Busting Out The Big Guns!
- Joshuah Jones
- Jun 22, 2023
- 5 min read
Review for the latest album from Confabulation, Declaration Of Irreverence can be heard right here!
When it comes to big riffs and high energy, thrash metal remains king. When bands use thrash metal as the foundation of their music and bring in other elements, it can really add more heaviness to a tried and true formula of metal that easily blends in so well with practically all other metal genres. Sometimes a band comes along and utilizes this formula to such a degree that it completely reassures you that metal is not dead, nor is it a dying trend like some would say, metal is very much a force to be reckoned with and Confabulation are here to prove it to you. With bands such as this writing music that keeps your blood pumping, metal music is safe and sound today and this latest offering from Confabulation is a prime example of why you should pay no attention to anyone saying otherwise, just crank it up and drown them out within the heavy metal splendor that rocks and shakes the very foundation of the generic naysayers world to it's core and rock the fuck on with your horns held up high in defiance! Let's dig in to these metal offerings from these Norwegian metal heads and see what they have to show us today!
Incision is the opening track off this album. With a somber opening that slowly swells in to a serenading showcase of emotional riffing and guitar leads and melodies, Incision makes for a good opening track before the following song, Bloodletter comes in swinging on you like a MMA cage fighter on steroids. Bloodletter sounds like a call to arms to the metal bands of old while helping to carry their burdens of bringing the genre into the music collections of new thrashers to the scene. With precise guitar riffing and striking drum work, Confabulation hits us hard with this scorcher of a track. The galloping rhythm section keeps the energy up while the vocals add a layer of aggression to the already angry sounding riffs and music in general. This short but sweet adrenaline infused track is just what the metal doctor ordered for anyone looking for something new in the metal scene today. The guitar solo is a nice touch on this track and would make the late, Metal god, Jeff Hanneman proud, it really is like taking a page right out of Slayer, and trust me, that is a good thing here with this track, it fit perfectly!
Alright, after that bludgeoning track, we have up next, Unblinking Eye. After the calm of the storm, literally, we are treated to some rather quick guitar riffs opening up this song, I can picture this track being a crowd pleaser with some vicious pit action being had! I get some serious mid career to newer Testament vibes with this song, like it would fit in quite well with the titans of thrash that helped create it all for us metal heads to enjoy. Some punk elements can also be heard in this one which is a staple with old school thrash metal music and works great with the quick pacing of this song, and I'll just say it now, the two guitar solos in this blazing song are an absolute treat for us guitar solo aficionados. As quickly as this song begins, it ends on a very high note that leaves you wanting more, glad that there is a couple more tracks to check out on this album because so far, this is a solid release of pedal to the metal.... well, metal!
The Greatest Sin Was Silence comes up next and this song slows things down a hair and brings in the classic metal grooves. This song begs for you to crank up the volume. The way the solid delivery of the aggressive vocals on this track, coincide and hammer away at you with every punch of the kick drum and every angry word screamed at your face in tandem, deliver a vicious sounding element to this song, lending back to that punkish element of thrash from back in the day, this song is very much "in your face". Thick guitar tones round out the experience with this track and keeps you banging your head until the ending riff, this song is just absolutely filthy in all the right ways!
The closing track, Godless Prayer, fades in with some rhythmic drumming that lead the way for the guitars to come in for the attack as the vocals bring in the rear assault. In lock step, militant order, this song comes in like a metal militia looking for the swift kill. Some rather creepy guitar melodies come in at just the right moments of this song to mix things up a bit just before a fantastic, neck breaking song change up that paves the way for another great guitar solo to lead this song to it's rather interesting ending, where it all just stops and fades away... like an empty prayer to a god who may or may not be there listening. I will tell you who is there listening though, myself, and all of you should be too because this song was an absolute banger!
Confabulation deliver the goods yet again on their fourth release here with, Declaration Of Irreverence. These guys have a rock solid catalogue so far of some seriously kick ass metal! If you are looking for some new metal music to cut your teeth on, then look no further than Confabulation, I guarantee you will not be disappointed. With this new release, we hear these guys sticking to their tried and true formula but hitting it heavier on all fronts, while honing their craft and showing us what they're made of by fine tuning everything and raising the bar higher for their music for us to enjoy. This new release of theirs gets a solid 8 out of 10 on the banger scale and I can honestly say that the ONLY thing holding this release back from a higher score is that I needed more, it was very short. At about fifteen and a half minutes, I felt that right when I was getting into it all, there was nothing left, I mean, I repeated it a few times for the review, but damnit, I could listen to their stuff all day. So if that is my only negative thing to say about this release, then there is absolutely no excuse for any of you metal heads out there to NOT go and check this new release out from Confabulation on their bandcamp page and show them your support on their social media pages because this is one band that you will NOT want to miss out on and they definitely need to find a home within your metal collection! Do it now, you will thank me for it!
Review done by Joshuah Jones, the bassist of The Obsidian Resurrection.
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