MUTANT BLAST
MUTANT BLAST “Soulsteeler”
By Dr. Abner Mality
You don’t have to win the Westminster Dog Show to be a good doggie. A friendly street mutt can still be a good boy. In metal terms, MUTANT BLAST is that street mutt. These Finnish dudes will never top any year end list or headline a show outside the local bars, but they are so good natured and easy to get along with that you can’t really run them down.
This is definitely second tier thrash metal with a strong rock and roll component. But if you don’t need every record to be a technical masterpiece, they’re not bad. They keep things simple and use that as a strength. “Satan’s Pawn” is a good introduction to their style. Thick and groovy rockin’ riffs that hit the gas and go into overdrive. The snide vocals remind me of NUCLEAR ASSAULT’s John Connelly and somebody else, but I just can’t recall who. Most of the songs here are based on this combination of punk, AC/DC style simplicity and EXODUS type thrash. Honestly, nothing here is outstanding and the semi-ballad “Final Day” is godawful, but tunes like “Acid Rain” and “Alone In the Wasteland” are fun and eminently headbangable.
A special word should go to their cover of IRON MAIDEN’s “Prowler”. A great choice! Not only is it a great overlooked early MAIDEN track, but it reminds us of that band before they started doing boring “Senjutsu” type stuff that all sounds the same and lasts too long. A good track to cap off a generally fun and unassuming mutt of an album.