Hellbastard

Eco War

SelfMadeGod 2009

British lords of Crust thrash crossover deliver a quick jab to the gut with their Eco War EP which consists of 4 original songs, a Slayer cover and a useless track of studio tomfoolery.  For me the latest Hellbastard was a failure of sorts.  But the smaller dose I get from this EP is perhaps better for me.  Eco war starts off with a reprise of Gone Postal.  Some strange guitar harmonics and wierd squeals serve to unsettle the listener while sparse samples set a mood of ominous bleakness.  Hardcore roots surface during Sea Shepherd.  Then Powerful thrash riffs settle in for some crushing power and groove-oriented obliteration to close out the song.  Woe the People flies in from left field with a doomy Sabbath riff and a fun sense of glee to motivate the oppressive merriment that possesses the mood of the track.  Those Hammond organ and psychedlic guitars are a nice touch.  The best track of the EP is Massacre which crawls with Slayer inspired aggression on its opening passage of thrash infused mayhem.  A hardcore sense of dynamics and attitude dominate the latter sections of the track.  The cover of Slayer's Die By The Sword is pretty faithful to the original though a tiny bit sloppier and not as aggressive and captivating somehow.  The final listed track is Kick the Geordie which is a recording of some silly conversations and kid related nonsense, totally worthless.  Showing their musical diversity and songwriting prowess, Hellbastard achieve a sense of immediacy and power that their latest full length album was lacking.