RUMPELSTILTSKIN GRINDER - Ghostmaker

This band comes from Philadelphia and this is their third album so far. Their story begins at 2002, and this is their first release with Candlelight Records, while their previous albums were released through Relapse. Their sound is rather strange, imagine a band playing Thrash mostly, but spiced up with a lot of aggressive elements from other styles as well. The result is catchy and groovy enough, with tons of huge Thrash riffs, and the crunchy riffs one should expect from a Thrash album, but the vocals are much closer to Death, Black or Grind sometimes, making the result a bit more peculiar but more fun in a twisted way. The atmosphere is dark and suffocating, with fitting vocals, guitar solos that are plenty and perfectly realized, and a rhythm section as tight as should be. But the band goes far beyond Thrash here, exploring their sound and pushing boundaries, creating music that is diverse and innovative. Although never really leaving Thrash paths, they create songs that stand out of the ordinary, and contain a personal style. Musicwise the band is very good, managing to deliver on both slower and faster moments, with the same talent. The songs are well arranged, with enough interesting ideas, groovy enough to make you wanna participate, and interesting enough to make you listen over and over again. More aggressive than the average Thrash album, often creating a sonic havoc, but always sticking to their plans, the band has created an album that will make an impact. With so much energy on the music, songs that are well crafted and with no weak points, this third album will make their music available to a broader audience. And break you neck while listening.

9/10