Band:	Warrick
Album:	Beyond Diplomacy
Style:	Thrash metal
Release date:	March 01, 2012
A review by:	Lemski

01. Deprivation
02. Death Before Dishonor
03. The Scourge
04. Martyr
05. State Of Aggression
06. Human Made
07. Mouth Full Of Shit
08. Metal Or Die
09. For Those Once Loyal

When tapping the thrash keg of the 80s, it seems most modern bands merely manage to hiss and sputter out a cup of unsatisfying foam. Then along come the Floridian 5-piece Warrick, who tilt the barrel to pour out the freshest remnants: not sufficient to fill a pint mind you, but enough to wet the proverbial whistle.

Beyond Diplomacy shows instant promise with the acoustic prologue of "Devestation". Visions of solemn destitution give way to the hopeful revolt of ringing distortion, almost akin to Children's "Hard Times Hangin At The End Of The World". However, the mood is nearly trampled by overeager thrash archetypes: Monotonic chugging triplets and angst-ridden lyrics. The redemption sought by the song's final minutes projects a pattern of ups and downs, (though mostly ups), throughout the release.

In other words, there's a lot of energetic, dare I say creative sections on Beyond Diplomacy, segued with traditional, but often tedious riffage. Some better guitar fills even bare resemblance to the discordant trills of Evil Dead or Overkill. The more attention-killing riffs are still saved by the relentless and ever-enthusiastic drum tracks?see the drum fills in "The Scourge".

The ability for band members to support one another during segments of lackluster songwriting gives Warrick an advantage over other bands attempting to resurrect an overplayed genre.

In terms of vocal quality, frontman Slipo infuses a hardcore/crossover style with a Phil Anselmo homage which meshes perfectly with Warrick's groovy delivery of anti-social themes. And just when you think his gravelly croons are beginning to sound self-important, the inhumanly long screech at the end of "State Of Aggression" followed by the laughter of band mates reminds the listener that thrash is meant to be light-hearted.

All individual elements aside, the definitive aspect that makes Warrick so refreshing is the intellectually organic song structure. If a riff is sounding tired, rest assured that another is on the way. Feel like a song is sinking into redundancy and either the drum pattern changes, or, as a last case escape, Juan Blanco bursts into the mix with a half second bass exclamation.

In a word, Warrick is the product of a Municipal Waste field trip to late 80s. Excusing the tryhardiness of certain overly epic sequences, as well as the ridiculous faux-newscast into to "The Scourge" Beyond Diplomacy is one of the better new thrash efforts out there.