Review by Felix on December 11, 2023.

Algebra, what a name for a band. It reminds me of the poor grades in maths that I produced with great naturalness and questionable consistency. Fortunately the music of the Swiss thrash brigade is no academic exercise. The guys dish up earthy, crispy riffs that do not lack sharpness and dynamic. It makes fun to experience that “Chiroptera” unites the most important elements of the thrashing genre. Especially the factor energy does not come off badly in songs like “Resuscitation”. But “Chiroptera” also knows what it does not want to offer. Nonsensical, infantile details do not show up. This is no “Poser Holocaust” or any other kind of bullshit. Algebra perform a mature form of thrash without sounding tiring. There is a spontaneous note in their compositions and so they cannot be blamed for predictability.

Of course, their maturity is not the perfect partner for an old school thrash massacre and indeed, the album sounds partly rather modern than traditional. But this is no case of black or white; similar to bands like Mortal Vision from the Ukraine, Algebra combine both worlds. Maybe the production tips the scales. Don’t worry, this is no sterile mix, but it also does not have much in common with the somehow charming sound of the classics. Algebra set the focus on a high degree of clean transparency. Additionally an emotional solo like that of “Eternal Sleep” is hardly imaginable on an album from the eighties, maybe except for outros. (The whiny back vocals in this track are also pretty odd.) Nevertheless, broad parts of “Chiroptera” follow an adequately brutal approach. The quartet lets steam off and this is nothing that worries me. The opposite is true, the album holds some pretty strong tunes. Just let me mention three of them.

I already mentioned “Resuscitation”. Its flow is not perfectly arranged, but it houses many sequences which are filled to the brim with aggression, force and pressure. “Kleptomaniac” sounds like a bastard of thrash (due to the rasping guitars) and hardcore (due to the vocals). “Constricted” cannot be confused with its predecessor. It offers a slightly eerie mid-tempo approach that combines pretty unusual melodies with dry riffs. These are the first three songs after the intro. Why do I mention this? Well, despite the fact that the other tracks are mostly more or less on a par with them, it is sometimes difficult to keep the focus on the musical offering. To create a clear, maybe even catchy flow is not the main competency of the band and so I miss a more coherent approach from time to time. Nevertheless, the positive aspects dominate (this is a big difference to my school “career”) and especially the title track depicts the glory of powerful thrash metal.

Rating: 7.3 out of 10

Review by Felix on January 6, 2024.

Until today, I had just a few short acoustic meetings with Dust Bolt. My prejudice was that they are another typical German thrash band with more or less solid riffs, a pretty high level of energy and a generally raw approach. Now I saw that they released a new album, already their fifth one, and I got a bad conscience. Wasn’t it time to support my compatriots with a positive review, especially with regard to the promising title Sound & Fury?

Well, maybe the answer should be “yes”, but sorry, I am a bad liar and if one thing is immovable, it is my resolution that my reviews reflect my honest opinion. So let’s be clear: this is no thrash album, no modern one and especially none that features the genre’s old school. It must have been a deaf jester who wrote the promo: “Although still rooted in thrash and old school metal, the new record adds dazzling color and diversity to the band’s trademark sound.“ The words up to the comma are simply rubbish. I am listening to a pop album with some heavy guitars, some really casual riffs from time to time, but the sad, lame and poppy final track at the latest makes even the last well-meaning person realize: this is a band sailing to new shores. The Gallagher brothers can't hate each other so much that they don't laugh their heads off together at this ridiculous Oasis copy called 'Little Stone'. Let’s be fair, some songs have a cool groove, for example the pretty rebellious opener. Nevertheless, already this piece makes it clear: Dust Bolt has fallen in love with pretty commercial melodies. As a result, this track is no annoyance, but allow me one tiny little question: where is the promised fury, my dear nice guys? 'I Witness' shows comparable symptoms. A quite hard and stomping beginning spreads almost hardcore vibes, but as soon as the vocals set in, the first corners and edges are sanded. Nobody should get hurt, please!

And so it goes on: 'I Am The One' would be a nice sing-along hit for a high school combo making its first appearance. Of course, we are all free to sell our soul to whomever we want. But we should be aware of the fact that our friends, neighbors, parents and girlfriends realize this shabby action and maybe they do not like us very much any longer. It’s sad but true, I cannot identify more than 10% true thrash here, spread over 10 seconds here and 15 seconds there. The excellent sound of the album and the technical skills of the musicians – especially the lead vocalist is definitely a good singer – cannot make up for the lack of fury, anger and energy. Dust Bolt let us know that they have been “trying to find a space where our emotions can be free”. Okay, but their boring kind of feelings could have stayed behind bars as well. Just like the stupid artwork, the disco sounds in the ninth track speak volumes: despite a handful of acceptable (non-thrash) songs, this nearly radio-friendly album is partly embarrassing. I will not have further acoustic meetings with Dust Bolt.

Rating: 4.5 out of 10

Review by Felix on September 11, 2024.

Vom Schwarzen Schmied, the predecessor of Uranium, was a massive statement with excessive melody lines, a lot of drama, and dynamics. Uranium points into the same direction. It’s a logical successor. Dauƥuz still wallows in the fascinating mining scenarios of total darkness, fear, superhuman efforts, and exploitation of natural resources. As a guy from West Germany, I admit that for years I only thought of the “Ruhrpott” in Northrhine-Westphalia in terms of mining. Therefore I enjoy that Dauƥuz add the East German perspective, spanning a line from the year 1666 to the second half of the twentieth century. Especially their lyrics about the murderous and inhumane Russian regime after World War II are very interesting, even though they lack the occult charm of the opener’s lyrics which deal with alchemy and the birth of the name-giving element of the actinide group (isn’t it exciting that there is seemingly nothing that the world wide web doesn’t know, haha?).

Uranium, upgraded by its atmospheric, ominous, and stylish artwork, cannot completely achieve the class of Vom Schwarzen Schmied. It does not suffer from a lot of weak details, but in my humble opinion, tracks like 'Radonquell 1666' (almost nine minutes) and 'Ein Werkzeug Des Todes' (ten minutes) are a bit too long and not totally immune against a few rather vapid sections. The drama of the lyrical content thus loses density, in no moment to a great extent, but nevertheless noticeably. In addition, the melody lines are maybe five or ten percent less expressive than those of the predecessor. This means that most of them are still very good, but the final iota of excellence is missing from time to time.

But let's stop lamenting, after all, only luxury problems are being complained about here. Uranium is another intelligently designed work, meticulously thought out and very competently executed. The single parts of the songs create an organic flow and the single songs almost coalesce with each other, giving the album the feeling of just one track, divided in six chapters. The vocals offer a broad portfolio from grim nagging to heroic singing and the band still does not care about commercial aspects. No doubt, the approach of the duo reflects a lot of the artists’ individuality and despite the lengths of the songs and their different sections, they are more or less easily accessible. Speaking of individuality, the only obvious reference to another band is the bone-chilling guitar line in the opener and the closer which reminds me of the riff in "Daudafærd", the masterpiece of Sweden’s Pest. Apart from this detail, I am sure that every fan of pretty melodic yet always desperate black metal will enjoy the album.

By the way, I am speaking of a very well produced work. Uranium is not based on a furious wall of sound, but it scores due to its masterly balanced and transparent appearance. Each and every single component has found its place. This and the strength of the song material makes the album to a very enjoyable listening experience. The many facets of the songs guarantee that convinced black metal fans will find something good in each and every one of them. Those who think they should skip a song make a mistake, because one can feel the passion and dedication of the two artists in almost every moment. With that said Uranium is no gigantic milestone and very picky maniacs will moan about too many theatrical moments. I also cannot completely rule out that the album loses a bit of its fascination outside of Germany, due to the lyrics in my mother language and the very German lyrical topic. Either way, from my Teutonic perspective, I can recommend Uranium with a clear conscience.

Rating: 8.1 out of 10