In recent Scotland has been emerging as a hotbed of upcoming thrash. Every band has their own flavour, keeping the scene varied but still slamming with the core thrash sound. One such band is Glasgow's Tempered, who bring a dirty, scuzzy vibe reminiscent of the mid-80s Euro thrash bands with their debut EP Greenwashed.
The EP opens with the band's namesake number, serving as an intro track for the album with its building stomp and harmonised lines leading into “Monotonous”. The track in question is a relentless blast of raging thrash from start to finish. From the blistering solos in the beginning to the closing stomp, “Monotonous” is anything but.
The trend continues in “Inversion”. The meat of the song is no-nonsense high velocity thrashing, continuing the living room mosh from the previous number. However there's plenty of standout moments which elevate the song such as the little bass flourishes by 4-stringer Andy Thomson, and the death metal riffing after the solo.
Follow-up “Material Illness” is another standout with it's slow build of crunchy sliding power chords before an all-out mosh pit war. A soon as ex-vocalist Aaron McPhail screams “Go!”, it's hard to resist launching yourself into the nearest person and thrashing non-stop for the next two minutes straight.
The EP closes with the duo of “Strive” and “Greenwashed”. The former is another short sharp burst of high-velocity riffing, whereas the latter is a little more epic. The title track employs the use of more expansive chords than some the other tracks and showcases a greater variety in pace - from the stabbing intro backed with some rumbling tom work from drummer David Bridges, to the colder and melodically-tinged black metal riffing in the middle.
Tempered have shown that Scottish thrash certainly has some teeth with Greenwashed. Guitarists Steven Beck and Chris Rankin have crafted some killer riffs with a good mix of balls-to-the-wall simplicity, harmonised flourishes and concise yet shredding solos. McPhail's vocal performance is suitably throat-shredding and aggressive, adding a death/black metal edge to the overall sound. Current vocalist Euan Campbell however is an awesome replacement, barking and raging to these tracks like a rabid rottweiler live. The mix also stands out with the buzzsaw gutar sound given some extra meat with the more upfront bass. Greenwashed has been out since February last year and still gets the head banging every time. With infectious thrash like this on their debut, it's exciting to see what Tempered will com eup with next.
Comentários