Monday, December 7, 2015

Paraphrenic Hostility – Prepare For War

Prepare For War” is the first demo from Philippines-based thrash metal band Paraphrenic Hostility. The title is an apt description of the 3 songs the band presents on this release. Their approach is fast and noisy, but the playing is tight. Riffs are thrown at the listener with rapid fire, rarely letting up. While these riffs are grounded in thrash, Paraphrenic Hostility’s singer takes more of a rougher death/thrash approach. The combination of his low-pitched grunting alongside being a bit further back in the mix keeps the riffs in focus throughout this release. It is only when the guitar solos appear that the riffs take a back seat. These solos demonstrate that the band’s guitarists are quite talented, as their sound is not dissimilar from early Kreator. In other words, Paraphrenic Hostility’s guitarists play speedy atonal licks that are designed to make the music feel even more chaotic. 

Though the band is successful in achieving a noisy sound, it also hurts them. There is little semblance of memorable riffs or vocal lines. The guitars put forth such a buzz that one can’t help but feel that sounding cleaner would greatly benefit the band. When thing are simplified, such as in the breakdown near the end of “Kamatayan sa Kamay na Bakal”, the band really gets on a roll. Most of the time, however, it is too difficult to discern what is going on. Overall, “Prepare For War” is a demo that shows potential, but is harmed by production. Fans of thrash should still check it out, but it is likely that Paraphrenic Hostility will go on to greater things in the future.

Be sure to check out and like Paraphrenic Hostility on Facebook!

Highlights
All/none

Final Rating
3.25/5 or 65%. 

Written by Scott

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