Atrophy - Asylum (2024)

80s thrash metal reunions have reached the point of inevitability by now, and really over the last decade or so, but when some bands decide to give it another go, it feels like they haven't skipped a beat, where some others have attempted to modernize themselves in unflattering ways and evade the reason we heshers enjoyed them in the first place. Arizona's Atrophy, a really strong band across their first two efforts Socialized Hate and Violent by Nature, have fortunately fallen into the first of those categories, with a sound here that feels as if this album had dropped around 1992-93 as thrash declined, stubbornly loyal and aggressive to a fault. My first few spins of the record, I was impressed with the level of energy and strict adherence to their style, but the songs didn't stick out to me as much as their earlier material when I was a teenager.

That has changed in the intervening months, and it's grown on me to a degree, just because of the sheer tenacity of the material. There's not a lot separating this from the old days, largely mid-to-fast paced rhythm guitar-driven punishment with a Bay Area sound mirroring Testament and Forbidden, the one exception might be a little more of a melodic, dramatic vibe in some of the leads. Brian Zimmerman's crunchy, memorable delivery is still the central foundation upon which all this thrives, he's always had sort of a nastier, back alley Chuck Billy intonation and that has not changed, he delivers plenty of grit and his very presence keeps anything from becoming too sterile or polished. I'm also blown away that the rest of the band is all new, but they just nail the precision and playing of their predecessors. There was clearly every intention of making this as close to the source as possible, and they studied well. A few little glints of modernization can be noticed through the production, but everything from the guitar tones to the drumming style is reflective of where they left with the Roadracer discs. Hell, I think the cleaner vocal and acoustic at the very finale of "Close My Eyes" stood out all the more by it.

For me it works the best when you've got that little bit of reverb on Brian's voice, the delivery is so powerful especially when it's followed by some lead guitar that tears through the atmosphere. The lyrics are no-nonsense social and political rantings which were always at the core of the style, but not written in some reckless way, they champion the anti-establishment, anti-corporate, anti-war themes which are just as relevant today as four decades ago when punk and trad metal spawned this hybrid. It's all hammering, intense, and proficiently written, and really so consistent that it's difficult to pick out high or low points as there's such an even distribution over the 44 minutes. I will maintain that the choruses and riffs don't quite embed themselves into my brain as they once did, but as I listen through this it's engaging, entertaining and there are few flaws to point at. A solid reunion effort that gets back to what was important, and perhaps now that they've settled back into this they can come up with a blazing set of tunes to rival their early years. Well met, and welcome back.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

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Atrophy - Violent by Nature (1990)

Atrophy's 1988 debut Socialized Hate was a solid, energetic affair strong on both riffs and vitality, but it was unable to force any wider ripples among a public consciousness for the thrash metal genre that was only then teething upon the 'big 4' US thrash bands (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax) with barely any room left in their attention spans for the exploding scenes out of Germany and the Bay Area, much less the rest of the world. A few other bands would slip through, like Testament, Annihilator, or the Teutonic trio of Kreator, Sodom and Destruction, and garner a reasonable level of success, but so many bright and talented upstarts would be hung out to dry. Atrophy but one of them...

However, the Arizona thrashers were able to cobble together not one, but two impressive LPs chock full of thick, semi-technical riffs, memorable structures and the glazed, almost constipated furor of Brian Zimmerman's vocals (I mean that as a compliment). Violent by Nature is actually a dash more memorable than Socialized Hate. It may lack some of its predecessor's overall focus on speed and intensity, but the songs are extremely well balanced, with bigger sounding bass and memorable chorus vocals. Armed with an iffy (though memorable) Paul Stottler cover image, who you may recognize from his numerous covers for fellow Arizona thrash squad Sacred Reich or his work in tattoos, Violent by Nature arrived just before the thrash wave broke in 1991-92 and was swept back out to sea. Sadly, it was hung up on some oil-stained reef, void of the attention it probably deserved.

The potentially ill-titled "Puppies and Friends" blazes its trail immediately, with some action packed, frenzied that carries through the gang shouts to the extremely cool descending hyper-breakdown around 1:30. The band's popping bass and dense, compact guitar tone (like Exhorder's second album, but better) create a very percussive feel, across which the leads blaze, though they're not highly interesting as far as their own internal composition. "Violent by Nature" opens with busy beat and some further winding, thrash grooves that meter out their complexity through a muted bombast, and Zimmerman enforcing his throat with some variance and emotion, and gang shouts galore into the chorus. "In Their Eyes" is a slower piece, perhaps Atrophy's interpretation of the 'non-ballad', fully loaded with melodic hooks and a powerful, meaningful climax. Do it for the children! "Too Late to Change" features a sweet acoustic intro that blooms into a lead reminiscent of Testament, and a killer thrashing break after 3:30. I also love the bass in this piece.

"Slipped Through the Cracks" is another poignant piece about the failures of the US education system in all the glories of its competitive castigation, with some mosh heavy rhythms akin to Sacred Reich or S.O.D., while "Forgotten But Not Gone" features not only a sweet song title but a series of arching melodic, gladiatorial riffs with a Megadeth-like groove packed into the verse. "Process of Elimination" further sears the band's quality guitarchitecture into your brain, a nigh endless onslaught of sick headbanging riffs that pick up to a frenetic brutality reminiscent of the debut album, only tempered in the more sublime melodies of the vocals in the bridge. "Right to Die" contains one of the best riffs on the entire album (behind the verse), with a very natural flow that makes it impossible to forget, and "Things Change" makes great use of its backing gang shouts, crumbsucking vocals and pummeling bounce rhythms.

As you can see, just about every song here is good, regardless of whether or not we find the very 80s subject matter of the lyrics to be relevant to our lives today (hint: it is, we just may not think so much about these particular topics). For many, this is another undiscovered gem of the 'Golden Decade' for thrash metal, well worth shelling out the coin to acquire. In fact, buy them both. It may be a product of the same well of utter brilliance that produced a Master of Puppets, Rust in Peace, or Reign in Blood, but it's a damn good thrash metal record which holds up 20 years later, as fresh and crunchy as the day it was laid to tape and delivered through a pre-suck Roadrunner Records.

Highlights: Puppies and Friends, In Their Eyes, Forgotten But Not Gone, Right to Die

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (the simple definitions of this world)

http://www.myspace.com/atrophyoriginal

Atrophy - Socialized Hate (1988)

Another casualty of the mass exposure of thrash and speed metal in the late 80s, Arizona's Atrophy released two albums of very solid quality, Socialized Hate being the first. Moored in Brian Zimmerman's dirty and crunchy vocals, they performed a rather technical and blazing form of thrash music, pissed off at the problems of the then-world: drugs, warfare, TV evangelism, and of course...beer!

The album begins with a tranquil yet haunting ambient sequence before the tense neck jerking riffs of "Chemical Dependency" erupt. The second track "Killing Machine" is a classic, with some great guitar work to open, and then a fast and furious verse riff and a great chorus breakdown:

Born to kill
There's no retreat
Live to fight
A Killing machine!

Okay, so this isn't rocket science, but it's all in the delivery. And with this album, things just keep getting better, with the excellent thrashing "Matter of Attitude", the mad triplets of "Preacher, Preacher" with their almost Helstar technicality, the epic "Product of the Past", and the pit frenzy of "Urban Decay". But the song you all really wanna know about is their beverage tribute "Beer Bong", with its Tankard-like lyrics and list of brand names. Can you name the nine brews mentioned in "Beer Bong"? Without cheating and looking them up? I didn't think so. Well here they are: Heidelberg, Dutch Treat, Black Label, Meister Brau, Blatz, Grain Belt, Old Milwaukee, Pearl and Shaeffer.

Oh, my friends, the things I teach you. The pleasures I share. Anyway, so Socialized Hate is a pretty great thrash album which has only grown in my estimation throughout the years. Bouncy bass, crazy guitars, and grimy vocals highlight a collection of fun songs. I think the songwriting improved a bit with their second and final album Violent by Nature, but this was a more than worthy debut.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (something more than animal, yet something less than man)

http://www.myspace.com/atrophyoriginal