Davidian

Thoughts of Metal

Review for Album: Hear their Cries

Thrash Metal maniacs, watch out for the new album from Davidian – a five piece outfit armed with very explosive and aggressive skills. Without doubt, ”Hear Their Cries” is one of the better Thrash Metal discs at the moment to me.

DAVIDIAN is a German band that combines Thrash and Hardcore, obviously resulting into Thrashcore. The band was formed little more than 10 years ago, but it took two more years to have a solid line-up. Its members started as a cover band, but slowly moved on towards Thrash Metal. As usual, the traditional line-up changes also happened. In terms of releases, there was a “Demo” in 1999 and another one, “…In Pain”, the following year. Five years ago DAVDIAN had a first self-released album ready: “Abuse Of Power”. This apparently got a lot of praise for both the music and lyrics. Gig-wise the Germans were then booked for several large festivals: UpFromTheGround, Kaltenbach Open Air, Hard Taste, Metallic Noise Festival and ZABBADUSCHDER Open Air (which is organized by DAVIDIAN).

Dave Hopkins is the newest member of the fold, as he joined in 2004. Early 2007 the new line-up entered the famed Stage One Studios to record “Hear Their Cries” with Andy Classen (HOLY MOSES, SPELLBOUND, LEGION OF THE DAMNED, KRISIUN, PRESIDENT EVIL, SENCIROW, …). It has to be said: the man has done another very good job. In late 2007 Limited Access Records offered the band a contract for at least this new release, which came out on the 25th April.

Lyrically the songs seems to deal with religion, the Israelian people travelling through the desert after their exodus from Egypt in search for the promised land and related things. Thrashcore it most definitely is when listening to “Hear Their Cries”. The album kicks off with the brutal “Judas Cross”, which contains all the ingredients you would expect when putting Thrash and Hardcore together. The pounding, crushing drums with on top of that the devastating riffing and Dave’s demonic vocals. An absolutely flawless song, like many others on this album.

“Count Your Beads” starts slow, as the tension gets built up. Shortly before the 1st minute marker this ball of energy explodes into your ears. Still, the tempo goes down for the bridge or chorus. Overall, I find this song a little less appealing/interesting/sticking. “The Prince” is there to kick back some speed and tempo into the music, making the whole sound like a sonic thunderstorm. Alex does a very good job at keeping his drumming varied, with even a few blastbeats. And yes, there’s even a guitarsolo. Short, but it’s there.

“Dark Lights” also commences in a slow way, where the riffing/melody of the first part reminds me of MACHINE HEAD’s “Davidian”, off the “Burn My Eyes” album (1994). Heaviness follows, but the tempo remains slow. One the 1st minute has passed the Thrashcore kicks in. And how! Truly a listening pleasure. The chorus does require the tempo to go down again, though.

With “Follow” we’ve reached a point that closes a very good first half, with once more a slow build up, but the outburst comes quicker. There’s also a clear contrast between the fast verses and the slower chorus. Around 01:40 there’s a nice breakdown, in preparation for the guitarsolo that comes later.

“Little Man” is a song I can’t be satisfied with 100%, as I have mixed feelings. The intro is – do you see the pattern? – slow, yet heavy in a stop-start manner. The devastating riffs soon take over, although the drums don’t really follow and keep it midtempo. Still, it’s exactly this instrument that shines again due to its diversity in tempo, breaks, accents, etc… In the Thrashcore context this is a pretty decent song, but it’s not as attractive as the others, in my opinion. Mind you, I have to add I prefer the uptempo tracks.

A song where those tempo changes are very important is “40 Days”, which lets its power out after roughly one minute (like before, indeed). Midtempo ferocity is again the first step, although the speed increases as the seconds fly by. Overall, decent, but not outstanding. That is very much the case with “Empty Gold”, which is one of the best songs on “Hear Their Cries”. That is more than a certainty. This song kicks off directly with the typical skull-crushing drumming and throat-slicing riffing. Add Dave’s rough, bestial throat and you’ve got the cherry on the cake. The music is truly a lust for the ear. Around 01:15 a beautiful midtempo instrumental is implemented in preparation for the next fast(er) part and the guitarsolo even later on. More of this, I tells ya, more!

In the “Shadow” the “Cries” come to an end. The pattern of a-slow-start-and-outburst-afterwards is also present here – why change a winning set of compositions? – but I’ve got no complaints at all, for “Shadow” too is a song to be counted among the best ones. Great rhythm, brutal vocals, pounding drums and the classical tempo/fill changes. What more do you want?

Nine tracks totalling a playtime of little more than 37 minutes, which is more than enough to bring you back to life when you’re feeling tired after lunch or in the morning or any other moment. Fans of aggressive Metal simply MUST check out DAVIDIAN and “Hear Their Cries”. You can like Thrash, but not Hardcore, or the other way around, although I think there are more Hardcore fans who like Thrash than the opposite. Whatever you like, one or both, go to the shop and get yourself a copy of “Hear Their Cries”. Time will tell, but DAVIDIAN is a name to keep in mind.