Havok is an American thrash metal band from Denver. Formed in 2004 and releasing the debut Burn in 2009. David Sanchez (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) is the only founding member left but except for the bass, the line-up is stable since 2011's Time Is Up with Reece Scruggs (lead guitar) and Pete Webber (drums). The first three albums saw the band finding their sound by mixing classic thrash influences with modern metal. It was 2017's Conformicide that got very good reviews and defined the band as one of the better re-thrash metal bands from the 2010's. I personally missed their albums up to now, but in a week with very few releases their name caught my attention. I remember regretting missing out Conformicide.
V is the fifth (surprise!) 11-song studio album and the band's first with bassist Brandon Bruce. The single "Post-Truth Era" get things started in the best "Blackened" way (but with bass!) and there's at least one more And Justice For All... Easter egg later in the album. Other first impressions are that to me Havok sounds a lot like a mix of Death Angel with Destruction. Their sound is very intense and fast (e.g. "Fear Campaign"), but the band knows how to slow down (e.g. "Ritual of the Mind"), and experiment and flirt with progressiveness. The more adventurous side of the band is seen in the last songs. "Panpsychism" is an over six-minute song with an acoustic intro and a build up from mid-tempo to some high speed sections. There are also some Maiden-ism and fun solos. Then the 8-min closer "Don't Do It" displays some nice twists including clean vocals. I like when bands do some experimentation on the last song but it doesn't always work, in V Havok pulled it off nicely.
The production is top notch. One of the most distinctive and impressive characteristic of the band's sound is the bass. There are very few thrash basses that sound so good. It's dynamic as it uses different techniques and positions in the mix. "Betrayed by Technology" and "Cosmetic Surgery" being clear examples (but really all over the album). And it's not only the bass, the other guys are also exceptionally good at their instruments. David's voice resembles Schmier from Destruction. It's a cool and powerful voice, but sometimes too similar to him. In addition to David, the band uses lots of gang vocals which I usually don't appreciate. But in this case it works well as it is just a few words at a time and not overdone.
While I enjoyed the album, I can't avoid that it bothers me that Havok sound too much like the 80's thrash bands. Other than that it's a good old school thrash metal album with a modern touch. If you like their previous albums, you will dig this for sure. I personally don't see myself going back to it very often, but I would certainly like to see Havok live thrashing some of those headbangers.
SCORE: 78/100
Genre: Thrash Metal
Released by Century Media Records on May 1st, 2020
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Rating System
96 - 100 Perfect
88 - 95 Excellent
84 - 87 Great
80 - 83 Very Good
75 - 79 Good
69 - 74 Mixed
58 - 68 Bad
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