Album Review: Superjoint Ritual's "A Lethal Dose Of American Hatred"

Genre : Heavy Metal, Thrash
Rating : Get It

Track Listing
1. Sickness
2. Waiting For The Turning Point
3. Dress Like A Target
4. The Destruction Of A Person
5. Personal Insult
6. Never To Sit Or Stand Again
7. Death Threat
8. Permanently
9. Stealing A Page Or Two From Armed And Radical Pagans
10. Symbol Of Nevermore
11. The Knife Rises
12. The Horror
13. Absorbed

The second album a band releases is a key point in their career. It's this album that is going to prove to the fans that a band can deliver kick-ass tunes consistently. Most bands only have one good album in them, after that it's one or two decent songs per album. After an amazing debut album ("Use Once and Destroy", 2002), Superjoint Ritual set a high standard. Fortunately, each of these musicians has been cranking out good tunes in various bands for years, so it's no surprise they've done it again. "A Lethal Dose of American Hatred" is just as great as the first album.

The album opens up strong with "Sickness", a relentless thrasher that makes it clear Superjoint is picking up right where they left off. If you have the first album, you've already heard early versions of tracks two and nine. They were the two bonus demos included at the end of "Use Once and Destroy". Track four, "The Destruction of a Person" features the most intense screaming on the album. "The Knife Rises" plays almost like an old Black Sabbath tune: slow and heavy with catchy rhythms.The songs change up the pace frequently, the end is always different from the beginning.

This album is, like the first, really a rediscovery of traditional thrash rather than something new and revolutionary. The songs build tension and energy with manic paced guitars that resolve into slow plodding grooves. The riffs on this album are impossible to ignore. Phil Anselmo's lyrics are as fucked up as ever, though he seems to be getting more poetic with his song titles. Vocals are delivered flawlessly, with Phil's signature grunts and growls.

Superjoint Ritual have secured their place as the last metal band. Let's face it: if you like heavy metal, you already have this album because it's the only real metal album that came out this year.