REZET (Germany) - Alien Noises (feat. Schmier of DESTRUCTION) - Reviewed by 195metalcds ! Check it out here at this link: https://www.195metalcds.com/2022/08/01/rezet-new-world-murder-ep-2022/
When Rezet’s most recent album Truth in Between (2021) effectively turned out to be a commercial nonstarter due to Covid-19, Schleswig’s (Germany) finest in thrash quickly had to separate the wheat from the chaff… albeit not so much voluntarily as out of necessity. After amicably separating from guitarist Heiko Musolf and bass player Bjarne Otto, main composer, guitarist and singer Ricky Wagner shortly wondered whether he should put the band to rest.
Instead, opting for a no-compromise and do-it-yourself approach by continuing Rezet without label-support, this resolve triggered a burst of creativity resulting in New World Murder, a four-track EP which both revisits the group’s roots as well as points towards a brighter future. Wagner and drummer Bastian “attt” Santen recruited bassist Lorenz Kandolf and second guitarist Jan-Erik Fischer to self-record three new songs as well as a flamboyant cover of Deep Purple’s proto metal classic “Fireball” (track 4).
And it is for releases exactly like this that I love this 195 metal CDs project. For a moment, this EP transported me back to a half-decorated bedroom in the Scottish Borders in the mid-to late-80s covered with Queen and metal posters, staying up late on a Friday night to listen to Tommy Vance‘s Friday Rock Show on BBC Radio 1. The days before the world wide web and smartphones, unable to access whatever you want, whenever you want. I needed to satisfy my thirst for new metal and broaden my education through weekly magazines like Kerrang! and Raw!, monthly releases of Metal Hammer and Metal Forces, TV broadcasts like Noisy Mothers and Raw Power, but the holy grail of them all was the gravelly voiced guru of metal Tommy Vance. I got into so many new bands through that show—Candlemass, Pantera, Sepultura.
Opening track “The devil’s bride” (track 1) has the same energy and excitement as those early Bay Area thrash releases. “Alien noises” (track 2) has a satisfying gallop and vocals spat out like those early Kreator records. It has a definite ‘teutonic thrash’ vibe. Another reason to love this track, “Alien Noises” features guest vocals by Schmier, frontman of German thrash pioneers Destruction. This track will grace the soundtrack of the movie Total Thrash.
And like a perfect three-course meal ‘Dead end walking (track 3) gives us a different flavour. Within the first minute the tempo has changed multiple times from gentle gallop to full-out thrash and back again, before a whining guitar solo introduces the vocals.
The outlier on this release is the over of Deep Purple’s “Fireball”, the opening track from their 1971 album of the same name. It’s hard to know what they were trying to achieve here—other than that they enjoyed the track. I’m not sure it adds terribly much to the EP, to be honest. I would have preferred another original track—even a reworking of a previous release. If the idea was to reinvent the band, how better than to give an old track new life, and drive some listeners to explore their back-catalogue? Anyway…
Conclusion
All in all this is a good EP—it connects with the past and points to the future. This EP reaches back to the roots of 80s thrash but as more than just a tribute, this feels fresh and exciting today. I’d be keen to hear where Rezet take things next.
Review score: 85% - 195metalcds
Release Date: 27th May 2022
FFO: Annihilator, Traitor, Overkill
Location: Schleswig, Germany
When Rezet´s most recent album Truth in Between effectively turned out to be a commercial nonstarter due to a certain virus, northern Germany´s finest in thrash quickly had to separate the wheat from the chaff… albeit not so much voluntarily as out of necessity. After amicably separating from guitarist Heiko Musolf and bass player Bjarne Otto, main composer, guitarist and singer Ricky Wagner shortly wondered whether he should put the band to rest but then decided differently. Contrarily, he set out to leave nothing to coincidence anymore, opting for a “no compromise” and do-it-yourself approach by continuing Rezet without label-support for the time being. This resolve triggered a burst of creativity, resulting in New World Murder, a four-track EP both revisiting the group´s roots as well as hinting towards a brighter future. Wagner and drummer Bastian “attt” Santen recruited four-stringer Lorenz Kandolf and second guitarist Jan-Erik Fischer to self-record three new songs as well as a flamboyant cover of Deep Purple´s proto metal classic ´Fireball´.
The material was then mixed and mastered by the band´s trusted sound engineer Eike Freese (amongst others Heaven Shall Burn, Helloween and, indeed, Deep Purple), with ´The Devil´s Bride´ being a perfect opener, blending acute Motörhead vibes with Ricky´s charismatic snarl and an almost Annihilator-esque playfulness, highlight the razor-sharp precision of Rezet´s new line-up. The rhythmically diverse, subtly melodic ´Dead End Walking´ is barbed with one of the catchiest riffs you may hear in 2022 and topped of by an atmospheric instrumental bridge whereas staccato earworm ´Alien Noises´ – featuring guest vocals by none other than German thrash pioneers Destruction´s front man Schmier – hits home even faster and will grace the soundtrack of the movie “Total Thrash”.
So there you have it: four smashers that sounds unpredictable and familiar alike, reflecting Ricky´s hands-on attitude. “In a way,” he concludes, “I see New World Murder in the spirit of Metallica, who also keep setting new goals for themselves, shedding their skin on a constant basis. Eventually, we reclaimed our joy in what we do simply by doing what we love without fulfilling expectations.” Old is the new New – so watch out and perk your ears for “The Great Rezet”!
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https://music.apple.com/us/album/new-world-murder-ep/1617837760
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