Hammered-Gut Rot

Self-produced
2009




Back around 1986-87 I thought thrash was the height of metal and I thought it would stay on top for a long time. I was obviously short sited in that judgement. However there must have been something to the music because here we are twenty plus year later and another wave of thrash acts are popping up everywhere. So is the case with Wisconsin's Hammered. They throw on their black band shirts, strap on studded bracelets and crank out the blasting thrash with a hint of crossover. They draw inspiration from Kreator, Exodus, early Metallica, Nuclear Assault, post "Dealing with it" DRI and even some bursts of Iron Maiden. Hammered haul out tight-fisted thrash of the chugging variety. This is not an entirely overly creative, but quite simply it's thrash the way it was meant to be. It's fast, spontaneous and to the point. That's a lot of what I look for in a thrash album. The guitars are sharp and cutting when needed, but there are a couple of smooth solos tossed in there as well. The vocals are kind of a barking style that served the purpose, but they are limited in range. The music sounds like they have the ability to grow, but I am not so sure that the vocals can grow to the same level. The topics presented here include war, insanity, psychotic killers and turning into zombies as the result of drinking some toxic ooze. I don't know if this reflects the idea of writing about what you know, but they seem comfortable with the material. "Gut Rut" is a simple thrash effort that gets the job done in fine, head banging fashion and hints at some potential to do even more if they push themselves.

www.myspace.com/hammeredmetal