THE METAL TIMES: AN OLD SCHOOL ALBUM REVIEW featuring MURDER VAN

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

AN OLD SCHOOL ALBUM REVIEW featuring MURDER VAN

On this episode of An Old School Album Review, we're discussing MURDER VAN.

https://www.facebook.com/naVredruM/

We spoke with the band prior to this review here's what they had to say:

1. Tuning?

MURDER VAN tune to C# standard so everything is a step and a half down from standard 440.

2. Bands you have played with?

We have played with Nasty Savage, Deathcrown, Wormreich, we've played a few shows with Neverfall from Greenville S.C. the majority of our shows have been in or around Atlanta with the other bands in the local Metal scene.

3. Accomplishments? We formed the band in March of 2018, went into the studio to record our full length debut only three and a half months after forming the band. I admit it now that I rushed things, really trying to push the band, and the result came out a bit rough. We released it ourselves with no label backing. But, the album went on to win Metal Addicts album of the year 2019. We thank a strong Atlanta Metal Scene for putting in the votes and for all of the support that we have received in our short existence. The response and support have been awesome. We have been included in a few compilations Metal Hammer Portugal #16, Slowly We Rot #15 from Romania. We have received great reviews from numerous Metal publications as well as a positive feature on Metal Injection.

4.Goals?

The current pandemic has been a huge set back in achieving some of the goals that we have set. I really wanted to release new music before the end of this year. The writing process is almost complete and we are hoping to release a new album in early 2021. We are wanting to do some proper touring and play some festivals. We are also interested in considering offers from labels.

5.Funny / Weird story about the band? Our first out of state show was weird and looking back was funny, at the time I didn't think it was funny. We went down to Jacksonville FL. We were excited to be playing out of town, looking forward to putting on a good show. We were more than a little miss led by the details of the event. When we pulled up I asked DethRay if we are at the right place.. We were in a parking lot under an interstate bridge. There were probably 30-40 people around, street kids, skaters, and a few homeless guys. There was ONE extension cord coming off of a power pole about 50 feet away. I have played in some strange places but I will never forget when MURDER VAN played Jacksonville under the highway... I also make sure DethRay doesn't forget it either...... -SKRAW-

LETS GET TO THE REVIEW:

I'll admit I hadn't heard this band before..

And when I noticed them come up through the pages of MCPR I liked the name MURDER VAN.. so I opted for them this week. Well what a pleasant surprise because this band absolutely brings it!!!

Heavy handed riffs in the downtuned style provide the backdrop for an absolutely smashing album. Not to mention the beating the drum kit takes. And they do all this as a 3 piece!!!

I was immediately impressed with the first song out the gate.. AT DUSK.

I imagined a violent packed house of bodies hitting each other.. this was just super good. There's great pinch harmonics throughout the album and solid pumping bass lines.

WEBS OF DISCONTENT has great breakdowns and DEATH RIDER really hit hard. Pretty much 5 minutes of destruction on that one.

FEAD HOOKERS featured extreme picking and time signature changes as well. It was pretty much a never ending onslaught all the way to CREEPING NUCLEAR DEATH and I bet this band is amazing live. They are NOT your average house band.. just absolutely brutal from start to finish I feel like I was punched then kicked.

Bringing pain through the vocals is a hard thing to do but they pull it off well.

BOTTOM LINE:

If you want a nose bleed, listen to this album..