Municipal Waste made the world aware in 2007 that they were “Gonna f**k you up”. If you have avoided such a fate as of yet, the Virginia-based Thrash machines have loaded up 14 tracks of party thrash for you to get hit repeatedly in the eardrums with. It is hard to do thrash wrong but equally as hard to make it special, so how did Municipal Waste get on in their seventh album?
The title track kicks down the door on Electrified Brain, firing from the hip with thrashy riffs and angry vocals. The energy matches up to the anticipation of hearing another album from the world’s favourite party-thrashers, so once the groovy riffs close out the song with a buzz of electricity you can’t help but smile as Municipal Waste suck you in for another 30 minutes of axework. ‘Demoralizer’ follows and presents a fine platter of power-infused thrash, fans of Warbringer will find themselves engaged and locked into this one. ‘Grave Drive‘ contrasts acidic vocals with gang-shouts that thicken out the mechanical cycle of guitarwork that any hardcore kid would two-step to with a grin on their face.
The format of speedy riff – slow it down – groove it up is certainly not underused in this album and as such, people will likely complain that there is not enough imagination in the formula of this work. But when you turn on a Municipal Waste album are you looking for technical or ground-breaking writing? Not a chance. Municipal Waste do classic thrash with very few frills and they do it better than almost anyone else, Electrified Brain being further proof of this. That said, as sub two-minute tracks like ‘The Bite‘ and ‘Blood Vessel – Boat Jail‘ are the musical equivalent of those miniature cans of beer in that they are great – but not necessarily something you can savour.
‘Thermonuclear Protection‘ with its mean guitar solo and impressive drumming power is another ripper, but ‘Crank The Heat‘ sounds like it could be straight off Satan’s playlist. Shouting, speed, screams and a soaring solo makes this song one of the highlights. ‘Ten Cent Beer Night‘ wins the best title award for this album, the lyric “Its all just fun and games” frankly describing Municipal Waste’s sound better than any review could do. Electrified Brain closes out with ‘Barrelled Rage‘ and ‘Putting on Errors‘ which both continue the short-and-sweet tradition of the album while managing to fit in tempo changes, solos and plenty of healthy thrashing. Only around half an hour has elapsed since the opening track began but fear not as a lethal dosage of riffage has now entered the listeners’ bloodstream in this short time.
This album has served its purpose – reminding the world that party thrash requires very little innovation to be fun, heavy and iconic. This album doesn’t top some of their previous work such as The Art of Partying but it stands strong as a thrash work in itself. Municipal Waste haven’t picked a genre that is begging for new ideas and therefore haven’t provided them, so if you’re looking for ingenuity then this album won’t be for you. If, however, you want riffs up to the eyeballs and kicks in the teeth by thrash kings that have been doing it for nearly 20 years then you’re going to love this.