November 7, 2007 | , | 4.5

Audiopain, The Switch to Turn Off Mankind

Raw. Evil. Thrash. I can’t describe this 6 song disc in any more concise words than that. Audiopain’s The Switch to Turn Off Mankind is comprised of no-frills thrash hellbent on destruction — plain and simple.

Maniacal drumming and thick bass rhythms set the tone for the album, often shifting speeds violently and unpredictably. Memorable riffing and shredding solos rip through your speakers leaving lasting marks like a buzz saw to the face. Add in mid-range vocals with an aggressive and confrontational edge and you’ve got six songs that’ll leave you twitching for more.

Hellbound
You know right away what you’re getting into with this latest album with the first riff. “Hellbound” is full throttle, no bull shit thrash. And you’ve just got to love the lyrics — “… Hellbound. We’re going down with a grin.” Classic! The song has a great guitar lead toward the end.

The Switch to Turn Off Mankind
If at all possible, Audiopain push their driving pace up a notch to snap-you-neck warp speed. This is a pummeling, dark track that Slayer would should be jealous they didn’t write back in the day. There’s a nice tempo shift as the band slows a bit to let you catch up at around the the 2:45 mark. It includes an evil as hell riff, as well.

Holy Toxic
Unrelenting and driving, “Holy Toxic” keeps the pace moving like meth through a trucker’s clogged veins. The main riff tearing through this song shreds.

Termination Fields
Slowing down a bit, the band brings in some Slayerific riffing that’s memorable and catchy as hell. The song starts out with a nice mid-tempo pace setting up a nice groove to head bang to. This is easily the slowest overall song on the album, but it very well could be the best as well — it’s my favorite anyways.

Alliance
After that last evil track, “Alliance” picks up the pace again with some thrashing goodness. I love the chorus on this one.

Cobra Dance
The final track on this short disc starts off with some great riffing and driving drums. There are a few tempo shifts on “Cobra Dance” that actually gives you the feeling of dodging lethal strikes from the poisonous viper — it gives the feeling of a more complexly structured song. It’s a strong ending to a phenomenal disc.

~ ~ ~

I’ve only got one complaint for this disc. Six songs is just a tease. With thrash as dark and as powerful as the material on The Switch to Turn Off Mankind, I want more — a shit load more. If you have even just an inkling of an interest in thrash and you’ve been checking out all the new bands playing old school, “retro” thrash, you need to stop that nonsense and pickup this disc immediately. It’ll blow your mind.

Favorite Tracks:
All of them

Additional Notes:
n/a