Shredhead | Human Nature

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by Chris A.
Staff Writer —

“The air is filled with thick black smoke…” are the opening lyrics of Human Nature by powerhouse Israeli metal band Shredhead. Damn right it is! And your head is going to explode when you hear this disc. If you love old school, take-no-prisoners thrash metal this album is going to kick your ass from the first cut to the last. There’s very little known about Shredhead other than they are from Israel, their record, released in August 2011, is titled Human Nature, (English vocals) and that it’s an absolutely brilliant first effort from a relatively obscure band.

With much of todays registering as “incredibly average” on the cool meter, Shredhead’s Human Nature is anything but. When you press play you’re assaulted by the opening cut, there’s listening break-in period required. This goddamn record reaches out and will punch you in the face essentially taking you prisoner and forcing you to listen.

Frankly, who cares where a band is from or whose in it? if It’s intense, if it’s ferocious, and it sounds legitimate, most metal heads will give it a spin. Regarding Shredhead, for comparison sake, consider Anthrax meets Slayer, with a dose of Dave Mustaine attitude tossed in for good measure. Shredhead’s formula for high-intensity thrash metal mixes blitzkrieg doses of machine gun fast, tone filled guitar riffs with explosive percussion superbly complimented by vocals that will that will have you going 80 miles per hour in a 35 mile zone.

From a musical perspective there’s nothing groundbreaking but the presentation coupled with the ferocity of the tunes makes this one of those “must hear” jewels for metal heads. You’ll be able to discern the musical influences of living in the Middle East courtesy of Shredhead guitarist Yotam Nagor. His lead licks often exude a kind of crazy cool Jewish folk music vibe, played on a guitar with the amp turned up to 11. It’s different and it’s cool. Hell, you never know, these guys may have recorded this in the back room of some Israeli college dorm or are perhaps members of some exotic heavy metal Kibbutz. Who knows. Who cares. The bottom line is these guys play incredibly brutal music that will leave your ears bleeding and the muscles in your jaw sore from gnashing your teeth from head-banging.

“Human Nature” the first cut of the album is typical of the ass-kicking, frenetic metal songs contained on an album that was written for battle. No doubt the Israeli military listens to Shredhead when they go into combat to kick the shit out of the terrorist types who screw with their citizens. How could you not dominate listening to this stuff?

Okay, Shredhead isn’t a big-time, big-name act, but don’t let that stop you from having a listen. Thankfully, they stream their entire disc via their Facebook and via their Bandcamp pages so you can test drive them before you buy the tunes. Hit their band page on Facebook. If you love fast, in-your-face, take-no-prisoners, ass-kicking metal, you’re going to love this band.

Genre: Thrash Metal

Band:
Aharon Ragoza – vocals
Yotam Nago – guitar
Lee Lavy – bass
Roee Kahana -drums

Track Listing:
Human Nature
Dead Eyes
Ruffies
Death Row
Becoming The Animal
Blood On Thy Hands
Knife In A Gun Fight
New Order
Rise
Zombies (intro)
Zombie Attack

Label: Independent

Web: http://shredhead.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/shredheadband

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.7/10