Tuck From Hell - 'Thrashing'

Harmless, goofy thrash metal to get the pits moving.

If one is looking for music to party to, then Tuck From Hell’s debut Thrashing will satisfy. This is the Frosted Flakes of metal; a sugary, delicious treat with little substance. The band has a love for delicious barbecues and getting drunk on various hard liquors. Retro-thrash like this has been done better by Gama Bomb and Bonded By Blood, but Tuck From Hell puts on an entertaining, if derivative, spectacle of filth and gluttony.

The band plays with a degree of irresponsibility. In Tuck From Hell’s mind, there is no time for instrumental breakdowns or bouts of levity. There’s no letting up on the thundering “Headbanger” and the explosive opener “Barbecue Beast.” This isn’t a fresh take on thrash; more like a spray of Febreze on its decaying corpse. This material is styled with a live audience in mind, as the studio atmosphere doesn’t do the band justice.

The ten tracks don’t try anything far outside the comfort area, with a couple exceptions. “Death Before Disco” confines to a mid-tempo pace, and “Italian Stallion” uses an extended intro to build a melodic mood. Of course, that doesn’t last long, as the song heads into a thrash clinic that the older headbangers will nod their head at in approval.

The album is light on filler, only taking up about 30 minutes. There aren’t any outright awful tracks, save for the odd finish to “Tequila Race.” It just fades out after only two minutes of music, barely giving the band enough leeway to pull out a stunner. The song also exposes one of the weak points of the album in vocalist Niklas ‘Tuck’ Ingels. His angry shouts come off like a weak impersonation of James Hetfield; there were moments where a trademark Hetfield “yeah” seemed on the horizon.

Tuck From Hell is a young, energetic group that seems like a blast to hang out with, and their debut Thrashing reflects this. It’s the type of music to turn the brain off to, with no concerns about political messages or lofty concepts. It’s not an innovative album, but not every album has to be. Grab a 30-pack, some beef jerky, and put Thrashing on repeat for an evening of debauchery.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.