{"id":52410,"date":"2016-07-12T07:21:39","date_gmt":"2016-07-12T12:21:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=52410"},"modified":"2016-07-12T07:21:39","modified_gmt":"2016-07-12T12:21:39","slug":"flotsam-and-jetsam-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2016\/flotsam-and-jetsam-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Flotsam and Jetsam | Flotsam and Jetsam"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\n– Sr. Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Flotsam\"Ah, the infamous self-titled album. When you see that from a band and it\u2019s not their debut album, you know they\u2019re either a) completely reinventing its sound or b) attempting to press the \u201creset button\u201d on their career. Given the fact that this particular self-titled album is coming from Flotsam and Jetsam, a 30-year veteran of the American Thrash Metal scene, the \u201creset button\u201d scenario seems the most likely choice.<\/p>\n

Flotsam and Jetsam have gone through a lot of lineup changes over the years, with vocalist Eric \u201cAK\u201d Knutson the only real constant. For this album, which is the band\u2019s eleventh studio offering (assuming we\u2019re not counting the No Place For Disgrace<\/em> rerecording), AK is joined by returning Flotsam and Jetsam veteran guitarist Michael Gilbert and bassist Michael Spencer, as well as guitarist Steve Conley (F5) and drummer Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall).<\/p>\n

Flotsam and Jetsam never really lost their essential sound over the years, but it\u2019s been a while since their approach was as focused it is here. This album is a great example of their brand of tight, mid-tempo, fairly Melodic Thrash Metal. The sharp, intense riffs and pounding, heavy rhythms work very well together. Eric\u2019s vocals are snarling and sinister, sounding a bit like Warrell Dane\u2019s at times, and continue to play a huge role in what makes these songs so effective. He especially shines on \u201cSmoking Gun\u201d and \u201cCreeper.\u201d Leadoff thrasher \u201cSeventh Seal\u201d is another highlight, as is \u201cIron Maiden,\u201d which bears no relation to the signature song by that other better known band. Flotsam and Jetsam have even resurrected a pair of songs \u2013 \u201cL.O.T.D.\u201d and \u201cForbidden Territories\u201d \u2013 that were written way back in the No Place For Disgrace<\/em> sessions. Both of those have that classic Thrash sound, and when you consider how well they fit the rest of this album, that\u2019s a good sign.<\/p>\n

Self-titled albums can be hit-and-miss, but Flotsam and Jetsam have delivered one that is very satisfying here. Whether you\u2019ve followed them faithfully throughout their career or lost track of them since the late \u201880s and early \u201890s efforts, this is an album that will remind you why you were a Flotsam and Jetsam fan in the first place. File this one alongside recent efforts by Overkill, Testament, Death Angel and Onslaught as proof positive thrash\u2019s old guard can still get the job done!<\/p>\n

Genre: Thrash Metal<\/p>\n

Lineup:
\nMichael Spencer (b)
\nMichael Gilbert (g)
\nSteve Conley (g)
\nJason Bittner (d)
\nEric \u201cAK\u201d Knutson (v)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tSeventh Seal
\n2.\tLife Is a Mess
\n3.\tTaser
\n4.\tIron Maiden
\n5.\tVerge of Tragedy
\n6.\tCreeper
\n7.\tL.O.T.D.
\n8.\tThe Incantation
\n9.\tMonkey Wrench
\n10.\tTime To Go
\n11.\tSmoking Gun
\n12.\tForbidden Territories<\/p>\n

Label: AFM Records<\/p>\n

Website: www.flotsam-and-jetsam.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven Rating: 8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines – Sr. Columnist — Ah, the infamous self-titled album. When you see that from a band and it\u2019s not their debut album, you know they\u2019re either a) completely reinventing its sound or […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":52411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13652],"tags":[8645,2317,12492,2026,12493,1101],"class_list":{"0":"post-52410","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2016","8":"tag-afm-records","9":"tag-cd-review","10":"tag-flotsam","11":"tag-flotsam-and-jetsam","12":"tag-jetsam","13":"tag-thrash-metal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52410","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=52410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}