Flotsam And Jetsam - Flotsam And Jetsam (2016, Japan)

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Flotsam And Jetsam - Flotsam And Jetsam (2016, Japan)

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During the last couple of years there have been revolving doors in the lineup but vocalist Eric A.K. has kept the band intact with founding member Michael Gilbert returning to the band in 2010 after a decade away. Lately, Michael Spencer, who was in the band for a year in the late eighties and helped penned their legendary No Place For Disgrace album has returned to the band to fill the void when long time bassist Jason Ward left. Flotsam and Jetsam has also recruited guitarist Steve Conley and drummer Jason Bittner known for his time in Shadow Fall and Toxik. We also need to mention that the mention that the two founding members Kelly David-Smith and Edward Carlson left the band in 2014, both have been an integral part of the band ever since they formed in 1984. So there was a natural skepticism from a few fans when the band presented their new album and lineup. The first track I heard from the album was Iron Maiden, a speed metal anthem that sounds a bit like Iron Maiden (the band) on steroids. With blazing twin guitars and Eric A.K.'s melodic singing on top. Damn, the expectations rose to an extreme high for me personally and now after listening to the full album for a few days I'm slightly disappointed with the full product, mainly because the band's sound is quite different on the rest of the tracks. The track Iron Maiden is the best song the band has written since Suffer the Masses from 1990's When the Storm Comes Down, no doubt. Iron Maiden is an old school sounding track that could have been a part of the bands classic debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver. It's a glimpse of what this album could have been and it's satisfying that the band still got it in them but I'm a bit saddened that the rest of the tracks on this album are more leaning towards a darker thrash sound that the band has cultivated for a decade or so. But don't worry, the rest of the album is not an offspring to the bands experimental nineties. Nope, quite the contrary. In some way this is a typical Flotsam and Jetsam album, everything the band has delivered over the years is stirred down into one album, The heaviness and mid-tempo crunch combined emotional song patterns and melodic guitar work has become what we expect from new Flotsam and Jetsam albums and you'll get a ton of that stuff here. So this is perhaps why they decided to self-title their 12th studio album. It feels a bit like we're back on the track that Flotsam started with on 2005's Dreams of Death. When the band finally understood that the alternative rock and groove they delivered in the nineties wasn't as good as the thrash sound the band cultivated in the late eighties. Since then the production values as the overall impression of the band has improved significantly. Flotsam and Jetsam's new self-titled album is a proof of that, things are tight and professional and at the same time more in the old school vein compared to their last couple of albums. The album has some serious musicianship behind it and newcomers Steve Conley and Jason Bittner deliver some solid work here. I'm actually really impressed by Jason Bittner's expressive drum work. I think he has given the band a more metallic edge with his concise drumming. The guitar work by old timer Michael Spencer and new comer Steve Conley is also top notch, delivered in a typical Flotsam fashion, melodic and heavy at the same time. Flotsam and Jetsam's new album might very well be the best album they have released since 1990's When the Storm Comes Down. At least from a metal perspective. 2016 is stacking up to be a pretty good year for thrash with solid albums from Megadeth, Anthrax, Exumer, Destruction, Metal Church and now we can add Flotsam and Jetsam's self-titled album to the list of good thrash metal albums of 2016.

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