Throwdown
Venom and Tears
Trustkill

The O.C.’s toughest straight edge boys have completed their full transformation into Vulgar Display of Power-Era Pantera. Over the years Throwdown have gone through many lineup changes, but this one is the tightest. With producer Mudrock (Avenged Sevenfold) at the helm they’ve finally gotten it right.

“Holy Roller” sets the pace with quick thrashy bursts of power and mosh. Vocalist Dave Peters sounds exactly like Phil Anselmo. It’s frightening, but welcomed. The groove heavy “Day of the Dog” chugs along and has a catchy group chorus. Not until the somber “Cancer” does the listener catch their breath from this sonic assault. The mid-tempo heaviness continues with “No Love.”

As a whole Venom & Tears builds off the Pantera influenced hardcore of Vendetta and ditches the hardcore part. Think Pantera with all the heavy riffs and gruff vocals, just without the Dimebag solos. Maybe they should get a second guitarist to fill that void for the next record. This is highly recommended if you like metal and will surely fill the Pantera void for the jocks, tough guys, and rednecks of America.

Doesn’t Rock l Kinda Rocks l Rocks l Really Rocks