★★
In their blasting debut, Melbourne metalheads Meshiaakpower through a tracklist that is polished, precise and utterly uninspired.
Legendary drummer Jon Dette (of Slayer/Testament/Iced Earth fame) picks up MVP, laying down earthquake-level tectonics to ground his bandmates, but all the outer appearances of legitimacy lend nothing to Meshiaak’s sound.
Put it this way – frontman Danny Camilleri’s anthem to anger is titled ‘It Burns At Both Ends’, speaking less to uncontrollable fits of rage than to the aftermath of a brutal vindaloo. ‘I Am Among You’ is a codifier for the album as a whole, exposing the gears beneath the machine – this isn’t just your dad’s metal, it’s actually your dad starting his own metal band, aping the kingmakers of his glory days.
To their credit, when Meshiaak play to their strengths and get their thrash on, they punch out some winners, with the record’s B-side holding the lion’s share of true aggression. But they are less the messiahs of metal promised by their handle, and more its alliance of thieves.
If your days are spent in Slayer T-shirts lighting a candle for the death of true metal, Meshiaak may whet your appetite, but follow not these false prophets.
Meshiaak ‘sAlliance Of Thievesis out now throughMascot.
