The World Hates Me
Artist: Boarders
Label: Retroactive Records
Time: 11 tracks/47:06 minutes

It's rare that a metal band surprises me. Having been a tried and true metalhead for over half my life I've heard every genre, sub-genre, and sub-sub-genre in the metal world. That being said, Italy's Boarders surprised me. It's not that they're innovative; frankly they're not. Nor are they unique. They wear their influences on their sleeves, even covering the Megadeth classic "In My Darkest Hour." What sets Boarders apart for me is the way that they combine different styles into a record that is instantly catchy, familiar but not derivative, and undeniably enjoyable throughout.

Musically Boarders owe a lot to the Bay Area Thrash scene of the late eighties, specifically Megadeth. But some tracks, such as the opener "True Rebellion" and the insanely addictive "Jump For Joy" have more in common with AC/DC than thrash. There are also a couple of true metal ballads- not that pop metal crap, but emotive and gritty stuff along the lines of Aerosmith's "Dream On." The guitar work is great, guitarist Gigi throws down some killer leads. However, the vocals steal the show here. Egi's vocals are phenomenal. He has a fantastic range, pulling off James Hetfield like growls and soaring Jimmy Brown style shrieks without a hitch, often in the same song! The best example is the chorus of W.P.D. in which he growls "Work! Pay! Die!" and then yells "Die!" at the top of his lungs. Some of the lyrics are a bit hard to follow though. English is obviously the band's second language and I think a lot of the meaning is lost in translation. ("Till Death Do Us One?" Huh?)

The World Hates Me is an absolute delight from beginning to end. It's got that classic metal feel but never gets stale. If you like thrash, hard rock, and great soaring vocals you will love this record.

4/5

Noah Salo
http://shineisdead.wordpress.com