Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Never take seriously those who suggest they hold a deterrent, the keys to the arsenal, or the codes to launch an attack; but always be mindful, even respectful of those who you know will look you in the eyes and with softly spoken menace proclaim, “I Am The Weapon”, for they are not talking of the bludgeon, they are merely describing themselves, they are the voice that can bring down towers and walls, they are the reason that those who practise art can be devastating in their approach to destroying an enemy.
The world is on a knife edge, its bounty is short lived, the excess of those with insatiable appetites is growing at an exponential rate, and the willingness of the greater good, the ones with intellect, wit, determination to scold and reduce to ashes anyone who sees the populace as mugs, is lessening by the day. It seems to take a mind hell bent on salvaging the world in the face of detriment and disillusion to proclaim with confidence, as the rounded hearts of Flotsam And Jetsam are able, to scream to the world I Am The Weapon.
This brand-new album from the perennial Thrash Metal chiefs seeks willingly, and without any drop in manner or faith in their fans, to further wage war on the beige and the masters of the ill-begotten surrogates of annihilation, and it has to be mentioned with grace to the band that despite occupying a space that has meant they have played behind some of the more ready lipped names to have shook the stage, the fact that for almost 40 years the band in various guises have been consistently incredible, that this record is simply outstanding.
Turbulent waters bring out the best in people who learn to swim with the tide and following on from two previously enjoyable and frank albums in The End Of Chaos and Blood In The Water, the songs on this latest barrage of lyrical weapons find their targets with accuracy and fierce criticism. Amongst compositions and creations such as Primal, Burned My Bridges, the absolute brilliance of The Head Of The Snake, Kings Of The Underworld, and Running Through The Fire, Flotsam And Jetsam reach out with a declaration, one involving peace for the masses, but with the understanding that they will battle anyone who dares destroy that freedom of war’s battle cry.
Flotsam And Jetsam release I Am The Weapon on 13th September via AFM Records.
Ian D. Hall