Bombnation - Night Invasion

I hope you've all recovered from Mad Friday! I'm just starting to gee myself up for a night of socialising and drinking, so what better way to do that than with some thrash. Night Invasion is the third full-length from Canadian crossover/thrash band Bombnation. It was released earlier this year by PRC Music.

Canada's metal credentials are not to be sniffed at. Quebec itself has harboured some great bands over the years, including black metal due Monarque and death metal band Gorguts, while the thrash scene is growing all the time.

Tracklisting:-

1. Fire Of The Night
2. Slayed By Slayer
3. War Beer Warrior
4. Hops
5. Obituary
6. Kreator's Destruction Of Sodom
7. Blackout With Stout
8. Night Invasion
9. Kentucky Fried Seagulls
10. Le D-Beat De La 50
11. Forget It
12. Pissed Off To Listen To Pop
13. Reggie's Calling
14. Order666
15. Iron Whale
16. Black Cable
17. Astro Turf
18. In The Night

What’s better than a thrash metal band that like good beer and has a sense of humour? Nothing, that’s what! Bombnation spit out eighteen fast-as-hell tracks on their third full-length Night Invasion. They’re the type of band that respects the old-school but has fun with it. Album opener Fire Of The Night features screaming leads and the odd falsetto scream ala Tom Araya. Talking of Tom Araya, Slayed By Slayer is a total nod to the band themselves. Plus, it’s not the only song to feature a title that pays homage to the leading lights of the genre. 

Their love for beer features heavily during the duo on War Beer Warrior and Hops! The solo during War Beer Warrior is grin-inducing, while Hops is a song about one of main ingredients of the aforementioned beverage. It’s making me thirsty that’s for sure! Obituary features a surprising amount of groove and guitar mastery, while Kreator’s Destruction Of Sodom shows off Bombnation’s flair for humorous song-titles and again mixes it with their love of German thrash!  Blackout Without Stout is as thick as the beer itself and is a rare occasion where Bombnation slow their relentless attack down, but only during the verses so don’t worry! It’s still comedic as well and shows that they don’t take things too seriously when rocking out!

That newly discovered change in tempo also occurs in the title-track, with the help of some sludge-infused riffs during the verses. They poke fun at fast-food with Kentucky Fried Seagulls. Le D-Beat De La 50 takes you passed the half-way point of Night Invasion, with some crazed screaming. The band’s links to Mesrine are more obvious during Forget It, which features some hellishly fast grindcore drumming. Pissed Off To Listen To Pop goes by before you’ve realised, but the momentum that should have followed into Reggie’s Calling seems to disappear because of the brief gap between the songs. I appreciate that there has to be some distinction between the end on a song and the start of another, but sometimes those gaps are unnecessary.

Bombnation seem to gain focus towards the end of Night Invasion, with both Order666 and Iron Whale taking the advantage of their heavy/thrash metal song-writing. They seem to capture the band’s sound well. Any album that features this many tracks, is bound to suffer slightly due to the odd bit of filler, but the short songs make up for that and Night Invasion is by no means bad. Far from it in fact! Things definitely seem more comfortable during the closing few songs. Black Cable is rip-roaring and doesn’t stick around too long, while there’s a circle-pit going on in my head during Astro Turf. In The Night is a victorious ending to the album. High-pitched vocals, big riffs and gang-chants end it all on a high. 

This album is a lot of fun. Bombnation have managed to capture the sound of old-school thrash bands like Slayer and Exodus, allowing them to pay homage in a way that isn't cheesy or cliched. It may not be a new take on the genre, but who cares. It's thrash that's enjoyable and uplifting. To me, that makes it a success.

You can stream Night Invasion here:-



It's available as a name-your-price download from Bombnation's bandcamp page.

You can grab a CD copy from PRC Music here - http://www.prcmusic.com/store/

Bombnation Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/bombnation
PRC Music Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/prcmusiccanada