St. Louis, MO’s Black Fast come forth to prove that great metal can come from the most unlikely of placed with Terms of Surrender.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-dUYVSpNLo
https://vimeo.com/135134916
Text Review:
Any rock and metal fan who grew up in St. Louis can confirm that St. Louis, MO is not a rock market. In a city where either rap or country reign supreme depending on territory, it can feel like you are on the outside if you prefer any type of music besides pop-country and rap.
But somehow, even in a market where your genre isn’t on top, real musicians with passion can rise like beautiful roses growing out of manure. And out of a big city where pop-country and rap are promoted by dozens of radio stations as opposed to two rock stations, rises a young group of well-trained musicians named Black Fast who are determined to shred the world apart.
These four men now signed with eOne have a lot to their name in a short time and without even their first fully released LP. In 2013 metalsucks.net named them as one of the best unsigned bands and their self-released EP even gained year end nominations. Combine these accolades with the fact that Black Fast have a guitarist and bassist with legitimate jazz degrees and you can understand just how much potential there is in Black Fast.
My first experience with Black Fast didn’t come through traditional FM radio though but though Liquid Metal. They have been highlighting the new album’s promoted single To Propagate the Void and also the upcoming album release. For a SiriusXM radio station that is known for cranking out the classics of metal on an hourly basis to take time and highlight a new group is huge.
While discussing the new album with Pure Grain Audio, vocalist Aaron Akin stated that: “I was excited, I was confident in the songs, and wanted to make a statement. Now, after having some time to chew on it and digest, I am extremely proud of the way this record turned out.”
Going back to Terms of Surrender’s first single, this was the introduction to Black Fast for many people who were listening at the right time. And now that everyone is capable of hearing it, it’s the best first impression any metal band could ask for.
Everything about this track is brutal. It defines what thrash metal should be. From an intense opening to raspy and consistently good vocals to AMAZING guitar solos to a never ending drum rhythm, TO Propagate The Void not only delivers what metal fans crave but also showcase just what these men are capable of.
And what’s better is that To Propagate The Void is the standard that is consistently met throughout the rest of this album. Eight out of nine tracks on this album all reach over four minutes and not one second is spent as just a space to get from point a to point b.
Now that Black fast have their music in the public and available for purchase, this is the moment where people can find songs like The Coming Swarm and I Conspire, actually purchase the music, and then revel in the fact that there are still metal bands capable of producing this high quality and creativity at a younger age, especially in a generation where mixing effects and radio formulas are the norm.
Just like To Propagate The Void, everything connects, the vocals are on point, and the guitar work is absolutely fantastic. It’s extremely hard not to get sucked into songs like this. You can instantly see these guys playing their hearts out live on stage while listening to this song and at no point does the adrenaline slow down.
Terms of Surrender have every single element that you can hope for with a new band to get behind and a new album to purchase. The tracks go deep, there is variety in the guitar work, passion in the performance, and every second of this album feels like it’s four men putting everything on the line to prove they have what it takes to become something in the music world.
It’s hard not to get excited when a new band is found that not only are starting things off on the right foot, but you find out about them right when the train is leaving the station. In the case of Black Fast, it’s a train that has potential to melt the tracks and plow through the metal community.
Overall, Terms of Surrender delivers on every aspect of thrash metal you could ask for. There is instrument work to behold and admire and vocals and rhythm that will make you happy to blow out every speaker you own. If enough people buy into and support Black Fast starting with this album, then they could be around for a long time.
