Wraith – Absolute Power

Label: Self-released
Release Date: 16/08/2019

Wraith – Lemmy Kilmister, rest his soul, was perhaps the most reluctant man ever to be called the “grandfather” of a genre. He was notoriously displeased with Motörhead being called “heavy metal” and insisted that they “played rock’n’roll.” No matter what he felt like calling it, though, Motörhead’s legacy to the world (namely, heavy metal and speed metal) is undeniable. With some fresher-faced bands like Bat or Bewitcher raising the bar for all speed afficianados, however, it is difficult nowadays to shine through.

Enter Wraith. This Indiana band has been in the business of rockin riffs and takin names since 2017. Absolute Power is their sophomore album. The music to be found in this release is speed metal at its finest: riffs that are the bastard child of rock’n’roll and thrash laid out on top of thundering drums, grumpy grumbling bass and vocals more reminiscent of blackthrash bands than speed metal. If this isn’t a winning recipe then I don’t know what the hell is.

Straight out the gate, Absolute Power kicks your teeth in with its declaration of intentions that is Devil’s Hour. It’s an establishing character moment as it paints a very nice picture of the album to follow: devil-worshipping, speedy track after speedy track of hard, chugging, thrashy riffs. The band’s dedication to this is palpable, as they rarely slow down. The much welcome exceptions (and the instances of variety) are the sturdy, well-grounded lurch of Meaningless Planet, a very nice, groovy little section in The Hunt and the unexpectedly burly mid-tempo slam of Absolute Power. If it’s fast riffs you be wantin’, Wraith will provide generously.

However, therein lies my issue with most albums of this style, or rather, a structural weakness that marks bands that dedicate themselves to the style. See, Absolute Power makes the mistake of throwing song after song after song of the same thing at you, which results in most of the tracks blurring together. Given that Meaningless Planet and Absolute Power form the exceptions to the album’s rule, that’s half the album of songs that are way too close to each other to be distinguished from one another. One reason for this is Wraith’s over-reliance on standard thrash-style riffs way too often and the relentless assault of d-beats do not help with this near-terminal lack in variety.

The album comes to a glorious finish with Death Comes Ripping, which injects some much-needed excitement back into the record, but it’s A) a cover and B) way too little way too late.

Now, I can almost hear you asking: but is Absolute Power worth a listen? It very much is. Though suffering from some of the problems I see routinely plague albums of similar styles, it still has some very nice detours and not for nothing, but they have some good riffs in there. It will not be making any headlines as a classic any time soon, that’s for sure, but that shouldn’t detract you from giving it a go.

Line-Up:
Matt Sokol – guitars and vocals
Chris Petkus – bass
Mike Szymendera – drums

01. Devil’s Hour
02. Acid Mass
03. Meaningless Planet
04. The Curse
05. War of Aggression
06. At the Stake
07. The Hunt
08. Eyes of a Sacred Ram
09. Absolute Power
10. Death Comes Ripping (The Misfits cover)

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