Fabulous Desaster - Off With Their Heads

Fabulous Disaster

Off With Their Heads

by Louise Brown at 31 December 2018, 12:07 PM

FABULOUS DESASTER is a Thrash Metal band from Bonn, Germany that formed in 2010. They're heavily influenced by the old school Bay Area Thrash sound that was so popular during the early 1980s in San Francisco and Oakland, California. "Off With Their Heads" is the follow-up album to the band's debut, "Hang 'Em High".

After hearing the opening to the first track, "The Dealer," it is obvious that these guys did their homework. As one who was actually around during the glory days of Bay Area Thrash I have to say I was impressed as hell by this band. "The Dealer" and the second track, "Abra Cadaver", brought to mind all the mosh pits of my youth. Both songs were full of high energy and the sort of aggression that makes you want to move while you're listening to them. I played both songs a few times in a row, I won't lie.

By comparison, the third track "Nut Up Or Shut Up" is not quite as good. Parts of it lacked the flow of the other two songs and ended up sounding almost forced in places. I wasn't too fond of the chorus, either, because it felt a bit monotonous to me, but I did like the guitar solo a lot and felt that the drummer did a fine job as well. Track four, "Shaved Bears", also was not a favorite of mine, but it is not a bad song by any means at all. It offers uber amounts of aggression and energy that would probably suit most Thrash fans just fine. (I'm picky; that's why I review things, haha.) "The Revenge Of The Mighty Alouatta" (the fifth track) is BRILLIANT! I felt like I was back in high school listening to METALLICA or early SLAYER. I was not prepared to like the song as much as I did. I loved it; the vocals, the guitars, the percussion, bass- all of it was perfect on this one. If I had to recommend just one track this one is it.

Track six, "Off With Their Heads," is another favorite of mine. I was pleasantly surprised by what a great voice Jan has; he didn't screech quite so much on this one, which was actually kind of nice. (Don't misunderstand; screeching has it's place in Thrash, of course!) The even heavier sound of the song appealed to me a lot, too. Guess what? The seventh track, "Against The Wall," also rocks. The one thing that I kept wondering about was when Jan found time to breathe. His aggressive delivery of the lyrics is something you have to hear for yourself in order to really appreciate it.

"Eye For An Eye" (track eight) and the ninth track, "Family Values," are also excellent songs. Both offer more of the high-energy, rebellious attitude that this band displays so very well. Finally, we have the last track, "Evolutionary Sins". This song was another favorite of mine. It reminded me of why I fell in love with Thrash Metal the first time I heard when I was 13. Anger, angst, feelings that you just can't deal with; "Evolutionary Sins" brought all that back. It's a good thing I didn't see any of my high school bullies after listening to it because they probably would've ended up running from me, haha!

To sum it all up, "Off With Their Heads" should definitely be in your Thrash Metal collection. It is proof that the legacy of old school bands like METALLICA, EXODUS, SLAYER, and MEGADETH continues to live on. FABULOUS DESASTER has every right to be proud of themselves.

Songwriting: 9
Originality: 8
Memorability: 9
Production: 9