One of Northern Ireland’s best exports release their latest album “Bats” on the 10th of November, and as is always the case with these guys it’s an absolute humdinger.
Gama Bomb only has one setting and it is full tilt. Once “Prologue Under The Pyramids”, an eerie atmospheric intro, is out of the way the fun well and truly starts with “Egyptron”; a thrasher with cool galloping riffs that is a tip of the hat to Maiden, it breaks midway through for a spoken piece by hip hop master Egyptian Love that has a funky snake charmer pipe playing under it which is turned upside down by a monster solo before Philly Byrne comes back in to close it out, a savage opening. “Living Dead In Beverly Hills” barely allows you to draw breath before it takes it away in a hail of riffs and drums as Byrne spits out lyrics like a lunatic, if ever there was a missing Anthrax track this is it; killer riffs, blasting drums and thumping bass all at a million miles an hour, you could not ask for more and we’ve barely broken the seal.
“Rusted Gold” keeps the engine ticking over with another cracking track, the drums and guitars fight for dominance as this rips along but what really does it for me is midway through when the switch tones to Lizzy-sounding guitars and a killer solo, pay homage to one of Ireland’s forebearers of rock, a real ripper. “Materialize” sees the band coming in fast but a little heavier than usual, Dixon and Roche run up and down the fretboard like madmen while Stewart smashes out a savage beat, Dixon dops a tasty little solo with a hint of Megadeth as Byrne screams his way through the track. With each track this album gets better and better; “Mask Of Anarchy” is one of the standouts, with a frantic beat and cutting riffs it is balls out all while managing to have a serious groove to it amidst the chaos once again Dixon drops a monster solo that puts the cherry on top. “Don’t Get Your Hair Cut” is faster, if that’s even possible, than the other tracks as it explodes from the speakers, this is thrash at it’s finest, the tempo drops and it sheets heavier with crunching riffs before Dixon lays down a killer solo before it ramps back up to the finish, this is why we love thrash. “Dreamstealer” will have you banging your head and tapping your foot to it as it crosses thrash and metal giving you an absolute banger, Byrne drops his tone an octave or two giving a bit more depth while still managing to sound like David Lee Roth when he hits the highs, this is one of the best tracks on the album and is going to go down a treat live.
Talk about putting the fun in the funeral and with “Speed Funeral” the lads do it with consummate ease, putting in a neck-breaking performance packed with speedy riffs and banging drums this is a thrasher’s paradise, just awesome. “Secular Saw” is a dig at religion in a tongue-in-cheek way, a rip-roaring number that breaks down to a funky beat around the chorus, Dixon throws out another monster solo to add some spice, a massive track that will see people of the cloth pass out as us heathens just laugh. “Bats In Your Hair” is fast as fuck with a killer heavy beat, the lads lay into their respective instruments like men possessed while Byrne does his best Bobby Blitz impression, closing out the album as you would expect but with a nice little twist in the shape of a cool sax solo and jazzy outro from Gavin Kerins, taming the savage beast until the next outing.
One thing that is noticeable about this album is that it seems more polished, not necessarily refined but the sound is cleaner and crisper than ever before making this so much more enjoyable, possibly their best work to date.
BATS – their triumphant new album, will be released 10th November via Prosthetic Records.
Review: Conor
GAMA BOMB are:
Domo Dixon – Guitars and Vocals
John Roche – Guitars
Philly Byrne – Vocals
Joe McGuigan – Bass and Vocals
James Stewart – Drums
Tracklisting:
1. Prologue Under the Pyramids
2. Egyptron (feat. The Egyptian Lover)
3. Living Dead in Beverly Hills
4. Rusted Gold
5. Materialize
6. Mask of Anarchy
7. Don’t Get Your Hair Cut
8. Dreamstealer
9. Speed Funeral
10. Secular Saw
11. Bats in Your Hair