sessions minus Hetfield's gruff bark. Turning PRIEST into a punk band, the minute-and-a-half "Suck Me Dry" ends this short player on a rather raucous note, while "Coiled Like A Snake" delivers an early '80s speed metal master class with metallic leads and an anthem-like chorus. Knob-twiddler Jack Enido brings a layer of unpolished, primal sledge to the EP's production that practically screams, "Fuck Pro Tools." It's appropriate, as any sort of digitalization would have made "Beware The Circling Fin" a contrived attempt at recapturing a dying art.

This is anything but the case as EARLY MAN have transcended riff-recycling and stand-out as one the only bands in the thrash revival that plays from the same fiery and leather n' chains clad heart as the originals did. Sure, a more beastly vocal approach would have added infinitely to the disc, but otherwise "Beware The Circling Fin" carries the same force as a Cro-Magnon bone to the brain.