Three years after their last album RAW Italy's premier thrash band Merendine Atomiche are back and have turned in their strongest effort to date with their new disc Rude Rebel Brotherhood. Their name is derived from the Italian word for a sweet cake "meredina" and the Atomiche comes from the word atomic, so they put the two together and the name Merendine Atomiche was born. Regardless of what you might think of the name, the fact is these five young Italians are certainly capable of packing one hell of a metallic punch.
While RAW saw the band utilize the production hand of veteran musician / producer Jack Frost Rude Rebel Brotherhood finds the band passing the co-production duties to another familiar American in guitarist Chris Caffery from Savatage / TSO fame. The band has obviously used the time between albums wisely because Rude Rebel Brotherhood definitely comes across as stronger album overall than RAW, and for a couple of reasons. First of all, not only have they tightened up their overall attack but the songwriting has improved significantly as well. Guitarists Luca Securo and David Bisson once again offer up an absolutely massive, in your face wall of sound with their dual pile driving rhythms and searing melodic leads, which are handled by Bisson. Caffery is also responsible for some solos as well, although the liner notes are not specific as to which tracks he actually plays on. Vocalist Luca Zandarin alternates effectively between clean vocals and a hardcore Phil Anselmo style delivery which makes for a nice change of pace.
From the crushing opening track "Helmet" through to the final song "Burnt" they deliver track after track of high octane straight ahead thrash style metal. Other tracks worthy of mention include the mid paced assault of "Ignorance" and the title track, along with the slower sludge style riffs and grooves served up on "Summer Meal" and "The Rise of the Lion". The final song "Burnt" features a bit of an interesting twist as it closes out with about thirty seconds of sax work courtesy of Securo. Could this be a hint towards a future direction or is it just a different flavor thrown into the mix to add a bit of color?
Rude Rebel Brotherhood is the next step for this promising band, and it's definitely a step in the right direction. The key will be how they follow this one up. Will they continue to develop and push their sound ever so slightly outside the box for their next album or will they stick to the same tried and true formulas that got them this far? Either way keep an eye on these guys.
Track Listing
1) Helmet
2) Hope
3) Rude Rebel Brotherhood
4) Ignorance
5) Captain Venice
6) Summer Meal
7) The Rise of the Lion
8) Just for us
9) No, I can't
10) Burnt
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