Band:	Angelus Apatrida
Album:	Clockwork
Style:	Thrash metal
Release date:	June 22, 2010
Guest review by:	Mage257

01. The Manhattan Project
02. Blast Off
03. Of Men And Tyrants
04. Clockwork
05. Devil Take The Hindmost
06. The Misanthropist
07. Legally Brainwashed
08. Get Out Of My Way
09. My Insanity
10. One Side One War
11. Into The Storm
12. National Disgrace
13. Be Quick Or Be Dead [Iron Maiden cover] [limited edition bonus]

I grew up in the 80's and had my first "spiritual" awakening after listening to Kill 'em All by Metallica. A friend of mine rehearsed in a Bunker and I met the guys from Tankard which lead me to grab my first Guitar and start thrashing.

I believe we all (even Metallica or Slayer) started by interpreting the good ol' stuff and tweakin' it to create our own sound. That count for all the new Bands riding the New Wave of Thrash Metal. Some are just plagiarists and others evolve and create their own kind of music. One of this bands is Angelus Apatrida. If you listen to Clockwork you'll find references all over (Bay Area and Teutonic Thrash combined with some Pantera-ish Groove elements) but, they made it their own.

Clockwork starts with a tick ("The Manhattan Project") that emerges to a wall of guitars that sounds mystical and somewhat scary. Suddenly it explodes into a killer riff and kick starts "Blast off". The tempo is fast but not chaotic, the chorus is a groove monster in a mid tempo. The guitar work is awesome and puts a smile on my face. Angelus Apatrida know their business.

"Of Man and Tyrants" picks it up where "Blast Off" left us, fast and grooving. The vocals are more harsh but with a touch of cleanness in the chorus. Cool, how Guillermo Izquierdo varies his voice to fit the theme of the song.

"Clockwork" just feels like the natural progression of "Of Man and Tyrants". Fast, grooving and great guitar work flavoured with another side of Guillermo vocals.

"Devil Take the Hindmost" starts a bit slower but is still a great thrasher in the chorus and solo part. Now it's time for a real Circle Pit one "The Misanthropist" a mid tempo number with some slight melodeath feel.

"Legally brainwashed" just increases the pace once more to start a real thrasher. At least now you should figured out the main theme all songs follow. Fast pace verses, grooving chorus and killer solos. All mixed with the varying voice of Guillermo and a double guitar work that follows the known pattern but left the well-trodden path sometimes to surprise you.

"Get out of my Way" sounds like a creeping monster hidden in the dark corner of your mind trying to break through. Really cool is the harmonic scale used in the solo that connects Angelus Apatrida with their Castilian roots, more of that please.

"My Insanity" is good though but for me it feels a bit glued together. Maybe because there are too many different riffs that don't really connect to each other, who knows. But it's still a good one to listen to.

"One Side One War" is a mosher. I love the main riff, it's evil and groovy, the bridge is unbelievable and the chorus is epic.

The production is good, I guess that's what they call "modern sound" but, I think the mix could be more even. Most of the time you know there is a bass guitar but you can't really hear it. The drums sound cool, but a bit more room would help to make it feel more vivid.

The lyrics gather around social deficits and personal experience as it supposed to be IMHO.

For the impatient among you I recommend listen to "Blast off", "The Misanthropist" and "One Side One War". Those will give you a good glance and sure will feed your need to listen to more.