TERRITORY
- Killer Instinct (2011)
Sleaszy Rider Records
I have a soft spot for the Uruguayan national team. It
was the side I backed in the latest World Cup, and Diego Forlán remains one of
my favourite players. So when I found out that TERRITORY come from Uruguay and
play thrash metal, I was curious. South American metal has been delivering
solid releases for a while now, and I expected to be in good hands.
On paper, the ingredients are promising. Killer
Instinct draws mostly from the Bay Area school of thrash and occasionally leans
toward the power metal side of ICED EARTH and AGENT STEEL. It’s a combination
that usually makes for an enjoyable listen. Here, unfortunately, it doesn’t.
The main problem is the songwriting. The riffs follow
the standard thrash template so closely that they blur together, and very few
of them stay with you once the record stops. Nothing pulls you back for a
second spin, and a thrash album without that kind of staying power has a hard
time justifying itself in a crowded scene.
The vocals add to the problem. Jason screams from the
first track to the last, with little variation in delivery. He clearly has the
lungs for it, but the lack of dynamics wears thin quickly. Aggression works
best when it has contrast, and a voice that stays at full volume for the whole
album ends up sounding flat instead of fierce. By the second half I was tired
of it.
The modern production is clean and powerful, but it
can’t hide the weaknesses underneath. Likewise, the aggressiveness feels more
like a pose than something the songs earn. A heavy sound is one thing, but
without memorable material it doesn’t leave much of an impression.
TERRITORY have the energy and the technical basics,
but they need to put much more work into their composition. Stronger
structures, more distinctive riffs and a more varied vocal approach would be a
good place to start. This is a debut, so there is room to grow, and I’ll be
waiting for the follow-up in the hope that it shows real progress.
Nick Parastatidis
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