Maximum Collateral Damage

Maximum Collateral Damage is an album of old school Thrash Metal, of the east coast variety, from New York's Armor Column. The music is mid-paced (by Thrash standards, which means it is actually pretty fast but not insanely so) with excellent, crunchy riffs and awesome solos, courtesy of guitarists Noah Carpenter and Ray Russell. Singer Jeff Andrews has a decent mid-range but when he screams, which is often, he sounds like Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth. Factor that in with the east coast Thrash style and the band Overkill comes to mind a lot when listening to Maximum Collateral Damage. War is the main lyrical theme (if that wasn't obvious from the band and album names) and songs like "Warmonger," "With Blood and Vengeance" and "Dictator's Whore" are just plain Thrash ear candy.

The band loses focus a bit when they slow down, like on "Rattenkrieg," but these are minor bumps in the road. What is more distracting is the use of movie quotes and sound effects. The first three songs get the spoken word intro and when the fourth, "Where There's a War, There's a Way," just launches into the riff you think "great, just a regular song." That is, until the end when you get 30 seconds of gunfire and battle sounds. Too much guys, rein it in next time.

Even with the overuse of effects, Maximum Collateral Damage is an excellent slab of old school, ass-kicking Thrash Metal. Any fan of the 80s should get a charge out of Armor Column.