SINGLE BULLET THEORY - Behind Eyes Of Hatred               

Posted: 2/10/05

Reviewed by: Steve Gottlieb

Category: Thrash Metal

Released: 2004

Label URL: www.crashmusic.com

Artist URL: www.singlebullettheory.net

On this, their second album, Philadelphia’s Single Bullet Theory show that they are not only capable of spanning multiple genres, they excel at it.  Taking the best of old school and new school thrash and adding some extreme elements, SBT puts forth a stellar effort that will make fans of all things thrashy sit up and take notice.  Coming across like a cross between Divine Intervention-era Slayer and The More Things Change-era Machine Head, SBT starts things off right with the speedy “A View From Nowhere” which features some great solos and tempo changes.  “Cold As Stone” and “Retribution” keep things heavy, while “In Sequence” features a great melodic intro riff.  Matt DiFabio (ex-Pissing Razors), on guitars and vocals, is the soul of the band.  Like Chuck Billy (Testament), the range of his uncanny vocals go from soaring melodic to guttural grunt, and everything in between, sometimes within the same line of lyric.  Granted, DiFabio’s aggro-hardcore vocal style may at times be a deterrent, but he repeatedly brings you back when he switches to his clean style.  Likewise, on the surface the music has a raw, unpolished feel to it, yet dig beneath the surface and the intricate structures and rhythms become evident. Bassist Billy Mez (ex-Seven Witches), guitarist Carlos Alvarez (ShadowDance), and drummers Matt Thompson (King Diamond) and Jay Horvath (each playing on about half the tracks) lay a solid foundation into which DiFabio firmly makes his mark.  The album is chock full of intense pentatonic solos that summon the departed spirits of Chuck Schuldiner and (ahem) Alex Skolnick.  The Death and Testament references, while subtle, appear frequently, both in the vocals, song structures, and melody lines.   Axe-man for hire James Murphy (ex-Testament, Death) brings these connections full circle, tweaking the production knobs and guest soloing on two tracks.  One of these, a cover of Metal Church’s “Badlands,” shows SBT at their finest, as DiFabio gets to reveal the full range of his clean singing voice.

The Bloody Truth:  The aggro-hardcore influences, which are evident primarily in the vocals, ensure that this album isn’t for everyone, not even all thrash fans, but if you proudly walk that line between thrash and extreme and can handle both vicious and melodic vocals, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.