Vendetta - Black as Coal (2023)

Vendetta's earlier 80s material had a lot of personality to it, and Brain Damage stands as one of my favorites in that second or third tier of German thrash metal, a record with some tongue-in-cheek elements that felt like a more tightly controlled, dynamic alternative to Tankard. But since the group's 2002 reunion, I haven't been able to connect with much of what they put out. The first of those albums, Hate, was the best of the three before this one, but it's been dodderingly average thrash metal which lags way behind the renewed efforts and energy of juggernauts like Kreator, Sodom and Destruction. Black and Coal makes an honest attempt to bridge the band back to its glory days, and it certainly does sound like a seasoned, confident group which knows its business, but this one just never quite goes the distance that it needs.

Let me be clear, the musicianship is totally adequate, with some thundering drum-work, a reasonable bevy of rhythm guitars with a nice chunky modern tone that can also convey the melody or leads, and vocals that fit the Vendetta style, though this is the same front-man they'd had since reuniting, and not quite as charismatic as the earlier albums when the English was probably a little more challenging. But to be fair, you could convince me this was the other guys just a bit older if I wasn't paying attention to my notes. So Black as Coal has almost the whole package going for it, except for good songs...it has all the finish and features of your contemporary thrashing, produced to current standards of its peers, and understands how to implement some degree of dynamic range, but very, very few of the guitar riffs here or chorus parts remain in the memory even momentarily after you hear them. You'll hear some nods to their classic material, only a bit more iron-clad due to the modern tone, but they never surpass or even come close to the quirkiness of Brain Damage.

Plenty of effort, and it doesn't quite become generic to the level of something like an AI-generated band (they're starting to pop up out there), but it's hard to think you could throw this many riffs at a wall and not have at least a few more of them stick. "For Dear Life" with its choppy verse rhythms and cleaner vocals is probably the most unique feeling, but still zigs when it should have zagged and doesn't end up delivering more than a moment's curiosity. It's strange, because if you'd never heard this genre before, and queued up Black as Coal, it would seem an exemplar of thrash aesthetics, but it simply lacks the nuance of quality songwriting or standout leads, it's not nasty or aggressive enough to skirt by on extremity alone, and even the cover is bland as fuck. File this one along albums like The 5th or Feed the Extermination as middling-if-proficient German thrash that doesn't do its band's legacy much justice.

Verdict: Indifference [5.5/10]

http://www.vendetta-band.de/ 

Vendetta - The 5th (2017)

Undoubtedly a promising second stringer during the Golden Age of German thrashing, Vendetta have sadly not had the best comeback streak among their countrymen, being heavily overshadowed in this last decade much as they were in the 80s, with bands like Kreator and Destruction still soaring fairly high over followings that have been cemented for decades to come, if they can keep on kicking out the same competent continuity. Their latest, creatively titled record The 5th does not do a hell of a lot to cultivate either the catchiness of Brain Damage nor the savage velocity of their debut, but that's not to say it's entirely rubbish, only that the band continues to let a little of that 90s groove/thrash influence inflect upon the dynamic riffing and mildly melodic intensity of their prime, and not to the betterment of the finished product.

There are certainly riffing phrases across the tracks here that recall some of the earlier material, and vocalist Mario Vogel once again tries to do his own spin on the original Vendetta style from decades before he joined the ranks, but in the case of the former, they're just not memorable or quirky at all, and the latter seems a little disheveled and sloppy, unable to really drive home a good chorus, not that the rest of the band have really provided him with much to go on there. The riffs in cuts like "Deadly Sin" exhibit a little of that uplifting thrust that you'd recognize from Brain Damage, Destruction or perhaps the power thrash of Danes Artillery, but too many of the progressions rely on rather boring payoffs that don't catch the ear. The production is rather solid, with a good bite to the rhythm tracks and a nice, over the top atmosphere created when the leads enter the fray, providing for some of the better moments on the albums. But then you layer in those vocals, and the lack of a real money shot riff anywhere in a 3-4 minute track and it's average at best, goofy at worst.

It's nice that the band still maintains a fraction of that adventurous spirit they held in their youth, and for instance the classical guitar interlude "The Search" is quite nice, and you can close your eyes and just imagine if they balance that out with vintage Vendetta or Deathrow-quality heavier material, but while this does in fact set up "The Prophecy", which owns 1-2 of the more agreeable riffs on the whole record (before devolving into some lamentable breaky groove thrash), it's buried too deep in the track list to leave much of an impression. There's also something up with the drum mix here, in particular the snares which popped and hissed out of the mix a little much to distract away from the nice, warm crunch of the guitar tone. The bass guitar also doesn't really stand out to me, curving along behind the other guitars but incapable of really standing forth unless it's hitting up the good old slap and pop sound (near the end of "The Prophecy").. All that said, this is a slight bump up from 2011's Feed the Extermination. You can hear some genuine character attempting to seep through the cracks, but it's just not enough, and combined with the relatively weak cover artwork I just think this is an album that's going to be easily overlooked with so much stiff competition. And rightly so.

Verdict: Indifference [5.5/10]

http://www.vendetta-band.de/

Vendetta - Feed the Extermination (2011)

If 2007's comeback album Hate proved a major disappointment for 80s underground thrash addicts, it wasn't due to some overbearing technical flaws or absent effort being placed in its constructions, but only because of its rather plainclothes songwriting that failed to live up to its adventurous, engaging precursor, Brain Damage, 20 years in the past... You generally figure that with old age comes some form of wisdom, but where Vendetta had evolved into this quirky, unforgettable German underdog with that album, Hate was just all too 'normal'. As if any random group of 4-5 guys obsessed with the past hung out on a few weekends, sipped a few beers and played it safe, content with whatever first came to mind. That said, I did not 'hate' (haw haw) the album quite so much as others, and it was at least competent, the new vocalist Mario Vogel trying to stick to the charismatic microphone stylings of his predecessor Daxx.

Unfortunately, Feed the Extermination is more of the same, and in some places, it feels forced, sluggish, and lacking the explosive enthusiasm of Brain Damage or even the raw rapid-fire penetration of their debut Go and Live...Stay and Die. It doesn't help that the disc opens with a boring, circular groove that lapses into vapid, identical mutes and then back again ("Feed the Extermination"). The verse riff is nothing special either, though it at least conjures some of the snappy melodic subtext of their older work, and I really didn't enjoy the various growls and snarls that were placed haphazardly about to express some sort of added emotion. The vocals falter even further in the next track, "Tremendous Brutality", affected and quite silly over yet another arrangement of dime a dozen guitars (the lead sequence is alright). "Cancer" almost seems like a step in the right direction, but for the banal chugging of the verses and more of the semi-annoying whining in the vocals. So we're now 15 minutes deep in a Vendetta album, with nothing really to show for it...

It doesn't get any better. The shuffling, chipper muted rhythms of "Ovulation Bitch"; the boring jump up thrash/grooves of "De-Organ-Izer"; the damp and overinflated power ballad "Abuse". All seem like a band trying to reclaim their 'beat' from the 80s, and wiring in all manner of unneeded influences from the 90s, which were of course the temporary death of the whole genre. You can hear a few similarities to, say, Pantera, even if they're not entirely overt. There is also a fairly lifeless feeling to the production of this record. Bright and clear, perhaps, but the guitars feel pretty flat, the vocals a little too off the hinge, and a lot of guitars moving at a similar, crisp gait. Every now and then you'll hear a half-decent idea, an elevation in the vocals that channels back to the Brain Damage album. Nothing here is all that offensive, just plain and mediocre and unable to express the same level of imagination, or capture the listeners' imaginations, as their cult classics. To be blunt, Feed the Extermination is amply less appealing than even Hate.

Verdict: Indifference [5.25/10]

http://www.vendetta-band.de/

Vendetta - Hate (2007)

Had the world left enough room for another half dozen German thrash bands to flourish beyond the borders of their scene and their small, international fan base, Vendetta would undoubtedly have been one of those chosen. Their first two albums were excellent, and showed a clear, linear progression from rapid fire hostility to more accessible variation. Brain Damage itself might have been more successful, but not enough people were listening. I actually imagine, that had a third Vendetta full-length manifest with that same lineup in the early 90s, then we might have been witness to something special. As it stands, the band parted ways, and it would be nearly 20 years before it was reassembled with an almost completely new roster, and at long last, a new album...

Well, Hate is not the raging comeback we could have hoped for from this long ignored band, but it does have a number of positive qualities which render it tolerable. First, the mix is enormous, bright and powerful, especially the resonant echo given to the new vocals, and the guitars, which crush with rejuvenated clarity. However, the construction of the riffs is quite a bit simpler than on either of the 80s albums, and despite an honest effort in "Hannibal", "Guerilla" and "Rise for Revolution", there's not a lot to experience. Brain Damage had a lot of curious, extended bridge segments in its songs with some great writing, but only a few tunes here like "Mother" follow suite. Also, the lyrics and titles are pretty uninspired for the 21st century. I mean Hate? "Lying Society"? "Mother"? Come on. I'll cede that the last feels like a tribute to their '88 tune "War", but still, it doesn't seem like much gray matter was expended on the construction, like using the Martin Luther King Jr. sample to open "Rise for Revolution". Just a little too obvious.

The vocals definitely do not disappoint. Mario Vogel can slice straight through the riffs like a knife through Gnutella, and I enjoy how his vocals are echoed throughout the huge studio sound. Yeah, it's not Daxx Riggs, but its close enough, and a nice mix of Hetfield and Peavy Wagner (of Rage) in there. Otherwise, Hate is a bit cheesy, I won't lie. It's honest, straight up thrash, and it's tonal qualities certainly reflect an attempt to return to the Brain Damage era (much more so than their debut), but it simply doesn't possess the same complexity or staying power. A number of the other 2nd and 3rd tier German thrash acts have written a decent comeback by this point, but I'm sad to say that of this moment, I cannot count Vendetta among them.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://www.myspace.com/vendettapower

Vendetta - Brain Damage (1988)

Don't let the first :26 of "War" fool you into thinking Vendetta has transformed into a funk abortion, because a few moments later you'll be fully immersed into one of the greatest German thrash albums of 1988, a year that really needs no introduction, so saturated it was with quality across a number of metallic themes. Brain Damage is a slightly altered beast from its predecessor, Go and Live...Stay and Die, in that Vendetta had weathered their sporadic spurts of aggression with mature songwriting, heightened melodies, and a more accessible tone which stands today as one of the best produced albums of its entire school of thought. Riffs. Leads. Songs. Fucking songs. This band had them all in spades, so it comes as quite a surprise that this sophomore didn't take off to the stars.

But it should have, and those :25 of slapping, popping bass transcend into a gyrating flux of crisp, dynamic melodies that eventually cede to increased velocity. When you've got a song with such a vague title as "War", you really need to flesh that out, and Vendetta do so. Daxx has a stronger presence here, his snide vocals far easier to pick out from the fray, due to the clarity of the mix. The lead at 2:20 is immensely catchy, and the verse lead-in lyrics are pretty hard to deny: 'hey mother, do you want war, hey mother?' "Brain Damage" itself once again flexes the band's new found versatility, with a jazzy clean guitar passage which gives the impression of falling snow before the belligerent guitars hammer out around :40. The galloping verse riffs in this song are impressive, and it's no surprise that the leads also glisten with memorable, crystalline presence, before the thrashing trampoline of "Conversation", or the drawn out power ballad "Precious Existence", which despite being the weakest track on the album, still has hooks aplomb.

After this, the album surges into a pair of shorter vignettes, the raging "Never Die" providing 2:32 of excellent speed/thrash, with a little bridge that seems an obvious nod to Destruction. "Love Song" is barely over a minute, a fun number that alternates samples and wild synth sounds with grooving basslines and thrash lines, the band repeating: 'we hope that you love - as I - as we do'. I don't really get it, but Vendetta don't plan on giving me the time to, as the bass solo weaves into the nearly 7 minute instrumental "Fade to Insanity", which is choked with great riffs, one of the better thrash instrumentals of the 80s outside of "Orion". "Dominance of Violence" whips up another sequence of glorious, unforgettable rhythms before the album's finale, "Metal Law", which is probably the closest you're going to find to the material on their debut, though cleaned up quite nicely.

There are some who consider Brain Damage to be an example of progressive thrash metal, and I can't say I completely disagree. It's not technical or complex to the point of being bewildering or genius (ala Deathrow's Deception Ignored), but certainly the band were introducing a lot of elements that betrayed the charging, voracious mentality of Go and Live...Stay and Die. It's feet are firmly on the ground, it's relationship with the audience open and embracing rather than cryptic and alienating. This is easy to write off as 'goofy' or German (Helloween, Pink Cream 69 and others seem to tread a similar, friendly yellow brick road), but it's still a thrash album, with meaningful and relevant layman lyrics, most of which still hold up, almost like the album's bright, fluent production. Vendetta were surely a band aimed at bigger and better things, so it's a damn shame that this would be the last anyone heard from them for nearly 20 years. They've since revived with a decent comeback, but had it all ended with Brain Damage, there could be no regrets.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10] (a road with one more station)

http://www.vendetta-band.de/

Vendetta - Go and Live...Stay and Die (1987)

Vendetta must have had a lot of other band's shaking in their boots at the time Go and Live...Stay and Die was released, because it's such a compact, loaded weapon of 'things to do right' that it instantly placed the band among the ranks of the elite. Noise Records deal? Check. Fantastic musicianship? Check. A vocalist with his own personality who wasn't just biting off other German bands of the day? Check. All these elements in place, it was a profound shock that this debut didn't meet greater success for the band, as they were writing music here that Destruction or Kreator would have been proud of, and the vibrant energy of this recording hasn't yet to dissipate after decades of applied aging, even if it's not quite so expansive or evolutionary as its follow-up.

"Suicidal Lunacy" is such a great place to start, with a swerving opening hook that pummels straight into the blitzkrieg of the first verse. Almost immediately, we are introduced to Daxx's vocal regimen, which is akin to Schmier but more 'wasted' sounding. Acidic, feral and accented, it's one of the strong points of the band, and easy enough to distinguish from other front men of this movement. He's also a damn good guitarist, as is his partner in crime Micky, and the two of them have more in their arsenal than most military detachments. Though it's nearly 7 minutes in length, this piece never gets boring, and remarkably, this is yet another of the achievements of Go and Live...Stay and Die. The title track and "Traitor's Fate" are over six minutes long, with the former using a funky rock intro that foreshadows perhaps "War" from the sophomore; the latter is one of the most distinct and forceful gems of German thrash/speed in the 80s.

"System of Death" eclipses both in length, running over 8 minutes, with a classical guitar intro, what sounds like a crashing plane and then a slew of rhythms ranging from mid to fast paced. The latter half of the album holds up, though its contents are briefer and more focused. For example, the ditty "Drugs and Corruption" is just one minute of manic speed thrust, while "On the Road" is overflowing with excellent, grimy speed, guitar melodies plucking through the ballistic discourse. "And the Brave Man Fails" also deserves some notice, with melodic riffing that reminds one of Running Wild, and if you've got a problem with that, you're probably not reading my reviews anyway.

Go and Live...Stay and Die is solid from fore to aft, and about the only place it falls behind some of its peers is in relative lack of catchiness. Where Persecution Mania and Terrible Certainty were almost entirely chiseled into my brain upon my first exposure, there are traces of this album that I will forget despite many listens. I'm going to give the leg up to the sophomore, Brain Damage as being the better of the band's two albums, simply because the songs distinguish themselves that much more, despite the increased ampage of cheese the band layered in to creat some variation. That being said, this truly stands the test of time alongside other unsung heroes as Holy Moses' Finished with the Dogs and Tankard's Chemical Invasion as an example of something that should have broken out like an infection. Shame upon us all.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (beneath our dignity)

http://www.vendetta-band.de/