blasting black thrash: Earthling (U.S.): "Dark Path"

Earthling (U.S.): "Dark Path"

Earthling's sound is on the "raw" and real side of things, and has a charm all of its own. The guitar goes between black metal riffs and thrash shredding, and the vocals are growl-snarl, with a drummer that loves to blast.

Earthling is a do-it-yourself-mentality band from Virginia, U.S. They are still in the early process of releasing material. It looks like they have done a split and now this album of a bit over 30 minutes of music.

They get by on their energy and enthusiasm. The songwriting works the fierce side of their sound. It's a pretty good first album for the band. The songs stick out for the raw impact, and not for being super catchy, but for being raging and loud. Earthling sounds like they are they are finding their way towards a more concrete sound, working on their chemistry and direction.

There is one thing that I find distinct about Earthling: the guitar soloing, and the band's desire to highlight the guitar that way. By doing that, with longer solos and longer guitar-centered moments, the music acquires a different energy, not so boxed-in with thrash/black metal-ish sounds. Some parts might sound a bit 70s-rock or even Thin Lizzy-ish, like the guitar harmonies on "Pass into Beyond."

In my inexpert opinion, that right there, that aspect of the guitar is something they should work, nurture and keep running away with it. And if the music sounds less "thrash" or less blackmetal-ish or whatever, then that's fine. It's all good.

It's nice to hear a band emphasize guitar playing, in the old school way of rock/metal that values people's precision and ability to shred on guitar.

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