I’m not big a thrasher as I used to be, but
when I have the time to pull away from hordes of death and black metal
releases, I always give one of my classics a listen. Beantown’s thrash massacre
Wargasm are a legendary act for me not only because their debut album ‘’Why
Play Around?’’ has been dwelling in my recollection for a long time, but also
because they can properly bestir a combination of thrash metal, fast and
ripping, with groovy rock n’ roll overtones. ‘’Why Play Around?’’ moves in a
steady tempo around classic thrash many of you would be familiar with, but with
a crisp and piercing tone, extremely memorable riffs, classy, yet simple
patterns and brisk attitude, the album does characterize itself very well.
Technical may be the wrong word to describe
the way of the riffs, although in some ways it still resembles their sway. Rich
Spielberg, the sole guitarist of the band is the most efficient implement in
the whole trio, pushing the music towards utter destruction and pure rock n’
roll driven mayhem can catchiness. In no way are his riffs bland, but they’re
not utterly technical and mind blowing either, just exceedingly robust and
devastating in the delivery. The riffs don’t really live of sordidness, because
they can conjure up much more than just depraved riffs, but when Wargasm wants you
to have a taste of evil, you can be damn sure they’ll give it.
Despite the pummelling grooves and rhythms
that rock and back and forth and splatter ears with excellent transitions for
tempo switches, there’s also the ridiculously audible blast of the drums, and
drummer Barry Spielberg doesn’t shy from showing off his arsenal of pulverizing
beats and attacks. Well, the tempo is set, and the riffs flow with ease with
crunch aplenty, so what’s left? Ah yes, the vocals. The vocals are actually not
something you often hear in thrash metal, since most bands want to blast out
pure extremity and relentless intensity, but here, you have vocals that very
much sound, well, sort of weak, and it does feel queer to hear such a dwindling
sound over a forceful storm of intensified riffs, but I’ll admit it – the vocal
work fits the music well and that’s all that can be said about it.
I know many underground followers underestimate
the power of thrash mainly because it’s not as frantic as the other genres, and
I do think that thrash is the weakest offspring of the extreme metal genre
sometimes, but the truth is, these are the records that formed up the basis of
pretty much anything that came after it, and thrash has tons of old school
underground classics – this being to exception. Wargasm’s sordid thrash attack
is not something to be taken with a grain of salt, because when these guys bash
their chords and beat their drums, it’s an absolute massacre. One of 1988’s many
classics, and one record that ought to be taken much more seriously…
Highlights
''Wargasm''
''Revenge''
''Bullets And Blades''
''Undead''
Final Rating
Awesome [8.7/10]
