Headshot – Eyes of the Guardian
Headshot – Eyes of the Guardian
MDD Records
Release Date: 14/10/22
Running Time: 42:18
Review by Paul Hutchings
6/10
Sometimes you’ll get an album that wows you. Sometimes you’ll get an album that you detest. Both inspire a passion which is hard to ignore. You’ll either want to play it again and again or throw the damn thing in the bin. Disappointingly, German Thrashers Headshot stir neither reaction, the result being an average album that is solidly produced and delivered but sadly lacking in anything that fires the emotions.
Having formed in 1993, the band changed singers in 2008 with Daniela Karrer taking over the microphone. It’s been over a decade since their last album, 2011’s “Synchronicity”, but one wonders if this is worth the wait.
Let’s get it clear. This isn’t a bad album. It just doesn’t bring anything new to the table. The Thrash style of song like ‘Burned’, the title track and ‘Veins of the Earth’ add little to the sound of a million other bands, whilst the forays into slightly heavier styles on tracks like ‘Ground Zero’ just aren’t cohesive, the song sounding like a poor Arch Enemy cover band. Throw in a random 1:32 instrumental called ‘Tentacular (Part 1)’ that does nothing apart from demonstrate the band’s undoubted technical prowess and you have an album that just doesn’t fire any excitement.
Headshot are undoubtedly influenced by the Bay Area scene of the 1980’s, alongside some of their own countrymen, in particular Kreator. The challenge for them is to produce something that is a little different from the standard Thrash blueprint. Sadly, they don’t get there. Despite the intensity of the shredding guitar work, the impact of songs like ‘Under a Blood Red Sky’ is limited. It’s well delivered, yet cliched and Karrer’s vocals are testing. At times they flow neatly, but at others they are a real struggle. ‘Veins of the Earth’ is one example, the forced nature of the style coming at the detriment of the overall track.
Musically, Headshot are solid but unspectacular, with the most impressive song being the nine-minute Progressive workout ‘Invisible’ which closes the record. Elsewhere the songs are cohesive yet limited in creativity. Modern Thrash Metal may be in a healthy condition, but for every new and exciting band there are many who are just rehashing the same songs repeatedly. Headshot are sitting somewhere in the middle, and whilst they do what they do well, it’s an album that overall lacks the punch and drive that is needed to push them anywhere near the top end of the genre.
‘Eyes Of The Guardian’ Official Lyric Video
TRACKLISTING:
01. Burned (One by one)
02. Eyes of The Guardians
03. Scars of Damnation
04. Ground Zero
05. Tentacular (Part 1)
06. Divide Et Impera
07. Under A Blood Red Sky
08. The Impenetrable Maze
09. Veins of The Earth
10. Invisible
LINE-UP:
Daniela Karrer – Vocals
Olaf Danneberg – Guitar
Max Hunger – Guitar/bass
Ben Heber – Bass
Till Hartmann – Drums
LINKS:
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