Gama Bomb - Speed Between The Lines (2018)

Knowing the Ireland thrashers Gama Bomb and their quirky humour, it is hard to decipher if the name of their 6th studio effort is talking about robotic athletes that shatters every record Usain Bolt possess, or if it is just a fun word play of taking amphetamines while preparing another string of cocaine. No matter what it means, you can be sure that there is one thing that we can take from "Speed Between The Lines", and that is that we are certainly gonna get our daily dose of lightning fast metal.

So when the album was announced, the band promised some ass-melting metal, and while the music did not do exactly that, it is most definitely another thrashtastic effort by the lads. Sure, it is not anything different from what the band have done previously, and they seemingly only know two types of tempo (fast, and faster), but this familiar feeling is still fun as hell to witness, even more so since the whole album is a bite size 35 minutes, just enough to satisfy, and not too much so you will not end up in a drowsy thrash coma. The same can be said about all individual songs, with all lying somewhere between 2,5-4 minutes in length.

The sound is not the main focus, it is instead the humorous insanity in the lyrics that makes you come back to the band time and time again. Gama Bomb has a simple strategy, they mostly sing about what they love, everything from early horror tropes, kinky fetishes, partying hard, and... Kurt Russell? Okay, we got ourselves a homage song to the actor Kurt Russell in here, and nothing against the guy, but why? Kurt is a fine actor and all, but has he really made any iconic performances during his career? I guess "Escape From L.A." and "Tango & Cash" are some of his most famous roles, and recently he was in both "Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2" and "The Hateful Eight", but that does not seem enough to warrant a good and catchy thrash song with some brilliant K-U-R-T chantings in his honor. It reminds me of Psychostick and their homage to Bruce Campbell, which leads me to believe that Gama Bomb have a sick fascination of Kurt. Would not surprise me if they get a tattoo of his face... on their face's.

Besides that awkward weirdness, there is still a lot to enjoy with this album. The lyrics will give you some good chuckles here and there, if you can keep up with the blazing speed it is being presented in that is, and it is all enhanced thanks to singer Philly Byrne. His demented vocals have that perfect mix of power, range, and insanity that can make any Gama Bomb song come to life in a spectacular way. The rest of the guys certainly do a good job too, trying to out speed each other in a way that would make a Formula 1 car seem sluggish.

The only problem with this album is that it is not made to last very long. It speeds through your mind, giving you a nice adrenaline rush that you would do best in not taking in multiple times a day. It is another thrashing fun record by the Irish lads that cements their spot as one of the main bands in their genre, but "Speed Between The Lines" is not an album that will necessarily define the band, nor thrash itself, in 2018. That is okay though, as long as both we and the band are having fun, that is more than enough. If you want a quick fix for that frowning face, then this record is just the cure you need.

Songs worthy of recognition: Give Me Leather, 666teen, Motorgeist, Kurt Russell

Rating: 7,5/10 Faceblasters

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The Terror Tapes
Untouchable Glory

Gama Bomb - Untouchable Glory (2015)

It is once again time to summon our inner thrash guy, and indulge ourselves in the pride and joy of Northern Ireland, Gama Bomb. And judging by the cover, they are better and crazier than ever, paying homage to Hong Kong Kung-Fu movies, James Bond, and snakes that knows how to blow up shit. And sure enough, "Untouchable Glory" is another album filled with what the guys does best, blasting out riffs and beats in a incredible fast pace, while shouting lyrics that are hard to comprehend.

The band's humour has always been their greatest asset, to create a crazy fast spoken story that may be hard to sing along with and discover with only your ears at your disposal, but once you open up that lyric sheet, you will get a good laugh out of it. Actually, the laughs comes early on when you glance at the titles. How can one go wrong with titles like "Drinkers, Inc." and "James Joints".

Just like in the predecessor "The Terror Tapes", the band has made a great effort in making every song in here memorable, a problem that is common in crossover thrash albums. Despite that every song has more or less the same speed, they all have small, intricate details that makes them stand out, whether it be a great and groovy chorus ("Avenge Me!"), funny lyrics ("My Evil Eye"), insane riffing ("She Thing"), or Snoop Dogg references ("James Joints").

Despite containing 12 songs, the album is barely over half an hour long, which I am not surprised over since the genre is built around shorts songs. Fortunately, the only song that is too short is "James Joints", and that song is long enough (1 minute) to pack some good punch in it. It is a shame that the album ends in the blink of an eye, but at least the band favours quality over quantity, which is always good.

The only thing that really bothers me with this record is that they got rid of the thing that got me hooked to the band in the first place, the sci-fi vibe. I guess that "My Evil Eye" and "I Will Haunt You" still have some of that in it, but it is certainly not the focal point anymore. I am not saying that it is a bad decision of the band to focus on other themes and such, but it is a shame that they leave their roots behind to rot. Okay, I am being a little too nostalgic here, so let us get to the closing words of this review before I start a "this band used to be good" rant, because that would just consist of me lying straight to your faces.

For those of you who are experienced with the band, you know what to expect, they do not surprise you with any new age influence here. It is good old crossover thrash from first to last minute, so if you have enjoyed any of the band's previous albums, you should enjoy this one as well, because it is packed with the same amount of action that Bruce Lee got. The glory may be untouchable, but it is well worthy of the band.

Songs worthy of recognition: Avenge Me!, "Drinkers, Inc.", My Evil Eye, I Will Haunt You

Rating: 8,5/10 Ninjas

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The Terror Tapes

Speed Between The Lines

Gama Bomb - The Terror Tapes (2013)

Northern Ireland thrashers Gama Bomb are a crazy bunch of guys. Not only do they play music that is faster than the speed of light, but the lyrics in their music are just as ridiculous as the thrash genre they are playing. With those two elements, they have become a personal favourite of mine. Not because they are the best, but because they are a blast to listen to. You just have to take a look at the song titles to notice their weird sense of humour. Some of the best titles in this album are "Smoke The Blow With Willem Dafoe", "The Wrong Stuff", "Shitting Yourself To Live" and "Metal Idiot". Craziness straight from the start.

It has been 4 years since the last album, "Tales From The Grave In Space", but very little has changed since that album. Gama Bomb still spoils us with speed, riffs and humorous lyrics. One difference I sense is that the band seems tighter and that they have improved on almost every aspect on both instrumental skills and musicality. The songs are still mostly superficial, but not as much as on previous records. This time, I can actually tell the difference from the songs after the first listening session. And the song that makes the most impression is the powerful "Terrorscope" that takes you in a stranglehold and shakes you wilder than an earthquake with its wild riffing, awesome guitar solo and intoxicating chorus. And let us not forget that this song has a music video that is one of the funnest metal videos in years.

So the band can make some good music, but is it really necessary with this occasional short song? "Shitting Yourself To Live" is 21 seconds long, and it is so short that I could almost count the amount of riffs in the song. At least try to make something memorable in that short amount of time, like they did in the 1 minute and 17 seconds long song "Smoke The Blow With Willem Dafoe".

But let us ignore these tiny distractions and let us focus on the rest of the songs. I have always felt that Gama Bomb is at their best when they take their lyrical level towards the sci-fi world. One of these songs are "Beverly Hills Robocop" that speeds through with a surprisingly clean guitar sound and a truly robotic chorus. I do not know if it is supposed to sound cool or just be silly, but I love it none the less. Sadly, there is a lot less science fiction in this album than it was in "Tales From The Grave In Space", but to make it up, the band is making the tunes more individual then ever before. Songs like "We Started The Fire" and "The Cannibals Are In The Streets" are recognizable, great songs that should without a doubt tingle your thrash nerve and make you bang your head.

So overall, this album is one of the better album that the Northern Irishmen has created in their career. With  improved song personalities and great riffing, Gama Bomb has now developed themselves as one of the best existing acts in crossover thrash. Their speed and passion has showed several times that these guys never stops having fun, and I always have fun when their adrenaline pumping songs blasts out of the speakers. "The Terror Tapes" may not be a true terror, but it is a album that is terrifically good.

Songs worthy of recognition: Terrorscope, We Started The Fire, Beverly Hills Robocop

Rating: 8,5/10 Metal Idiots

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twitter.com/GamaBombSpeaks

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Untouchable Glory

Speed Between The Lines