Solitary

Artist: 
Album Title: 
I Promise To Thrash Forever
Release Date: 
Monday, June 2, 2014
Distribution: 
Review Type: 

Despite two decades of activity, and despite an enormous fan-base (Solitary have a well-populated fan club, listening to the name of The Unidentified), I Promise To Thrash Forever isn’t but the first live album by UK Thrash-masters Solitary. Okay, they are not known for a constant release of studio material either, as you might know. The material on this live registration was recorded at the end of last year in Selby, England. The result was finally mixed by the band’s bassist, Ren Robinson, and the mastering was done by Darkane’s Lawrence Mackrory.

I Promise To Thrash Forever consists of eleven songs with a total running time of forty six minutes. It comes with a cool sound, coming very close to a studio record, yet certainly not too clinically malformed in order to create an unnatural organic sound. There’s no background noise, and the interactivity with the audience comes in a well-thought balance. Also the performance is of an exceptional high quality. The members play as if all of them had the chance to do it over and over again until the result was top-notch. Of course that was not the case, for in a live recording it is a winner or a loser. …of course, once again, with the possibility nowadays to have all the material slightly manipulated by mixing and re-engineering. However, it fits. And the tracks themselves, well, that’s up to you. You like Solitary’s Thrash approach, or you do not (or something in between). I have never been a ‘fan’, but since the performance is truly impressive…

80/100