Dust Bolt - Sound & Fury Review

I’ll admit, what attracted me first was the band name Dust Bolt. I can’t tell why this name meant something to me at first sight. However, by the time I wrote this I hadn’t been aware we had the honor to review 2016’s album “Mass Confusion.” And I hadn’t read the press release AFM Records sent me – shame on me. It’s been realy a while since then, however only one full-length 2019’s “Trapped in Chaos” has been released. From what I read about their 2016’s album, we were talking about a very well-defined Thrash Metal band. Well, I had a very different opinion when I heard this “Sound & Fury,” an album that added many other elements to their Thrash Metal, if it’s still possible to consider them this way.

First thing that comes to mind while listening to “Sound & Fury” is the addition of many 1990’s Alternative Rock elements. A track as “I am the One” tells this tale much better than I do. I couldn’t help it but reminding of Bush, a a very successful 1990’s Alternative Rock band with their exhaustingly executed radio hit “Machinehead.” I guess vocals are the most responsable for this impression. Well, no wonder the press release says “‘Sound & Fury’ will be coming on February 23, 2024 via AFM Records, marking a new era in the sound of the Bavarian thrash metal frontrunners!” Following track, “New Flame” reinforces this impression. If I may, it does much more as the guitars follow this new tendency. The good thing is that they kept the guitar leads. It’s true that the initial guitars of album tittle track “Sound & Fury” kind of maintain the sound and fury mentioned in the tittle. The problem is that when vocals take the lead evreything changes and the track gets that plastic sonancy of pop music. Interestingly, this song is the one which adds more modern features as the big guitars and screamo vocals being, in fact, an update of 1990’s Alternative Rock.

I confess I don’t understand why some bands give such a deep shift in their music. If I hadn’t known they recorded albums as “Mass Confusion” I would never write this review the way I did because everything is allowed to debut albums just because they are as fresh as they can get. However, from a veteran band I can’t understand. I’m not judging the band, I just said I can’t understand the why. Maybe this is an ingenius move I can’t understand with my limited mind.

Dust Bolt “Sound & Fury” will be released on February 23, 2024 via AFM Records.

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