15 years on the Brazilian scene now has been deemed the time for HAMMATHAZ to bring out there first full-length album.  OK there have been a few demos and Eps, even a couple of singles, but like most bands should do, they concentrated on building a live reputation, including festivals and opening for some great internationally renowned bands.

So, what do we get here? A Thrash/Death/Extreme band is what we have.  I have to say they are a perfectly acceptable band, just not THAT band that makes the hairs on the back of the neck stand up or give you the tingling feeling downstairs when you've discovered something particularly special. There is Lucas, obviously a good drummer, he stands out as something a bit different from the usual jack-hammer merchants, very rhythmical, but the rest just sounds so generic.  It all feels so heard it all before, definitely not bad, far from it, they can play (not a fan of the vocals, but that's my taste), just in the main a bit, heard it.

Let's extenuate the positive.  Track 1 "Farewell" (?) and track 9 "The End" (which is the last track, so is appropriate) are the standout tracks.  "Farewell" hits between the eyes musically, some good time changes etc. and guitars work very well, although oddly the most generic drumming, but works for the song, and there are some nice vocal touches.  Sets the expectations (too) high perhaps. "The End", the opening axe attack is nearly MAIDEN-like before going into overdrive and thrashy, before again putting the breaks on and hitting us with a SABBATH style monumental riff and then launching into some mental soloing!  Also, worth a mention is "Tear The Walls".  The drum into, and the sheer speed of the man's feet after that is worth a listen alone.  The songs staccato pacing is impressive, simply put it works.

But that's 3 out of 9 songs.  To reiterate none are bad, just don't get above adequate, which is a real shame because it would not have taken more than a polish to create a gem, but I have to call it as I hear it I'm afraid.  However I bet they can play live, and I suspect these songs take on another dimension in that arena.  Sorry guys.