Perzonal War
The Last Sunset

It is not every day you are to review bands you have been following for a long time; this is one of those as I have been following the musical flavours of Perzonal War since 2002 when they released their first album under that moniker.  They had to change their name then because of legal reasons, they were called Personal War before so the change wasn’t too major and the first album was called Different but the Same and sounded a lot like how I wanted Metallica to sound following their self-titled black album. Since then there have been a few albums and with the latest release Captive Breeding I think they have evolved their sound into something of their own and something fresh and as I have always enjoyed this band before I had some expectations for this new album. The Last Sunset is the name and the cover seems to indicate it is about a post-apocalyptic world and for me there aren’t many things that are more fascinating and hopeful than the destruction of mankind.

Musically we are not stepping far away from what the band has done before; it is an evolution rather than a revolution if I say so. Thrash metal of the more melodic kind, puritans might call it tame or mellow and I read some reviews claiming that their previous album was lacking substance; I doubt those people will change their mind about the band hearing this album. The singer is great, probably one of the best in the thrash metal genre. And the vocals aren’t the only thing great, I really like the soundscape – the production is excellent in my book but then we have the same people I mentioned before which might claim it isn’t heavy or powerful enough. But it is heavy and powerful, it has energy and quality musicianship so for me there is no doubt that is a quality thrash metal production.

The songs are varied and the playing time is held at a sensible amount of minutes, in my opinion there aren’t really any weaknesses on this album. Sure, one can argue about originality and one wouldn’t be without point but I think these guys make familiar music but have found an own voice so they feel fresh enough not to have been repeated to death yet. And the thrash metal argument, that it may not be evil or heavy enough and that may be valid in certain caves but people who live in houses probably won’t see it that way as the songs are really good even though they aren’t the heaviest (or evil) the genre can offer. So, I have nothing particularly negative to say about this album, it once again showcases how good this band is and that it is still possible to make great music without reinventing the wheel.

The best track is the seventh track, it is an enjoyable track that poses a question, I really like it. Other than that I would say that the first and the fourth tracks are the most outstanding. But all the songs on the album are well worth checking out and for me this album is a given so thank you Metalville for giving it to me so that I didn’t have to buy it – and thanks to the band for a great album. I mean, who doesn’t want a bit of apocalypse right about now just to silence all those privileged idiots who do their best to have their idiotic arguments heard above those from people with common sense? I know I do, that would be refreshing, just like this album.

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