The retro thrash movement has inundated us with both quality and fluff. Rumpelstiltskin Grinder has always done a more than serviceable job in providing some speedy, riff-driven thrash tunes to whet the pallet, and are therefore on the not so fluffy side of new thrash. Though with a name like that, they’re anything but fluffy. I know, enough of the fluffiness and fluff-related descriptions. Done with it – maybe. Anyways, three years between albums, these fellow Pennsylvanians are back with Ghostmaker.
Right away, it’s obvious that these guys have stepped up the heaviness a notch with “Those Who Are Unseen.” The vocals are more of a blackened/death inspired thrash than before, and the overall tone has a bit of a Sodom-ish feel to in the rawness department. This track is also the winner of the ‘song most likely to be obscenely blasted out of a car window’ award.
“Fucking Wild” has a very infectious opening riff that propels the song to be one of the better offerings on the album, while “Dripping with Venom” is a bit more groove-oriented in parts, but done so very well. “Iron Jaw” is another standout, with it feeling like the most classic thrash inspired song onGhostmaker. “Desert Goblins” finishes things off with some bite, with some especially well-placed leads being the driving force.
Rumpelstiltskin Grinder has put out an album in Ghostmaker that stands out as their best work to date, and is an all-around fun and thrashy good time. No fluff here whatsoever. Hey, there was never an ironclad promise to not mention the word fluff again. Gone too far, most likely. Just buy this album, crank it, and break a no-longer-functioning small appliance.
www.rumpelstiltskingrinder.com
(This content originally appeared on Blistering.com)