Thrash metal...oh my poor thrash metal. Everyone and their grandmother has had a new dead horse to beat, and it is my beloved thrash and speed metal of the mid to late 80s. Having done this myself, I can't really blame them. But as with many trends, there will be a few who succeed and many that fail.
Eliminator are a New Jersey 2-piece playing excessively brutal thrash. They succeed. It's fast, it's furious, the vocals are similar to Sodom and Kreator. The musicianship is top notch, in particular the guitars. The solos are well constructed. There isn't much distinction between the tracks, but they do seem to have several levels of 'production', as if the record might have been recorded at different times or places. You'll even notice this between the album opener "World Obliteration" and the second, title track.
One distraction is the drum tone...they are listed as having a drummer but this seems more like a drum machine to me. If the former, they might want to develop some better fills for a more organic, exciting flow. If the latter, just replace with the former. These days it is getting even harder for me to distinguish such details.
Anyhoo, these guys have done a decent job with this album. The riffs aren't quite exciting enough for me to come back to, but they have done a service to their influences without being too cheesy in a 'retro' sense. The lyrics don't completely suck, and they've got some crazy guitar playing, i.e. "The Punisher". If you like your thrash metal quick and dirty yet structured and proficient then Eliminator should make their mark on the new generation.
Verdict: Indifference [6/10]
http://www.myspace.com/eliminatorus
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