July 2022 Feature Release - The Pit Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month's feature release for The Pit has been chosen by Sonny. It is the 2019 sophomore release from Chilean thrashers Parkcrest, "...And That Blue Will Turn to Red". Chile has become a hotbed and outpost of some of the world's best thrash metal over the last decade or so and this is a great example of that scene.

https://metal.academy/releases/35203

Here's my review:

The Chilean thrash scene is one of the more vital and vibrant iterations of the genre in these early decades of the 21st century. Bands like Demoniac, Critical Defiance and Ripper are but the tip of the Chilean iceberg and Parkcrest are another extremely talented bunch of thrashers. It does seem like quite a tight scene however, with Parkcrest guitarist Diego Armijo and drummer Nicolás Villanueva also playing in Ripper and vocalist/guitarist Javier Salgado playing in Critical Defiance and Hellish amongst several others. Formed in 2011, Parkcrest didn't release their first album until 2016's Hallucinative Minds hit the metaphorical Bandcamp shelves. Whilst being an energetic and raw album, Hallucinative Minds is far from the finished product, but did show some promise. So did the follow up, ...And That Blue Will Turn to Red deliver on that promise? Well, I would have to say that, by and large, yes it has and it is a massive leap forward when compared to the debut.

The first difference is that the production this time round is much improved from the debut and sounds powerful, yet has an impressive clarity that allows all the band member's contributions to distinctly be heard. The rhythm section of bassist Cristoffer Pinto and Villanueva are the particular benefactors of this improvement in production values. Pinto's bass throbs along, providing a super-solid foundation from which the others can weave their magic. Villanueva's drumming is possibly the biggest revelation for me on this record, it is furious yet controlled and is much more than just straightforward pummelling. His work here is reminiscent of Dave Lombardo and praise for a thrash metal drummer doesn't get much higher than that does it?

Of course, what we all turn to thrash metal for is the riffs isn't it and here Parkcrest certainly deliver, firing them off like they're going out of style from a seemingly inexhaustible supply. There may not be quite as many as on, say, Time Does Not Heal, but they certainly come thick and fast. Guitarist Javier Salgado doubles up as vocalist and his harsh, barking vocal style is particularly reminiscent o f Kreator's Mille Petrozza and, in fact, I have seen several plausible comparisons to Kreator, Slayer and early Sepultura and while they do take inspiration from these more aggressive purveyors of thrash, their sound is distinctly their own with a degree of technicality coupled with the aforementioned aggressiveness, this being a hallmark of the "Chilean sound" it would seem.

The songwriting is fantastic with several really great tracks on here, the opening duo of Impossible to Hide and Darkest Fear are a killer opening salvo and the instrumental Dwelling of the Moonlights may be my favourite thrash track since the early nineties. This is an album with a surfeit of riffs coupled with searing, meteoric soloing and a tempo that is unrelenting. I don't say this often but this is a modern thrash offering that is more than capable of holding it's own against all but the very best the genre has ever produced and Parkcrest comfortably sit in the vanguard of the latest thrash metal revitalisation.

I quite enjoyed "...And That Blue Will Turn To Red". I'd never encountered Parkcrest before but ended up really liking the way they harness the Bay Area, the Teutonic scene & the South American scene all at once. They certainly possess a really fantastic energy. The more intense & thrashier stuff is clearly Parkcrest's comfort zone & they seem to excel once they're drawing upon "Darkness Descends" & "Beneath The Remains" for influence. They've also spent a fair bit of time listening to classic Iron Maiden over the years though too as there are plenty of places where they throw in an unaccompanied Steve Harris style bass riff during a midtempo section or a melodic guitar lead that wouldn't have seemed out of place on a record like "Powerslave". The drumming isn't as polished as a Dave Lombardo but there's an undeniable urgency & electricity about the consistently high tempos & I think Nicolás Villanueva has done himself some big favours by examining Igor Cavalera's transitions on the classic Sepultura thrash records. The bass playing plays an important role here too with Sodom's Tom Angelripper being the source of inspiration I suspect. This is an absolute riff-fest though with the twin guitars jumping from one impressive riff to another in a never-ending stream. Javier Salgado & Diego Armijo can both certainly play fast but when they start to get a bit more technical & attempt some emotive lead work you can start to see their technical limitations starting to show.

I find "...And That Blue Will Turn To Red" to be top class in patches & these signs all point to Parkcrest's next record having the potential to be a really big one for them but I don't think they're quite there yet. They've crammed these tracks full of content & a lot of it is extremely strong but there are also less impressive inclusions tacked into every song as well so I feel that a little quality control would go a long way. The six minute closing title track didn't do very much for me either & has resulted in me dropping my score from a 4/5 which is disappointing given how strongly the record started over the first few tracks. It deserved a better climax than that in my opinion. Another thing that limited my scoring a touch were Salgado's vocals which are serviceable but don't really possess the charisma of the top tier thrash front men. He sounds great during the more violent stuff but sounds a bit flat when he's barking over simple power chords during a couple of the choruses. So yeah... a promising release for the future with some untapped potential still yet to be drawn to the surface.

For fans of Ripper, "Darkness Descends"-era Dark Angel & late 80's Sepultura.

3.5/5

P.S. What the fuck are they doing choosing such an inappropriate moniker?? What in the actual fuck even IS a "Parkcrest" other than the name of a rich suburb in some posh part of town?

I've steered clear of the Pit featured releases a lot lately due to my well documented lack of interest in recent years, especially as I have become more comfortable with extreme metals like Black metal. But I always try to make a divergence back into the depths whenever I see a newer release given the golden shovel. Well, I say newer, but I only really mean within the last five years.

This record by the Chilean group Parkcrest is one such album and shows a lot of promise. Unlike so many other records in this genre, this record is not going to beat you over the head with a nonstop assault of fast tremolo picking guitars, unaltering skank beat drums, no bass to be found, and inaudible vocals. There are some very good songwriting moments on this album; the album highlights are "Darkest Fear", "Possessed by God" and "Hatred 'Till Die". The mid album instrumental "Dwelling of the Moonlights" has some interesting ideas and could have worked if some of the motifs had been better connected together.

I like how the percussion alternates between double and half time grooves while the guitar remains at a similar pace through chorus sections. I like how much prominence is given to the bass during the heavier thrash sections. But the vocals are probably the albums weakest element, if only because they borrow heavily from the school of Tom Araya word vomit that I have never liked. Overall, the record has some really good moments on it and it does stand out among its contemporaries, but it seems too reliant on returning to a pre-existing formula if only to bring in a large contingency of thrash fans who already enjoy that stuff. And since I am on the outside of that group looking in, the straight up thrash metal is just plain boring. The experimentation is nice, but struggles a bit when it's trying to figure out what to do with it.

6/10

When I find the time, I am going to read up on the origins of the Chilean thrash scene. Following Sonny’s sharing of not just this month’s feature release but various recommendations throughout the site, it is clear that this is a scene that needs further investigation. Although, any cursory listen to Parkcrest straight away shows the influences that permeate the sound with Sepultura, Kreator and many other classic thrash bands prevalent here.

I do find the vocals to be the least appetising element of most of what goes on here though. Although I would not describe Javier Salgado as a poor vocalist by any means, I would go as far as to say he is one of limited capacity and the record shows this. It is fair to say that he is carried somewhat by the guitars (which of course he plays alongside Diego) with those textbook loops and bloops doing a fine job. Overall though it is the sheer intensity of what Parkcrest deliver that is most impressive to my ears. Setting a solid foundation early on the band build and build with each passing track and they certainly do have a penchant for song writing that can only get better with time.

The album does run out of legs I find though as we get near the finish line and I am not sure if this is just fatigue due to the sheer quantity of material that they throw into the track listing here. There is a lot going on during this album and absolutely all of it deserves your attention, however it does feel like the old shearing scissors got left in the draw too much as some tracks could do with a trim. For example, the middle section of the record that contains largely shorter tracks, not all of these are in the same league in terms of quality and I think we could easily cut one of these out and move the seven minute track that heralds the start of the final third of the album into a more appropriate position.

Arrangement gripes aside, Parkcrest have delivered a fine sophomore release here on which they are able to display a range of styles and technical ability without becoming boring. It is good to see a young band capable of delivering the riffs and yet keeping things interesting at the same time. I will certainly keep an out for Parkcrest in the future.

4/5