Contradiction - The Warchitect (2006)

The Warchitect is the second Contradiction album through the Armageddon label, their fifth full-length overall and honestly not all that different from its predecessor The Voice of Hatred. Thick, chugging rhythms and meaty vocals are blended with the straight charging of Bay Area-style thrash metal, with perhaps a dash of the great Denmark band Artillery thrown in there for excitement. My initial reaction to this record was one of intimate boredom, but I must have been listening with my rectum and not my ears, because this is actually a step ahead of the last, even though it's only about half worth hearing and the other half too easily forgotten.

They know how to pull you into a track, regardless of whether you'll feel like staying there for long, and they definitely do so with the virulent force of "Your God", which feels like a blend of Slayer, Kreator, Exodus and Vio-Lence with the distinct, hammering vocals of Oliver Lux. Unfortunately, once you get past that initial verse riff, there's not a pleasant surprise to be had, just a series of guitars of diminishing value. Same with "The Warchitect" itself, which has quite a strong melodic setup and another, similar charging riff to "Your God" in the verses, but then also has a pretty boring, if brief breakdown chug. Often the songs will bleed together in composition, technically different but sounding quite the same ("Tunes of War", "The Heritage"), but there's always at least 1-2 redeeming features, except for some of the cuts deeper into the track list like "Peacemaker" which is just flubby groove/thrash metal, or "What Am I" which has amazing vocals but incredibly mundane riffing.

They've got a cover of Motörhead's "Rock'n'Roll" here, but it doesn't really match the band, and with Lux already having such a grimy, industrial gravel voice I didn't feel like there was a need to further ape Lemmy. All said, I will admit that the production on The Warchitect is quite good. It's decent thrashing which never seeks to insult you (outside of maybe having a song called "Thrash Metal") and the guitar tone and vocals sound really good, if methodical. The real issue here is that the band continued to lack distinct songwriting, especially in variation, so a lot o this album just sounds the same. If you're tracking them down for the first time, I'd recommend to start with their 2009 album The Essence of Anger, which is the best I've heard from them yet.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://www.contradiction.de/

Contradiction - The Voice of Hatred (2005)

Contradiction had already been around for about 14 years when The Voice of Hatred was released, but they were not sitting about idly. They released a few full-lengths and demos, none of which I can admit to having heard, but I'm guessing did not win them a large ration of success, especially considering the long, deep slumber the genre had taken in the 90s. This 4th album saw the band signed through Armageddon Music, along with fresh German blood like Spellbound and Reckless Tide, and a few veterans like Holy Moses; and they were finally able to give their aggression a proper voice, even if its one that does fade into the chorus of similar-minded artists.

The chalk-line and pavement poetry of the cover seems to hint at an urban brand of thrash, but there's nothing ghetto about the sound here. At its best, this is blazing, riff-heavy thrash metal with only slight tints of technicality, a hybrid of Bay Area and German aesthetics that sits soundly below the meaty, aggressive vocal tone of Oliver Lux. The band knows how to develop a chorus with a small fraction of melody ("The Voice of Hatred"), they construct their leads and guitars well enough, and I'm most reminded of bands like Exodus, Heathen, Vio-Lence and Forbidden, though the vocals are different. They can pace themselves between the expected momentum of mid to faster paced, biting thrash ("Break the Oath", "Engines of Greed", "Horizon"), but a few of the songs have great melodic setups like "Arguments" and "Nation of Fear" that work rather well.

Unfortunately, there are a few slower groove-heavy songs like "Crimes", "Privacy" and "Falling Down" that aren't so appealing, and they do hold back the album's overall effectiveness, but even these are written with a superior style to them than other German groove metal acts like, say, Hate Squad. Had The Voice of Hatred been trimmed down to about 6-7 songs, excluding the groove metal, then it would have made for a fluid, worthwhile listen, but it can be a little trying to skip around the track list, and even the pure thrashing moments do not elevate the band to the level of their forebears (European or American). On the bright side, this is a band on the rise, and future installments will improve their formula.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

http://www.contradiction.de/

Contradiction - The Essence of Anger (2009)

One might immediately lower expectations for a metal album when it opens with a George W. Bush Jr. sample, but Contradiction at least avoids the cliche 'taxes' quote for something else, a threat of intent which mirrors the band's own style, an aggressive and warlike slab of old school thrash that lacks the dated feeling of a great many peers. There is the influence here from the usual suspects, in particular Sodom, Kreator and Tankard, but Contradiction do not try and outpace their idols through sheer speed (like many of the sillier current of retrotards), they write pretty laid back thrashing tracks which carry enough power to push them to the fore of the rat pack. This is probably because Contradiction is a band of old timers who simply never hit the big time, having formed in 1989 and released 5 other full length albums before this one.

The Essence of Anger is not a great effort, mind you, but it has a certain quality to it that I find refreshing. At its most energetic, the riffs pop at you with semi-memorable aggression, but the band also evokes a lot of slower moments, which feel as if they echo from a dystopian nightmare, an empty city full of armed vigilantes and warlords (like the guy on the cover). Oliver Lux has that brand of constipated vocals, rich in accent and mildly reminiscent of Tom Angelripper, or perhaps a male equivalent to Sabine from Holy Moses. The best tracks here are all quite simple, like the thundering "Start the Action" which seems the perfect incitement to a 21st century riot; the Sacred Reich slamming of "Collateral Carnage" and "The Spectator"; or the very Destruction-like vitriol of "Life's End". Two of the songs feature Leif Jensen (Dew-Scented) as a guest vocalist.

The tones of the album are rich, especially the vocals, which soar across the rhythm like a steel throated cyborg issuing orders to a core of riot punks, who assault you from the shelter of rusted, burned out motor vehicles and graffiti-splattered concrete abandon. I was not riveted by a lot of the material, and they certainly do not set out here to re-invent the wheel, but I feel Contradiction is owed a certain level of respect for writing a true thrash metal album and not some 'Look at my hi-tops and patch collection, I am soooo fuckin' real' recycled garbage.

Highlights: Start the Action, Collateral Carnage, Life's End, Commandments

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://www.contradiction.de/