Elimination - 'The Blood Of The Titans' (transend) 5/5

Unless you've had your head in a bucket for the past year or two, you can't help but notice there is a bit of a metal revival going on in the UK at the moment. Already this year we have had classic albums from Revoker and Anterior and now just to show that there is strength and depth to UK metal we have this absolute gem from Ipswich post thrashers Elimination.

This lot have been around for a few years now and have already been working their metallic danglies off with a couple of self released eps, a debut album for the tiny Rising label and a hell of a lot of road work opening for the likes of Evile, Gamma Bomb and loads more. Now they have stepped up a league or two, signed to Transend Music and issued their second full length opus 'The Blood of The Titans'.

Now on first impressions I got say this album is an absolute belter. Eight (nine if you include the obligatory mellow orchestrated intro tune)  tracks of pure driving old school headbangable metal that sums up all that is good about the UK metal scene at the moment.

As soon as the aforementioned intro fades out you are assaulted by a glorious wall of raw sonic steel by the name of Echoes Of an Unclear Past, a cut that has all the power and class of the late lamented Toranaga. Vocalist Neil Stevens grows and snarls like a good un, guitars thrash and pound and the rhythm section bangs away like a redneck gun nut who has a got a new assault rifle for Christmas, then suddenly out of nowhere we hit a sublime mellow acoustic section which provides a moment of calm tranquility before the brutality returns via a superb build up that wouldn't be out of place on an Iron Maiden album. And remember all this is just on the first track.

From that point on it just gets even better. Function Of The Human Condition has a touch of Onslaughts classic album 'The Force' about it and features some fantastic controlled shred lead work. My Own Enemy is a cracking riff heavy workout, Eyes of Madness with its dark and grinding riffage is as heavy as a big heavy thing in a high gravity field, Death Takes Us All has a snifter of Grim Reaper style NWOBHM in the sound and album closer Claustrophobia comes over like Painkiller era Judas Priest on a Slayer trip.

To say I am enjoying this album a lot is a vast understatement, Elimination have in essence taken all the very best bits of heavy metal I have grown to love over the past 30 years and blended it into one glorious sound that manages to be both timeless and bang up to date at the same time; managing to avoid all the pitfalls of cliche on the way. No mean feat indeed.

In conclusion I've gotta say this album represents all that is good about the UK metal scene of the past 30 years or so and not only will it satisfy metal heads of past generations it will enlighten the young of today into all that the UK metal scene has to offer. Buy Or Die!!

For fans of... Onslaught, Revoker, Anterior, Slayer, Judas Priest, Marshall Law, etc....