20th July 2024

Review: “Digital Dementia” by Chemical Storm

It may have been six long years since their critically acclaimed EP “Doomed From Day One” made our ears bleed but the return of Thrash overlords Chemical Storm is a timely one. Promising a return to unfiltered hostility of classic Bay Area Thrash, they come armed for the apocalypse with “Digital Dementia”, an EP recorded, engineered and co-produced by Graham Waller at Squarehead Studios and The Mix Cave. Described as a scathing indictment of modern society’s obsession with mobile and electronic devices designed to awaken the masses from their technological slumber, the record may not be for the faint of heart or weak of mind…

An old school Thrash attack from the bloody start to the bitter end, if it wasn’t for the vocals then “God Forbid” would stand up as a Bay Area classic circa 1987. Not that there is anything wrong with the vocals of course but the are distinctively and quintessentially English, with a flavour of Barney Greenway of Napalm Death fame about them. Duelling leads and a flamboyant solo expand upon a menacing main riff attack while the lyrical narrative about not being able to think for yourself because you’re programmed by your smart phones subliminal messaging feels… as scarily true as it is ominous. Taking a leaf from the book of Slayer with some of their riff inspirations “Shallow Hole” brings the pain by pointing out just how shallow the world truly is, while refusing to join the rank and file of the masses and conforming. Playing out at the tempo of the damned, the track raises the hair on the back of the neck, the band proving that they have and advanced knowledge of the genre which they purvey while carrying it off in style. A tune about keyboard warriors and naysayers who seek nothing but trouble “Blunt Force Drama” is one that will resonate with anyone who has suffered at the hands of online comments. Far from sugar coated, it has the hostility of older bands with Underdown not afraid to speak his mind and refusing to tread on egg shells. That’s refreshing in this day and age, the only issue with this one is it that it is probably a chorus over long. A title track which ties together the lose ends of the concept of the record “Digital Dementia” is a rampaging rage fest about humanity becoming digital corpses with Underdown painting vivid technicolor pictures in the mind with his lyrics. The solo is tastefully done and perhaps as flamboyant as it could have been but the pummelling percussive battery from Hudson is what makes the real difference [7/10]

Track Listing