Crustacean – Greed, Tyranny & Sodomy

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Starting an album with a George W. Bush sound-bite is starting to be tiring. Sure, it sets the tone for the album – anti-authority, anti-war, anti-religion – but it seems so frightfully unoriginal, especially now that is has been three years since the end of his term. Still that is how Dutch thrashers Crustacean have chosen to start the aptly titled Greed, Tyranny & Sodomy, and who are we to complain. The band’s recent history should set some expectations as to the band’s sound, with the band’s members also having played for a Slayer covers band. A rather raw sounding thrash it is then, though perhaps lacking some of the sheer speed of Slayer, and as such borrowing equally as well from classic Teutonic thrashers Sodom. This makes for a much more mid-paced sound, characterized mostly by its no-frills approach. Such an approach doesn’t work unless you have great songs to back it up, but to their credit Crustacean do have some memorable songs in their repertoire. They aren’t ground-breaking songs by any means – they still sound like they could be from a forgotten Sodom album, but they are reasonable blasts of raw thrash nonetheless. Perhaps there’s not enough here that the album becomes something that should be sought after, but the album as a whole makes for a fair diversion regardless.

Written by James Donovan
More: 2011, Albums, Quick.Play Reviews, Thrash Metal, Crustacean