Search - Early Man :: Death Potion

Above Average Throback Thrash

semi-metal listener | 07/24/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I have to say I have never listened to Early Man before. I have only been referred to Early Man through my shopping on this great website. Lo and behold, after taking a chance, I was pleasantly surprised with Early Man's Death Potion.



Having prior thrash knowledge that extends through the Megadeth catalog, early Slayer, the first couple of albums of Metallica, and reaching forward to Stoner/Thrash by the likes of The Sword, Death Potion by Early Man seems to be a natural progressor. The whole album borrows from the success of the like and positively doing so I'll add.



Vocally, Early Man is very comprehensible, which seems to be a declining trend in metal today. Early Man's lead guitarist/bassist/ and singer is well understood through the entireity of the album. The vocals were a strong quality that, I feel, leads the songs through familiar, yet pleasing, guitar/drum assaults. Early Man's vocals is what gives each song its distinguishing guise and individual character. These vocals, I assume, remain clear for a reason, because within each track are above average lyrics from a mild observationalist.



The whole album's lyrical content seems to take an outsider's perspective on society. For example, the title track seems to warn about the pleasures and or forces of conformity. Killing Drone is about our gung-ho military attitude here in the States. The theme hardly gets disconnected, save for a few, most of the lyrical content opinionates on some general and/or current issue. Although the commentary is not Wellian or Huxley by any means, its nice that these metal enthusiasts are taking cues from former fathers of thrash's works, like Metallica's "And Justice for All", "Master of Puppets", and just about every Mustaine song ever written. All foreboding in tone, the lyrical content of Death Potion may not initiate scholary insights, but the thought that has been written into the lyrics are a good change of pace from most contemporary song-writing. Think of Mustaine's "United Abominations" without its beckon for radical action. Although some of the lyrics' topics can be gray and somewhat confrontational, the musical content provides a working safety net that these guys are still playing for your ear and not your ideals.



It does not take long (a few seconds at the most) to predict where the album is going musically. Granted there is nothing inventive about the music on Death Potion, most songs rely on one or two heavy chords and stick to them. Like early genre starters (Black Sabbath, Led Zep) these chords are milked to their fullest, and unlike the said fathers of metal, do not expand past their given structures. No, sadly, metal listeners will find no guitar, drum, or bass freak outs like blues inspired musicians of the day. This point brings me to my only complaint with the album: the music, the structure, formulas, all seem too tightly knitted for a long lasting metal album. Early Man does not leave room for any musical experimentation. Each song is straight forward and to its point. Listeners will not find long instrumental bridges of wailing solos/freak-outs in Death Potion. Early Man does not overcompensate, however, and their efforts meet all of their goals.





Despite no showcases of guitar madness like the thrash gods of the eighties, Early Man's Death Potion still gets the job done and done well. What remains on the album works and is, sometimes, overly satisfying if not just enough. I would confidentally recommend this album to anybody that likes Megadeth, especially the "United Abominations" album, which Death Potion is in debted to. Metallica's first album defintely came to my mind (listen to Killing Drone for support to this claim) due to its relentless and constant chord chugging.



And that is above all what you'll get, an assault on all cylinders with dilligence and heart. Once Early Man has you drumming on your steering wheel, the drumming will not stop, because Death Potion does not allow any time for recovery. If nothing else, Death Potion is one of the best damn offerings a metal band can give to their metal muses. Their influences are reflected all over the album, like their passion for the genre. In that respect, Early Man has succeeded in sharing their love for thrash and speed metal. A love I hope cannot all be expressed in just one album. I'll certainly be looking forward to future efforts. Cheers.



3/5 stars."

EARLY MAN death potion 2010

Robert Schaeffer | San Diego, Ca | 07/25/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"EARLY MANS new disc death potion, is chaulk full of the NWOBHM and early metallica VIBE, like it's predocesser beware the circling fin,The band stir's in plenty of heavy metal /thrash with a hint of stoner rock doom to make everybody happy,great song writing and plenty of riffs, so what are you waiting for go get the disc, you can get it on Amazon.com death potion is definatley worth having it will make your neck hurt(head banging whiplashing fun!)"