Harlott – Detritus of the Final Age
Release Date: 13th November 2020
Label: Metal Blade Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Thrash
FFO: Slayer, Nuclear Assault, Overkill, Ultra-Violence.
Review By: Jonathon Hopper
Has 2020 been getting you down? If the answer is in any way ‘yes’ and you’d like nothing more than to see the back of the endless parade of pandemic, clowns in political clothing and racial and social injustice then as I see it you have two choices: either you can stick your fingers in your ears and go ‘la la la’ in the hope it will all go away (and believe me, I’ve tried that so often that it’s going to take a pneumatic drill to dislodge the compacted ear wax), or you can invest in this – the fourth album from Melbourne thrashers Harlott.
Starting with a ticking clock before launching into the blistering As We Breach, it’s pretty clear from the outset that the 4-piece haven’t mellowed one iota since 2017’s ‘Extinction’, itself part three of a trilogy of releases that commemorated the beginning, spread and ultimate demise of humanity.
All good cheery stuff, and second track Idol Minded continues in much the same vein, vocalist and mainstay of the band Andrew Hudson instigating a ferocious assault on (you guessed it) religious fervour which comes very close to matching Slayer at their peak brutality.
It’s a hard act to follow but in third track Bring on the War – arumbling dystopic march through a wasteland where death is only the second worst thing on the menu – they manage it. It’s a twisting, towering statement of malcontent; a toe-tapping tease if your hooves happen to be of the cloven hoof variety.
Yet amongst all the fury and thrashing limbs of the likes of Prime Evil and the frantic title track, Detritus of the Final Age also has room for introspection.
Nemesis provides a commentary on being one’s own worst enemy with its Spanish guitar intro and haunting double track vocals during the chorus. Grief meanwhile is without doubt the band’s most personal song to date, Hudson recounting the heartbreak and agony of a loved one losing their fight with cancer over a sludgy stomp.
Of course, there’s still a time and a place for sticking your fingers in your ears. Kindergarten for example, or if you’re a cartoon animal who’s just lit a fuse that’s merrily burning down towards a keg of dynamite. For anyone else, however, especially those looking for an angry, cathartic blast of pure thrash energy, this will do nicely.
(4.5 / 5)
