Band:	Vehement
Album:	All That's Behind
Style:	Thrash metal
Release date:	October 26, 2009
A review by:	Bas

01. Al Suelo Todo El Mundo
02. The Slow Drowning Of Morality
03. All That's Behind
04. Preachers Of Warfare
05. Mask
06. Slaughter House Of Parliament
07. Memento Mori
08. High Blood Pressure
09. No Reason To Fight For
10. The Art Of Oppression

Vehement - their band name is probably one of the most fitting attributes these guys music can have. The Italian quartet was formed in 2002, under the name Morpheus, but didn't release a debut album until pretty much a month ago.

So what's All That's Behind like? Imagine an oldschool thrash base structure (Slayer or Exodus anyone?) with some modern thrash elements thrown in. Vocals switching between raspy shouting and growling, as well as a few melodic solos complete the package. The mix sounds homogenous, straightforward and solid as a wall of cement; the way thrash is supposed to sound.

The riff-work is strong and varied on one side, however not all too original and somehow familiar-sounding on the other. Occasionally the vocals sound a bit too forced, but they sound aggressive enough and match the rest of the music. The drumming is rhythmic, fast and always fitting and the melodic solos are obviously the result of great musicianship. As far as the production is concerned, I wouldn't have minded it a tad dirtier, but it's already pretty good the way it is.

If All That's Behind has one big flaw it has to be the lack of originality. Although the album has a lot of good approaches and some good musicianship too, it really doesn't offer anything new either. These guys know what they're doing, now they just have to find a way to incorporate an own, personal style into their music. Ultimately I'll have to say that a lot of bands have already released similar albums and quite a few of those are probably better. Fans of the genre should be able to appreciate Vehement though.