Album Review: Angelus Apatrida - Hidden Evolution

After a strong start to the decade, the thrash revival seems to be slowly fading back into the shadows.  The bands are still going strong, and are still pumping out records, but they aren't resonating the way they did just a few short years ago.  Much like the original wave of thrash, the music has become stagnant as the formulas have become entrenched, and there is little new being added to the mix.  The first albums by these bands felt fresh because thrash had been missing for so long, but now that they're common, the shortcomings are easy to see.

Angelus Apatrida is one of those thrash bands through and through.  The first minute of “Immortal” is pure thrash, with speedy riffs, vocals that are gruff utterances, and gang vocals in the chorus.  It is, more or less, exactly what the blueprint of thrash says it should be.  But even within the tried-and-true confines, there are things that work and things that don't.  The riffs that avoid chugging on the bottom string are interesting, and the gang vocals are excellently done, but the chugging doesn't have enough heft to it, and the sections with relentless pounding of the snare drum are aggravating.

The military beat that underpins the swelling open to “First World Of Terror” is far more inviting, and I appreciate the way the fastest picking is alternated with riffs that focus more on providing some chunk to the music.  It's a minor detail, but it's one that's integral to making music so focused on speed seem like something other than a blitzkrieg.  And when the chorus of the song comes along, with its half-time feeling and more melodic approach, it shows a bit of diversity that it often missing in modern thrash.

“Architects” sounds like a long-lost Exodus song, which for fans of that band will surely be a treat.  The riffs are groovy, the beat settles in, and the chorus is memorable in the way the old classics are.  In fact, that's probably the best aspect to “Hidden Evolution”.  Angelus Apatrida does a better job than the vast majority of the modern thrash bands of writing choruses that are worth hearing.  So often, I hear these kinds of bands who think layering a few extra voices on a simple repetition of a few words constitutes a worthy chorus.  It doesn't, and it's refreshing to hear that Angelus Apatrida understands this.  Whether the songs with the big gang vocals, or the more melodic approach of songs like “Tug Of War”, there's always a hook in there for you to remember after the fact.

That's a key, because remembering the lightning-speed riff that opens “Serpents On Parade” is nearly impossible.  Yes, it's cool to hear for a few seconds just how fast a guitar can be picked, but it's not a very musical sound, and it gets old faster than you might think.  That is a problem for thrash, but it's one that Angelus Apatrida does a good job of avoiding.  “Hidden Evolution” isn't the most diverse album you'll ever hear, but it has enough little shifts and changes to keep things interesting, and to make sure that the songs don't devolve into a singular mess of speed-picking.

I've reviewed a few thrash records in my time here, and “Hidden Evolution” ranks right up there with the best of them.  No, it's not going to be a classic the way the albums from the 80s are, but nothing released these days is going to be.  Making that comparison is unfair.  But comparing “Hidden Evolution” to the rest of the thrash bands working these days, it's clear that Angelus Apatrida is among the very best.  I'm no thrash devotee, but “Hidden Evolution” is a rock-solid album I have no qualms about recommending to thrash fans.