A bit like Ironguard, Alcotopia are a sort of mix of power and thrash. But Alcotopia has a dirtier, angrier thrash sound, with more emphasis on a darker sense of humor.
We have a band that puts effort into their music, but don’t take themselves too seriously. This is the kind of album where silly lyrics are energetically growled, darks songs like “Persecutor”, with some joke songs where they growl “Beer, more beer!” and even the more serious songs still have a sort of ironic distance to their subject matter, like a parody of metal songs about those topics.
Again, their brand of humorous thrash metal may not be to everyone’s taste. It’s hard to tell whether “More Beer” is hilarious, or the stupidest song you’ve ever heard.
But there is some solid music behind the silliness. The riffs are heavy, they thrash when they need to, and they can be melodic when needed. The verses and choruses are fierce and raw, but they also have a nice sing-along quality. The songs are long, not too much but enough to show some good guitar playing. Overall, the album is full of energy and rage, and everything that’s good about thrash metal.
The vocals are also somewhat unique. It sounds like a raspy growl at first, but when you listen more closely, it turns out to be very hoarse and gritty singing. Actually, there are moments where the vocalist is going for raspy harsh vocals, and moments where he’s singing with a raspy voice. He reminds me a little of the vocalists of 80s thrash band Détente, and folk metal band H Ural. Or a more nasally and gritty Tom Araya. Despite those comparisons, he actually has a pretty distinctive and easily recognizable voice.
This is a pretty enjoyable, weird and heavy album. I’d say the more enjoyable songs are “Armageddon” for its rage and melody, “FYES” and “Persecutor” for their heaviness, “Mountain King” for its references to “In the hall of the mountain king”, “Alcotopia” for its moodiness, and of course the aforementioned “More Beer”. This album does hit the spot for me.
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