The chorus is nothing to write home about 1 but that back-half Machine Head-esque guitar harmonization is tasty.Īs it stands, I rather enjoy Black as Coal. “Time to Change” tears through an old-school trash intro that gives way to a slick, staccato verse. It lends well to the song’s mood and sticks with you well after the track concludes. Unlike many of the other songs already discussed, the chorus is what makes this song. Like “Stranglehold of Terror,” “Cheap Death” leans on some RevolveR-era The Haunted triplet attacks that morph into an asphalt-cracking march. And the groovy back half, concluding with a bassy heartbeat, is a nice touch. A little more technical than the rest of the tracks, the swirling guitars and wild time changes keep things lively. The best of the bunch are “Pallbearer,” “Cheap Death,” and “Time to Change.” The first has a nice thrashy gallop that quickens as the song unravels. I’d enjoy it even more if it weren’t for the painful, amateur lyrics. Not to mention, the rumbling bass does wonders for this song. Keeping the obsession with guns alive, the follow-up track, “AK-47,” is another Exodus-inspired piece with some old-school Annihilator leads squealing here and there. Ullrich also has his way with a nifty bass lead that lends nicely to the crushing riff that follows. These old vets can still jam between that short, high-pitching interlude and the solo work. The chorus fares a little better, but the guitars and bass really stand out on this track. But things get a little better with “No Hands but a Gun.” Well, at least in the Exodus-y vibes and Zetro Souza-like vocal approach. And there’s no shortage of that in the song’s cringey, paper-thin chorus. As with the last few albums, Mario Vogel’s vocals are one of absolute quirkiness. Already, the bass is present, and the guitars smash their way from one riff to the next-even touching some melody on the back end. “Shoot to Kill” gets things off the ground with blistering-fast riffage and an Annihilator-esque vocal approach. Those have tried before, and many have failed. Instead of the typical thirty-five to forty-minute release, Vendetta delivered an hour-long thrash record. With Black as Coal, the band’s philosophy is Moar is Moar. It’s an actual case of running through the motions to get an album out, no matter how soulless it is. And not just in comparison to the band’s earlier material but to any band. And, Hate, Feed the Extermination, and The 5th are massive letdowns compared to the band’s previous existence. Though it might not be fair to compare the band’s last three records to their early days, it’s inevitable. That said, they have the chops to create something great. Since then, Vendetta has been cranking out albums, but none have been the comeback we wanted. Ullrich surrounded himself with a new lineup for that year’s comeback record, Hate. Fast forward to 2007, and the band is back. Brain Damage, in particular, is a concise record with ripping guitar work, impressive Steve DiGiorgio-level bass work, and the quirky but lovable vocals of Daxx Hömerlein. And like old-school Metallica, what made those albums great was Klaus Ullrich’s impressive bass presence. While the other German thrash bands of the time were branching out into their unique sounds, Vendetta rooted themselves in a Bay Area sound akin to Metallica. Surfacing just a few years after German greats like Sodom, Kreator, and Destruction, they knocked out two impressive albums before calling it quits. Vendetta has been around for a long-ass time.
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