Review by Vladimir on February 3, 2024.

Thrash metal as a soundtrack to that beloved torture within the severe state of drunkenness that ultimately leads to vomiting your guts out? Well, we have definitely reached that point, as for this review I’ll be covering the polish one-man band Drunk Thrasher, with its first EP Raining Vomit, originally released independently on November 1st, 2022, and then re-released on January 26th, 2024 via Godz Ov War Productions.

From the get-go, Drunk Thrasher provides a very standard thrash metal with raw and primitive energy that comes through the guitar riffs, whammy bar guitar solos, pulsating drums and harsh vocals a bit in the style of Tom Angelripper, with occasional tempo changes that come and go. From one song to another, it pretty much doesn’t stop with the aggression, at times even taking it further with some borderline death metal riffs on the second track 'Raining Vomit', that goes all the way to introduce reverse ballcrushing blast beats and ripping tremolo riffs that give the song almost a Bolt Thrower-like vibe, in the similar vein to "In Battle There Is No Law". Speaking of borderline death metal, the third track 'Masturbation In A Tomb' a more rock and roll oriented direction with mid-tempo riffing and drumming, while the slow riff has a pretty wicked and slow death metal feel to it, taking it a bit further from the thrashing mania. This EP also contains one bonus track 'Drunk Thrashers Attack', which is a very standard thrash metal song in itself, along with some brief falsetto moment, however it drastically deviates from the rest in terms of its production, which is obviously an older track that has a more demo like sound.

The songwriting is nothing too spectacular, it’s pretty much your usual thrash metal with some bordering death metal moments, but at least you can tell that there was some effort put into making the songs feel catchy and enjoyable, while also trying to get that thrash metal edge around it as well. Personally, there isn’t really a stand out track for me, however I will say that all of them are very good and worth giving it a go, even the slower track 'Masturbation On The Tomb' that takes a whole different approach from the rest. One small issue that I have with this EP is the cover art, which although has that kind of vintage demo cassette feel to it, looks a bit lazy and not really that appealing to the music. The only bigger issue that I have with this EP is its sound production, mainly because it sounds and feels like it lacks bass entirely, and it misses that one ingredient that could have made it a much punchier. But on the other side, the raw and primitive guitar tone, drums and vocals sound quite alright and their execution gives an extra edge to the songs.

Raining Vomit is not really something that could be categorized as “outstanding” or “attention-worthy” stuff, but it is still worth a go if you are a diehard thrash metal fan just looking for some good stuff, especially if you dig this more underground stuff. Although Drunk Thrasher doesn’t really seem like something that would take itself too seriously, I still think that it did an alright job with this EP, but I can definitely tell that this band will make even better music in the future, especially with the next effort that comes out.

Rating: 7.3 out of 10

Review by Mladen on March 5, 2021.

It's easy for normal people. Play them ten seconds of whatever and they will instantly know whether they like it or not. Ask them to recommend something to you, they will play you ten seconds of whatever else, and expect you to agree. But when you ask "why" they will struggle to give you an intelligent answer. Or, any answer, especially if you expect one related to music itself. It's probably the same if you ask them why they hate something. They will know within ten seconds.

On the other side, what we have here is 65 minutes of something, and after those 65 minutes even a seasoned reviewer will still not know, but for a radically different reason. Because it asks questions. And makes you wonder. So. 65 minutes of slow, scorching drone guitar, random screams and equally slow drums - if you can call them that. They are definitely drums, but more as if someone randomly hits parts of the drum kit, possibly with only one drum stick. It turns out that they were programmed, but you'd never neither guess nor care to. There's not much free time between the hits for constructive thinking because when they hit, they hurt. And it's somewhere between the Chinese water torture and a "hell yeah".

Now the questions. Is this planned, or is it a nihilistic stream of consciousness? The subconscious says that it is planned, but the reason says that any planned parts are few and far in-between. Oxidation could be a work of people who, first, learned how to master things, only to, knowingly and systematically, de-construct them later. Or it could be a couple of retards on a lucky day, doing what they are comfortable with. The sound is clean enough to be professional, yet dirty enough to be a work of a bedroom amateur. Who knows.

The guitar is, mostly, retarded - if you thought bedroom DSBM guitars are retarded, you haven't heard Arkhitekt. Yet, after a while, you don't care. It's just some chords, and it's more about their presence contributing to the atmosphere slowly sucking you in and making you lose hope than about playing actual music. Occasionally there will be a lick or a repeating pattern - not a good one, mind you - but perceivable enough to make you realize the guy actually made an effort. Oh, sweet nothing.

There is an occasional keyboard intro or outro, and the Striborg fan in you will rejoice. The same guy also does the vocals, and the screams are probably the one ingredient that makes all this work. Or, maybe it's the pathetic excuse for drums that still makes you sit and listen to each and every beat. Because you don't really need more than that, whatever it is. Progressive retardation or constructive degradation.

So, there it is. A reviewer both knows and doesn't know. But, it's an hour later. Not ten seconds later.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Mladen on March 5, 2021.

It's easy for normal people. Play them ten seconds of whatever and they will instantly know whether they like it or not. Ask them to recommend something to you, they will play you ten seconds of whatever else, and expect you to agree. But when you ask "why" they will struggle to give you an intelligent answer. Or, any answer, especially if you expect one related to music itself. It's probably the same if you ask them why they hate something. They will know within ten seconds.

On the other side, what we have here is 65 minutes of something, and after those 65 minutes even a seasoned reviewer will still not know, but for a radically different reason. Because it asks questions. And makes you wonder. So. 65 minutes of slow, scorching drone guitar, random screams and equally slow drums - if you can call them that. They are definitely drums, but more as if someone randomly hits parts of the drum kit, possibly with only one drum stick. It turns out that they were programmed, but you'd never neither guess nor care to. There's not much free time between the hits for constructive thinking because when they hit, they hurt. And it's somewhere between the Chinese water torture and a "hell yeah".

Now the questions. Is this planned, or is it a nihilistic stream of consciousness? The subconscious says that it is planned, but the reason says that any planned parts are few and far in-between. Oxidation could be a work of people who, first, learned how to master things, only to, knowingly and systematically, de-construct them later. Or it could be a couple of retards on a lucky day, doing what they are comfortable with. The sound is clean enough to be professional, yet dirty enough to be a work of a bedroom amateur. Who knows.

The guitar is, mostly, retarded - if you thought bedroom DSBM guitars are retarded, you haven't heard Arkhitekt. Yet, after a while, you don't care. It's just some chords, and it's more about their presence contributing to the atmosphere slowly sucking you in and making you lose hope than about playing actual music. Occasionally there will be a lick or a repeating pattern - not a good one, mind you - but perceivable enough to make you realize the guy actually made an effort. Oh, sweet nothing.

There is an occasional keyboard intro or outro, and the Striborg fan in you will rejoice. The same guy also does the vocals, and the screams are probably the one ingredient that makes all this work. Or, maybe it's the pathetic excuse for drums that still makes you sit and listen to each and every beat. Because you don't really need more than that, whatever it is. Progressive retardation or constructive degradation.

So, there it is. A reviewer both knows and doesn't know. But, it's an hour later. Not ten seconds later.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10