German thrash rears its head on Parasite of Society, the first release from Headhunter in nearly 13 years, and fourth overall. This alter ego of Destruction's Schmier, also featuring guitarist Schmuddle and drummer Jorg Michael, will instantly bring you back to the late 80's/early 90's, a delightful blend of old school metal and thrash. Hard to resist crunchy headbangers like "Silverskull", "Doomsday for the Prayer", or the crisp title track, and when the band wants to show their melodic side, they do so quite successfully, as on "Remission". Schmier is in fine vocal form here, supported by tasty riffs, acrobatic leads, and pummeling drum work throughout. The band's surprising take on Skid Row's "18 and Life" actually works quite well, Schmier really channeling Sebastian Bach's vocals to a tee, and the raging thrash of "Read My Lips" shows all three players working overtime for a real corker of a metal anthem. The addition of some Middle Eastern motifs add an exotic element to the scorcher "Egomaniac" (which bears more than a slight resemblance to some of Chris Caffery's solo material), and the closing crusher "Payback Time" has more classic riffs per square inch than many CD's have in their entirety.
Fans of Destruction will no doubt find this of great interest, but in reality Parasite of Societyis a solid album that will ultimately appeal to any lover of fun, kick ass metal.
Track Listing
1) 3rd Man Introduction
2) Parasite of Society
3) Silverskull
4) Remission
5) Doomsday for the Prayer
6) 18 and Life
7) Read My Lips
8) Backs to the Wall
9) Egomaniac
10) The Calling
11) Payback Time