Originally written by Jordan Campbell
This self-titled, self-released EP (“…back in my day, we called these things demos!” – Some Old Dude) comes courtesy of Philadelphia’s The Claw. And while they may be yet another recent group of young lads to try their hand at this “Thrash Metal” thing, they shouldn’t be lumped in with the I-spent-half-my-paycheck-online-and-all-I-got-was-this-bullet-belt-and-a-pair-of-aviators crowd. No, this stuff is abrasive and thick, and tainted by the stench of death. Aping a bit of their style from The Haunted (pre-ego-inflation) and peppering it with a little bit of Lindstrand/Lindberg attitude, this is an impressive, Advil-sized nugget of fury.
While their vocalist seems to be suffering from a bit of a metalcore hangover, the rest of the band fires away with ample energy, and with largely effective results. Some riffs and progressions are a bit clunky and awkward, and the melodic tweaks that are sandwiched in do little to enhance the flow. But when the band puts the hammer down, they certainly fuck shit up. The final minute of “Green Bastard” is bursting with nastified thrash fervor, the second half of “New Dawn” provides Pabst-cracking, neck-wrecking groove, and speeddealing closer “Pope 45” is pure circle-pit riot material. The Claw’s rough-edged, gnarly guitar tone is wonderfully suitable for their fistful-of-razorblades attack; hopefully that element of defleshed danger will remain present as the band’s stature and wherewithal advances.
While there’s nothing particularly jaw-dropping on this 5-track collection (the lack of cork-poppin’ guitar solos punctuates this sentiment), and there are a couple of knots that throw some kinks into the path of their saw, this serves as a harbinger for some high-quality, Swede-influenced metal to come. Not quite Jim Carrey’s wild talon, but certainly more effective than Cary Elwes’ index finger, the potential is evident. At the time of this writing, this EP has been floating around for 292 days; I have a feeling that The Claw are already working hard at maximizing every last drop of thrashing blood that runs through their veins.
