{"id":30752,"date":"2013-07-09T06:14:27","date_gmt":"2013-07-09T11:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=30752"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:36:57","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:36:57","slug":"havok-unnatural-selection-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/havok-unnatural-selection-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Havok | Unnatural Selection<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Matt Karpe<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"HAVOKColorado thrash metallers Havok release their third album Unnatural Selection<\/em>, paying homage to Slayer and at times Pantera on ten tracks of fury.<\/p>\n

David Sanchez spits venom like there\u2019s no tomorrow, whilst he also lets rip on guitar along with lead axe man Reece Scruggs. Pete Webber destroys his drum kit as newest member Michael Leon is a revelation on bass.<\/p>\n

Opener \u201cI Am The State\u201d sets the tone, with a frantic drum assault, shredding guitar riffage and a thudding bass line. Sanchez screams and shouts like classic Tom Araya on a decent track.<\/p>\n

\u201cGive Me Liberty…Or Give Me Death\u201d contains politically themed lyrics and features some bullying gang vocals. Sanchez shows some diversity in his vocals trading melody and monster howls. <\/p>\n

\u201cIs It True\u201d features a mesmerising guitar solo from Scruggs- one of many on the album and Leon contributes a funky bass hook which is more prominent in the second half of the song.<\/p>\n

\u201cWaste Of Life\u201d is Pantera-esque in every way. A slow and grinding intro with chugging guitars and a decent drumbeat, overshadowed by plenty of melodic singing, but at just over six minutes long, the song feels too dragged out.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a shame when the best song on Unnatural Selection<\/em> wasn\u2019t even written by Havok. An excellent rendition of Sabbath\u2019s \u201cChildren Of The Grave\u201d is musically, played to perfection. The classic well renowned guitar riffs are spot on, and the drumming superb. Sanchez puts his own vocal style to good use to make this cover song a little bit more original.<\/p>\n

The title track rounds off the album with more frantic fury, another ode to Slayer in terms of aggressive drumming and brutal guitar \u201cslaying.\u201d
\nHavok haven\u2019t produced anything groundbreaking here. Although the technicality in the instrumentation is good, it\u2019s a typical thrash album in a genre that is trying to be revived, yet no one seems to be willing to take the mantle.<\/p>\n

The guitar solos are a highlight, as is everything played by Michael Leon who can mix it with the best on four strings. Pete Webber\u2019s drumming does enough to keep pace and David Sanchez\u2019s vocals are diverse and strong.<\/p>\n

However, a few too many songs are dragged out, and the lack of variety and pace to the album is a big stumbling block as, after a while, most of the songs seem to blend into one.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, Havok have plenty of time and plenty more years to record more music that may just set the thrash metal world alight again.<\/p>\n

Genre: Thrash metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nDavid Sanchez- Vocals\/Guitar
\nReece Scruggs: Lead Guitar
\nMichael Leon: Bass
\nPete Webber: Drums<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1. I Am The State
\n2. Give Me Liberty…Or Give Me Death
\n3. Is It True
\n4. Under The Gun
\n5. Waste Of Life
\n6. Living Nightmare
\n7. Chasing The Edge
\n8. Worse Than War
\n9. Children Of The Grave
\n10. Unnatural Selection<\/p>\n

Label: Candlelight Records<\/p>\n

Webpage: www.HAVOKband.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven Rating: 5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Matt Karpe – Columnist — Colorado thrash metallers Havok release their third album Unnatural Selection, paying homage to Slayer and at times Pantera on ten tracks of fury. David Sanchez spits venom like there\u2019s […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":30753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[428,336,2068,334,1101],"class_list":{"0":"post-30752","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2013","8":"tag-candlelight-records","9":"tag-cd","10":"tag-havok","11":"tag-review","12":"tag-thrash-metal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30752"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30752\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}