Lazarus A.D. – Black Rivers Flow

site | label | buy

In 2009 Lazarus A.D. caused major waves in the new generation of thrash metal with their debut album The Onslaught and quickly became considered as one of the best young thrash bands on the scene. It made their follow-up one of the most anticipated releases on Metal Blade’s 2011 schedule, but most fans hooked by the combination of Overkill‘s groove and Megadeth‘s technicality will be sorely disappointed with Black Rivers Flow. Lazarus A.D. have all but abandoned the thrash metal sound they formulated for themselves on the first album in favour of a much more commerical-sounding Arch Enemy-meets-Killswitch Engage modern groove metal sound with the requisit harsh/clean dueling vocals. For a band that were looking so promising in their field Black Rivers Flow is a massive let down. Bands should never shy away from trying new things and new sounds, but there is a world of difference between adding new elements and evolving, and completely shifting genres. In the context of modern metal it’s not even a particularly good entry, mostly because the harsh side of Jeff Paulick’s vocals are thin and do not suit the new style. There are some good riffs and occasional solos which recall the first album (some tracks even offer glimpses of their former sound, like the title track), and the production is a lot better, but overall their identity has been lost and the album just sounds like one of so many others.

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2011, Albums, Heavy Metal (Extreme Vocals), Quick.Play Reviews, Lazarus A.D.