FAITHREAT - "Thrashing with the Stars" EP Review

Genre: Crossover/Thrashcore

Location: Volos, Greece

Band Website: Bandcamp, Facebook

Label Websites: n/a

Released in the middle of fuckin' winter, here comes a 7inch release from the 5 stooges of Faithreat that reminds us there's still summer in our hearts!!

Co-released by 4 labels in 350 hand-numbered copies, there're no real words to describe this ep of theirs (I'd say PENIKUFESIN, ha-ha!), with the band to be inducted to Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame after all the fuss ends! Rumors are circulating that, initially, Chuck Norris and Steven Seagal were to write the review for the 7", but due to insurmountable differences and terrible disagreement they started trashing everything up with roundhouse kicks, so the band called on me to salvage the situation once again!

Let's get a little serious there for a while... The 8-song ep is aptly titled Thrashing with the Stars. Ιt consists of musical leftovers from the band's auditions for "Dancing with the Stars" [-We said, serious!!-Oh, ok…]. As you can tell, it's dedicated to movie characters who marked our childhood and continue to haunt our lives, such as Steven Seagal ("Unstoppable Force"), Chuck Norris ("Man or God?"), Mitch Buchannon and Robocop ("Iron Bin"). It also contains a Christmas debunking of the myth of Santa Claus, this corporate-created bearded man, a fuck-off to posers ("Meatballs") and my personal best, "Hairless Charm", dedicated to mighty fuckin' Tsakonas, the favorite 80's cult Greek comedian! No need to explain about him, he's already a legend!

Regarding the music: We got eight fierce short songs that really take no prisoners!! Straight to the face, kick-ass thrashcore / crossover that leaves you begging for more. Fast and intense, riffs cut like a razor, vocals sound just right and the production kills! Thumbs up also for the collage cover and gremlin artwork, courtesy once more of the notorious P. Ntolas. Overall, the ep is a nice foretaste of the band's full length to come, hopefully after the end of the world (12-12-12). Yeah you jive turkeys, Faithreat will survive the blast, cause they are approved by Chuck Norris himself! Highly recommended for fans of Suicidal Tendencies, D.R.I., Vitamin X, R.A.M.B.O. and the like.

That's pretty much all. I'd like to suggest that a free copy of the 7” along with a thank-you letter be sent to mr. Tsakonas, for the endless laughter he's been offering us all this time with his hilarious acting!

Enjoy life and thrash' em all,

Leonidas "For Those About to Mosh" (again)

Faithreat - "Back To The Pit" album review

I don’t think I’ve heard another Greek Thrashcore band, let alone a Greek band with good lyrics and a positive message!

That’s how Faithreat goes out; Fast and straight to the point, no messing about whatsoever! And these fellas don’t beat about the bush musically: you get your first mosh -break just on 0:19 of the first song, while John (the singer) proudly yells: Thrash for yourself, not for your fucking sponsor! How cool is that?

Also, let’s make sure this is not your mama’s Municipal Waste. OK, maybe some similarities can be drawn, but Faithreat is not in the copy-cat band category, as they owe more to DRI and even the Haunted (!) than they do to the aforementioned band. I can hear a lot of Slayer-ic guitar harmonies, which rules, of course, but also a definite two-step Hardcore sound (i.e. breaks, mosh-parts) that changes the whole game. After all, some of these guys used to play in the defunct all-school Hardcore band Disharmonic, so you could say they have cut their teeth doing this Hardcore s*it.

I have to give props for the very good production sound, which is really fat and you can hear everything. For example, the double-bass pedal with its modest but very effective use!

What I liked more about this album is the way certain words or phrases are spat in a spoken-word style over the music, kind of like.. Youth of Today, or Gorilla Biscuits maybe!? You know, phrases that have an extra meaning and stand out, and push the whole song forward. It's nice to hear a heartfelt posi quote while having your face melted by the extra-distorted bass! This is the type of s*it that makes exceptional bands. Moreover, the lyrics are simple, sincere, positive on the whole, and with something that comes out as an honest worry for this world, nature, wars etc. You know how it shows when some people just say it, while others truly mean it, and I firmly believe that Faithreat falls into the second category.

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www.myspace.com/faithreat



Out collectively by the following labels:
www.myspace.com/selfabuserecordsdiy (Self Abuse Records)
www.myspace.com/athensthrashattack (Athens Thrash Attack Label)
www.myspace.com/aristeos (True To The Game Records)
www.myspace.com/keepitrealhc (World's Appreciated Kitsch Records)