Municipal Waste Hazardous Mutation
Earache Records MOSH323CD October 4, 2005
By Rodrigo Escandon
Whoa! Seemingly out of nowhere Municipal Waste have come out with an amazing crossover/thrash album that harkens back to the 1980s when this style of punk/thrash was extremely popular. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, Municipal Waste have actually been around for almost 5 years and their sound is totally reminiscent of bands like DRI, Nuclear Assault, Minor Threat, Slayer and Anthrax.
The band consists of drummer Dave Witte (Burnt by the Sun) whose drumming is actually more simple and unpretentious from what he usually does. Tony Foresta handles the singing duties in a spoken style and his performance is aggressive and energetic. Ryan Wastes guitar playing might be the star of the show with a wide array of amazing riffs and I have no doubt that one of the things you will remember most about Hazardous Mutation is his work. Finally, its great to hear a production where the bass is actually audible and Land Phil does a phenomenal job.
Hazardous Mutation is just over 26 minutes and contains 15 songs so I will actually not highlight some of the songs like I usually do. The album just doesnt let up with the speed and aggression. From beginning to end, Hazardous Mutation is a head banging romp that will have you wishing for more. With that said, its great to hear many of the songs contain plenty of groove and they are just not thrash/speed songs that you cant recall.
Some of my personal highlights are The Thrashin of the Christ, Mind Eraser, Terror Shark, Unleash the Bastards, Set to Destruct, Guilty of Being Tight (that features of sample from the movie Phantasm) and Bangover (a song with lyrics that deal with having a sore neck in the morning after attending a metal show the night before and that has THE best guitar riff of the entire album at :30 and one of the best endings for any song with the long instrumental section).
Oh yeah! I have to say that it was an excellent idea to get Ed Repka (he did covers for Death and Megadeth) to do the cover because it just immediately conveys that 80s vibe. Hazardous Mutation is without a doubt the greatest surprise of 2005. I love it when I hear an album that I didnt anticipate or that I didnt know anything about and it just blows me away with its excellence.
9/10
Earache Records Official Website
Municipal Waste Official Website
Earache Records MOSH323CD October 4, 2005
By Rodrigo Escandon
Whoa! Seemingly out of nowhere Municipal Waste have come out with an amazing crossover/thrash album that harkens back to the 1980s when this style of punk/thrash was extremely popular. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, Municipal Waste have actually been around for almost 5 years and their sound is totally reminiscent of bands like DRI, Nuclear Assault, Minor Threat, Slayer and Anthrax.
The band consists of drummer Dave Witte (Burnt by the Sun) whose drumming is actually more simple and unpretentious from what he usually does. Tony Foresta handles the singing duties in a spoken style and his performance is aggressive and energetic. Ryan Wastes guitar playing might be the star of the show with a wide array of amazing riffs and I have no doubt that one of the things you will remember most about Hazardous Mutation is his work. Finally, its great to hear a production where the bass is actually audible and Land Phil does a phenomenal job.
Hazardous Mutation is just over 26 minutes and contains 15 songs so I will actually not highlight some of the songs like I usually do. The album just doesnt let up with the speed and aggression. From beginning to end, Hazardous Mutation is a head banging romp that will have you wishing for more. With that said, its great to hear many of the songs contain plenty of groove and they are just not thrash/speed songs that you cant recall.
Some of my personal highlights are The Thrashin of the Christ, Mind Eraser, Terror Shark, Unleash the Bastards, Set to Destruct, Guilty of Being Tight (that features of sample from the movie Phantasm) and Bangover (a song with lyrics that deal with having a sore neck in the morning after attending a metal show the night before and that has THE best guitar riff of the entire album at :30 and one of the best endings for any song with the long instrumental section).
Oh yeah! I have to say that it was an excellent idea to get Ed Repka (he did covers for Death and Megadeth) to do the cover because it just immediately conveys that 80s vibe. Hazardous Mutation is without a doubt the greatest surprise of 2005. I love it when I hear an album that I didnt anticipate or that I didnt know anything about and it just blows me away with its excellence.
9/10
Earache Records Official Website
Municipal Waste Official Website
