Run of the mill
The introductory song on this album, 'The Holy Plan,' contains the sound of a man laughing, whilst a woman is being burnt at the stake. Indeed, the front cover is of a man clearly enjoying the throes of pain the engulf of flames are clearly giving him. It's a sick image, my only disappointment is that you can actually read the band's logo. Formally known as Abortus, the band changed their name to Herratik in late 2003, and 'Wrath Divine' is the first release under their new mantle. It is perhaps my first brush with Australian death metal, and if this album is anything to go by, I hope the odd one or two pop through my door. But not too many, because 'Wrath Divine' isn't THAT good.
As 'Wrath Devine' kicks into 'I Heretic,' the phrase generic thrash springs to mind. The opening musical passages sound impressive but the music is lacking something. 'Dance on your Grave' and 'Above your Lies' try desperately to hit home but just miss the mark. There is a lot of old school thrash on this album, in fact the first band I thought of when I put Herratik on the stereo was Sacred Reich. Sacred Reich were always a band that didn't have the great ideas or presence of their contemporaries at the time, instead they chocked out a string of competent if unimaginative releases. People in the thrash community were fans of the said band, but to the rest of the metal fans they were just a name below Testament, Exodus and Anthrax in the rankings. Herratik could be considered in the same frame, for their music is catchy at times (New Gods), head noddingly infectious on occasions (Above your Lies), and surprisingly mellow when it wants to be (New Era).
The more I listened to this album, the more I yearned to put on some Arch Enemy. Musically speaking, the two bands aren't too far from each other. Certainly Herratik has more in common with Arch Enemy's earlier works such as 'stigma' rather than 'Doomsday Machine', because the music is raw, thrashy and uncompromising. But the main aspect where the two bands are most similar is in the middle breaks and solos. Where the annoyingly loud vocals of Jack arguably spoil most of the songs, the ever melodic and rhythmical duel soloing of Gooch and Wader, beat the heart of every track. It's as if the song's heart stops mid way through each cut, and is resuscitated by a well-written lead break. 'Forked Tongue' and 'X' are perfect examples of the middle section saving the song from musical oblivion.
What Herratik have given the world is a competent slab of thrash. It has one foot in the late 80s and one in today's extreme scene. There are some likeable ideas on 'Wrath Devine' most namely in the middle sections and solos. Apart from these moments there is little on this disc to get excited about, although to be fair, there's not much that will have you turning your nose up either. It's one of those fair albums that exist in the racks of any specialist metal shops, an album that tweaks your interest because of the violent cover. My advice is stick with the Arch Enemys of this mortal coil, they're better produced, contain better songs and superior musicianship. But if you have a spare few quid, and 'Wrath Devine' is going cheap, then it might be worth taking a chance. One for the Sacred Reich and Xentrix fans, I just hope they don't tie me to a steak and laugh whilst they watch me burn for saying so.