There's something very 'old school' about this offering from Essence. Prime is the third album from the Danish thrash outfit and if there has ever been more of an 80s throwback album I'd like to hear it.

 

From the opening few bars of Refuse To Exist all you'll be able to think of is 'Metallica gone punk-rock'. The vocals are very Hetfield but throughout the album the vocals and music becomes an amalgamation of several bands through the years. There's Metallica, Priest, Offspring and that's just the 'obvious' ones. It says a lot then that it still sounds quite original, original but familiar. This is emphasised in track 2, Thunder Prayer. A track that is the lovechild of the aforementioned bands.

 

I feel that calling this album a 'tribute album' would be fair. There's no intentional ripping off of years gone by, more a loving affinity with it and an urge to put their own spin on it. Something that is successfully done time and time again. Heart Of Gold has Megadeth tones to it, but don't be put off by that. The vocals are nicely performed, hitting some notes that you probably wouldn't expect and sounding like a cross between Dave Mustaine and Dexter Holland.

 

For me, those vocals present a pretty big conflict in my ears. I have a strong dislike for anything and everything Megadeth, but combining it with the interesting vocals that accompany some of the great Offspring songs and it softens the blow slightly. There is a lot of softening throughout the album. The recording is pretty crisp, but feels like they've purposefully left some of the grittiness in to fit in with the 'old school' style of the music.

The big highlight of the album for me is Untouchable. It feels like a small step up in quality when held up against some of the other tracks on the album. Flawless being one of those tracks. It has a decent riff through it, but it just feels lacking in some ironic way. It's not a bad song, but when compared to Untouchable it pales into insignificance.

 

Title track Prime has some much more emotive lyrics and the whole aura of the song is much more aggressive. Towards the end of the album this is a change. The mini drum solo midway through is another nice little surprise and sets the closing of the album off in style. Watch It Burn and Triumph complete that close and send the listener off with some impressive guitar work, especially in Watch It Burn. It's good to see that over the past couple of years bands have started to realise that an album can have big songs all the way to the end.

 

So, surprisingly this album is pretty good. For the most part it is well written, well performed and well received. If you're looking for a bit of old school thrash with a refreshing, but still familiar sound then Essence are the band for you.