One thing that I’ve found constantly puzzling during this whole thrash revival thingy is why nearly all of the bands forego the epic and cerebral side of thrash in favor of mostly speed, a punk attitude, and scathing aggression. Nothing against the fun, mosh-ready stuff, but what happened to the depth? In other words, plenty of “Piranha” and Pleasure to Kill, not nearly enough “Call of Ktulu” or Mental Vortex. That’s why After Oblivion is refreshing on the ol’ thrash ears. Obviously drinking their wine from the cup of Coroner, this relatively-new Bosnian act offers up that elusive technical and intellectual side of all things punchy and crunchy. The brief three-song EP Vultures more than showcases their skills and just begs to be followed up a full length.
The most obvious influence here is the aforementioned Coroner. After Oblivion employs that same sense of driving momentum that the Swiss masters excelled at, using tools such as the heavy double-picked riffs to drive the nail home. Also present are touches of the less in-your-face moments from Testament and the thrashier side of mid-90s Death. The vocals in particular sound almost exactly like Symbolic-era Chuck Schuldiner, and fit the underlying metal to a T. The killer riffage and outright punch of the songs will hook the listener, but it is the little flairs – such as a well-constructed solo or the rhythm-to-lead riff ascension in the title track – that will go a long way to making each of these three songs instantly memorable.
The downside is that very little of Vultures sets itself apart from the music that serves as its source. The upside is that After Oblivion is already doing an excellent job aping some legendary acts, and a full length displaying this level of quality would go far in establishing them as another band to join Vektor in the very small camp of thrash bands on the more sophisticated side of the coin. So get on it, boys.
