JUDICIARY
JUDICIARY “Flesh + Blood”
By Dr. Abner Mality
Sometimes you don’t need innovation or a fresh approach to make a mark. Sometimes you just need rage and a desire to punch someone in the face. And that’s exactly what you get from this Texas wrecking crew. This is a record where sheer ferocity trumps every other aspect.
The band definitely leans towards the more modern side of the thrash and hardcore fence, putting plenty of groove and breakdowns into their simple, violent music. It’s a mash-up of SLAYER, HATEBREED, LAMB OF GOD and the heaviest MACHINE HEAD and it works because of anger and simplicity. A real great aspect of “Flesh + Blood” is its raw, bare-knuckled production...nothing shined up about this one! Everything is dialed up to 11 yet the production isn’t the “underground” version of raw. The genuinely pissed off feeling behind Jake Collinson’s vocals helps, too...it’s something that can’t be faked.
As for the songs, they are kept short and to the point. There’s just a bit of industrial noise, but otherwise this is streamlined. The tunes have no real originality to them and the “chug and thump” breakdowns are ones we’ve heard before. But you can’t argue with “Paradigm Piercer”, “Stare Into the Sun”, “Obsidian”...it would be like arguing with a charging rhino. And that’s what JUDICIARY are. A brutal example of modern metal mayhem.