Wounded marks the debut full-length effort from the Death?Thrash act Landmine Marathon. Since it's release, it has become a little difficult to find, but thanks to their recent signing with Prosthetic Records, this release is now reissued and made available for the general audience once more. Practically coming out of nowhere, this just over twenty minute female fronted metal assault is enough to shake the listener by the throat and demand your very attention until it's done, and that's just what it does as soon as the album kicks in. If you haven't heard Wounded before, and call yourself a fan, then now is the time to pick up this Thrashing collosus.
Landmine Marathon manage to really pull out all the stops to create a vile, hard hitting Metal album that is so deeply rooted in Thrash intensity that it's a shame it was so overlooked when it was first released. Right from the catchy as hell first track "25th Hour", the band's driving and fast paced music will have you screaming along and hanging on every second of the madness. One issue some may have with the album would be the female vocals and how they would work with the music, but they work perfectly overall on every song. The production on Wounded is great, and really relies on some deep guitars and bass to drive the album along and give it that edge that simply makes you want to get up and start beating the living hell out of whatever is around you. But then the vocals just kick everything up to another level due to how high pitched and menacing they sound. There's no straining to try to sound evil either which makes this a very unique and enjoyable experience. The only time any additional elements are tacked on to the vocals are during moments where they layer it over one another with different pitches or styles to make them sound even more intense then they already are.
The shining points of this release are within the first few tracks of the albuim. While Wounded is an impeccable album froms tart to finish, there is no denying that "25th Hour" and "Crisscross Thoughts" really showcase the band's potential by the varying of the Death and Thrash styles utilized."Crisscross Thoughts" also has a very impressive guitar solo that simply makes the song sound a lot angrier when it hits, which is a bit saddening since it hits pretty far into the song, and that intensity is not shared at the start. Luckily, if you feel there could have been more of an impact to the song like what that solo did, the following song "Dying Days" does a superb job of incorporating great speed and fury before breaking down into a very haunting slower Death Metal passage that incorporates some gutteral vocals instead of the higher pitched screaming through the album, closing it out on a very dismal and melancholic tone. There are more instances like this one throughout the CD, such as during "Fubar", which is another fast paced track that hits hard until around the guitar solo, which is when the song starts to really slow down and bring in a very solitary feeling. The layered vocals at the end of the song also amp up the intensity fantastically and make you want to just scream your head off right along until the track closes out.
There simply is nothing wrong with this release at all. For a debut full-lengtj, Landmine Marathon have proven themselves well to be a Metal force that simplyt should not be reckoned with. Each track on here is heavy, and full of sheer intensity and brutality that listeners may very well get whiplash from it. The only problem with it is how short it is, leaving listeners begging for more. The plus side to that, however, is since it's so good, you'll just keep coming back again and again. if you haven't picked this reissue up yet, now's the time. There's nothing new or additional to it, so if you have the original it may seem like a waste, but for those who didn't get to experience this release, now is the time to put Wounded by Landmine Marathon on the top of your must buy list.
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