The band with Britta Görtz on vocals is back 2½ years after predecessor
'Antagonist', with the new album called 'Hyëna'. The style hasn't changed a lot
and like on their 2012 album the quality of the songs is good. Old school thrash
metal with Bay Area influences with a fine dose of groove is what you get. The songs
have enough variety not to get boring, sometimes fast, then again a bit slower
with a nice groove.
Britta growls and grunts even more intense than on earlier albums and some will
like it, others won't. Sometimes I get the idea that she completely destroys
her vocal cords and I really wonder if she can still speak after recording one
or two songs... But the answer to that you can find in an earlier interview I
did with the band in 2012 (check it out). The howling guitars sometimes have a
kind of Slayer sound and Dennis Weber tortures his drums like a real animal. My
personal favorite songs are "The Jackhammer" and "Animated Flesh". The songs
both have a very nice guitar riff, with a certain contagious swing and a very
aggressive fast part in the middle.
With this new album Cripper shows that they are one of the better German thrash
metal
bands and I think this album is enjoyable for everyone, who calls him/her self a
thrash metal fan.
