Atrox Trauma – On The Line Of Nothing And Something
Atrox Trauma – On The Line Of Nothing And Something
Wormholedeath
Release Date: 28/01/22
Running Time: 42:18
Review by Paul Hutchings
6/10
Formed in Hungary in 2008, Atrox Trauma’s journey hasn’t been easy. Early demos followed their formative years where Sepultura, Kreator and Slayer formed the staple covers. An early demo called “Fojtogat” surfaced, followed by a smattering of gigs. A gap in their activity led to the band emerging again in 2019, securing the support of label Wormholedeath and finally realising that ambition of their first album.
Whilst “On The Line Of Nothing And Something” is one solid thrash metal album, one would also have to say that there’s little imagination in the music of Atrox Trauma. It’s fast, it’s furious and it thrashes like a salmon on a hook. But there is little here that hasn’t been delivered a million times before. Wearing one’s influences on your sleeve is fine but there needs to be a bit of originality involved somewhere.
Kicking off with a dramatic intro that bears the title name, the band then take over a minute to get going properly on ‘You Are Servant’, which is explosive but incredibly standard. A mixture of styles, big thrashing riffs and gruff vocals combine in a routine and competent but less than thrilling song. Move on to the main trunk of the record, and we are confronted by Sepultura-style riffing, with more than a nod to ‘Troops of Doom’.
It may sound critical and if it does, then I am sorry, but Atrox Trauma struggle to tear up even the lightest tree. The routine chugging of ‘The World Doesn’t Exist’ sees the limitations of Török’s vocals, which are limited, somewhat exposed. He can do the roaring fast-paced snarling but nothing else. The frenetic pace of the track veers wildly back to the Sepultura style.
At least they do give a nod to variety with the groove of ‘This is the Truth’, which has some melody lurking within its gnarled arms. It drives along quite nicely with a thumping bass line propelling the track. But ‘Vanity’ and ‘Get Out of Publicity’ unfortunately veer just a little too close to the Sepultura orbit to be anything other than homage. Ironically, when they slow things down a little on ‘The One Who’s Got Sense’ things get a little more interesting for a brief minute or two.
On the plus side, this is steaming hot thrash metal with a lot of pulsating explosive riffing. It’s competently played, and I reckon if I’d had a few beers at a festival I’d be raging in the pit with the best of them. My problem with this album, like many genres, is that there is nothing that stands apart from the rest. It’s punishingly ferocious and enjoyable, in a totally generic way. These days, being a bit long in the tooth, I want my metal to grab me and shake me hard. It needs to be an ice bucket over the head. This is more of a lukewarm bath.
TRACKLISTING:
01. On The Line Of Nothing And Something
02. You Are Servant
03. Parasite Elite
04. I Don’t Understand
05. The World Doesn’t Exist
06. This Is The Truth
07. Vanity
08. Get Out Of Publicity
09. The One Who’s Got Sense
10. Until It Connects
11. Upgrade
12. Moon, Dawn
LINE-UP:
Imre Torok – Vocals, Guitar
Andras Székely – Guitar
Gyula David Tabori – Bass
Gergely Gyori – Drums
LINKS:
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