Battalion – Underdogs
Battalion – Underdogs
Release date: 26th February 2010 (Europe)
Recordlabel – Silverwolf Productions
“Underdogs” is the first release from The Battalion. The Battalion is a young band (started in 2006) from Switzerland and not to be confused with The Battalion from Norway. With one glimpse at the coverwork of “Underdogs” (mainly consisting out of terminator like robots and one guy ripping of his face to uncover another terminator like robot) I knew that the cd wasn’t going to be a calm listen session. I was proven right. The cd mainly consists of old school thrash sounds with a little mix of heavy metal in it. Next to a lot of faster songs (Thrash Maniacs, Running Alone, Bullets & Death, Beggars Rights, Defenders) and a few headbanging songs (Headbangers, Wings of a Demon, TFFM, Dictators of Stone) the cd contains a slow song (which also corporates the german language) with Stalingrad and the interlude that follows it. The cd itself changes between the faster pit songs and the headbanging songs. This could have been done better as this creates the feeling that the numerous songs are all individual and don’t create a general feeling on the cd. The songs itself are of good quality but lack a new sound. This of course corresponds with the old school thrash metal sound they are creating.
Conclusion:
The Battalion is a young band which just delivered their first album. This album is very thrashy but lacks a new sound. The cd also lacks a consistency as it mixes the fast and headbanging songs to much. It just doesn’t build up to something. The songs itself are of good quality and are generally speaking entertaining. All in all it is a young band with a lot of potential to become a great thrash metal band.
Track Listing:
01. Thrash Maniacs
02. Headbangers
03. Running Alone
04. Wings Of a Demon
05. T.F.F.M
06. Bullets & Death
07. Stalingrad
08. Interlude
09. Beggars Right
10. Dictators Of Stone
11. Defenders
Line-up:
Cyril Etzensperger – Rhytym Guitar
Samuel Riedener – Drums
Silvan Etzensperger – Vocals, Lead Guitar
Lukas Marti – Bass
Reviewer: Roel