{"id":50122,"date":"2016-10-07T00:00:57","date_gmt":"2016-10-07T00:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=50122"},"modified":"2016-12-01T18:30:54","modified_gmt":"2016-12-01T18:30:54","slug":"album-review-darkness-the-gasoline-solution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-darkness-the-gasoline-solution\/","title":{"rendered":"DARKNESS – The Gasoline Solution (2016) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

DARKNESS
The Gasoline Solution<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nHigh Roller (2016)<\/span>
Rating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s a blast from the past; Germany\u2019s Darkness, who created a trio of killer thrash compositions back in the late 80s. It\u2019s certainly been a while, the combo reuniting in 2004 under the moniker Eure Erben. On the back of 2015\u2019s XXIX<\/em> EP though, The Gasoline Solution<\/em> has seen the return of Darkness, and what a way to come back. <\/p>\n

Alongside Hobbs\u2019 Angel Of Death\u2019s latest opus (Heaven Bled<\/em><\/a>), Darkness\u2019 The Gasoline Solution<\/em> has to be one of the finest thrash metal records I\u2019ve heard in a very long time. This has surprised me considering that the only original members are guitarist Arnd and drummer Lacky, the pair are accompanied by vocalist Lee \u2013 the newest member \u2013 bassist Dirk and guitarist Meik. <\/p>\n

The Gasoline Solution<\/em> offers up nine, to the point minor thrash classics which sound as if they were recorded in the 1980s. Although less spiteful than the late Oliver Fernickel\u2019s original rasp, Lee does a fine job of bolstering the latest Darkness thrash assault and it\u2019s one that has left me agog. This is pure thrash metal heaven, if you like real, sincere aggressive thrash. <\/p>\n

For me, Darkness never got the credit they deserved \u2013 maybe left wallowing in the shadows of fellow countrymen Sodom, Kreator and Destruction \u2013 but now is their time to shine with a record so meaty and vigorous that I may not need play anything else all year. From the off, with \u2018Tinkerbell Must Die\u2019 we\u2019re treated to a deadly Teutonic attack of the highest order; deadly riffs are abound and are littered with classy solos while the drums rage harder than a waterfall of blood. Couple this with that mayhemic bass sound and Lee\u2019s snarls, and we have a minor thrash classic on our hands \u2013 yep, it\u2019s that good. <\/p>\n

Finally, here\u2019s an album that lives up to its punky cover art. For me though, it\u2019s the slower, mid-tempo menace which really brings the album out of the shadows. \u2018Another Reich\u2019 is a prime example of that creeping, ominous premise, but it\u2019s a song so darn catchy that mosh pits around the world should be nodding long atop such a dervish of a track. This is where Lee comes into his own, his vocal expressions a threatening grimace until the band leaps into another explosive fast-paced gallop. And the thrash pukes keep on coming; all littered with some dazzling solos and Lacky\u2019s sturdy percussion. <\/p>\n

This year I\u2019ve enjoyed immensely the new releases from Destruction and Sodom (Under Attack<\/em><\/a> and Decision Day<\/em><\/a>, respectively) but neither matches the latest Darkness offering; a record so sincere in its old school merits that you could be forgiven for thinking that we\u2019ve been transported back to about 1986. <\/p>\n

The catchy \u2018Welcome To Pain\u2019, the hammering \u2018L.A.W.\u2019, and the ominous title track exude so much arrogance and menace that you begin to wonder why these guys had so much trouble emerging from the shadows of Germany\u2019s more well-known acts. The chug of the title track and speed metal fury of closer \u2018This Bullet\u2019s For You\u2019 are tremendous thrash metal expressions. Hints of crossover are scant, but effective enough to lace this instalment with a punky, riotous edge. In fact, swallowing a Molotov cocktail is the only way I can think of truly describing this thrash metal masterclass.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DARKNESSThe Gasoline Solution High Roller (2016)Rating: 9\/10 Here\u2019s a blast from the past; Germany\u2019s Darkness, who created a trio of killer thrash compositions back in the late 80s. It\u2019s certainly been a while, the combo reuniting in 2004 under the moniker Eure Erben. On the back of 2015\u2019s XXIX EP though, The Gasoline Solution has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3206],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-darkness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50122"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50261,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50122\/revisions\/50261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}