Headbang Today's Dark Little Corner

Throatball

Review By Wraith

Biography:
Well I was thinking about a little history concerning the band, and what better place to get it than from them, themselves, so here is the history of the band, that I received from their manager:

“In early 2003, Paul Opie, Simon Portlock & Ian Watson got together at the, now defunct (soon to be resurrected at another location), SUI Studios to rehearse some songs for an aborted Lithium reunion. It was during these sessions that Throatball was born.
Simon and Paul had, for some years before that, been jamming in a free rock ensemble featuring, at different times, Alistair Douglas, Dane Minojlovic and Ramon Dasilva called Moranga. It was during these sessions that a love for all things speed was kindled in Simon, but, it was only when Throatball came along that it coalesced into something tangible.

In a matter of a few short months, Throatball (then called The Monomen), had a short set of songs, including ‘Packet Of Birdseed & a Pellet Gun’, ‘Deathtrap’, ‘Destruction’ and ‘Fuck You And The Horse You Rode In On’, all of which were destined to appear on their first album. They showcased these songs to mixed reactions, some loving it, some looking on quizzically, and some walking out. It soon dawned upon the members that speed in music, was an acquired taste.

Then disaster struck! For personal reasons, Paul decided to quit the band. Lesser bands would have folded, but Throatball (still The Monomen) went straight into the studio to cut their first demo EP, ‘Drink Up, Fall Down. Puke In, Pass Out, Wake Up, Down Down, Oi! Oi! Oi!’. The EP featured tracks that would later appear on the album and a few that would be cut from the set as the band moved in a more metal/hardcore direction.

To add bass lines to the songs, during the recording of the demo, required a bass. This was lent to the band by Gavin Essel (a friend of Simon’s) and, from that, it seemed only natural that Gavin should join the band. This he did, and with the inclusion of mutual friend of Simon & Gavin, Warren Weitz, the band moved forward. Again to mixed reactions.

Throatball (still The Monomen) found themselves in the unenviable position of being too metal for the punk crowd and to punk for the metal crowd. ‘This must be how the New York Hardcore bands of the late 80’/early 90’s felt back in the day’, they thought. They soldiered on. Constantly pushing the boundaries of the genre they found themselves in. But it was time for some more drama…..

Warren Weitz was fired. It was with this move that Throatball became Throatball. The Monomen moniker was dropped. The band had contacted the only other Monomen in the world (a US harcore punk band funnily enough who were no longer together), and they had sternly recommended that the band change their name. So it was done. And the band was back as a power trio.

A couple of months later it was decided that the band should record an album. They had 10 songs in the bag, and with an investment from Miles Keylock (music journalist and fan) and the band, Throatball entered Ari Tereblanche’s West Coast studio to begin tracking.

It was decided that the band would live next door to Ari, and track for 5 days straight. The band would then return, piecemeal, to complete the album. The drum takes were done in 4 days. The first guitar tracks were laid down on day 5. The band said goodbye to Ari, and returned for the next 2 years to add vocals, bass and more guitar. During this time the band continued to play shows in and around Cape Town.

Following the final tracking it was decided to take the individual tracks to Theo Crous (legendary guitarist and producer) to mix. He did this again in a piecemeal fashion over the next year. During this period Paul began rumblings of wanting to return to Throatball. After many drunken evenings of ‘how can we make this work?’ Gavin was shifted to guitar and Paul assumed bass duties. The rejuvenated Throatball played their first show on Paul’s birthday, 5 June 2009. It had been a long and winding road.”

Review:
So after doing my review on the Melodic Death Metal band, Day Turns Night , I received an email from the manager of Throatball, asking me to review their self entitled album ‘Throatball’, as I didn’t know who to review next, this came as quite a help to me (thanks guys ). But enough about that, and lets get to the fun part. After I had gotten the album it was time for what I do best, listening to music and then tossing some ideas and feelings to the side, and then giving the horns where they are due \m/.
With the start of track 1 (Sound Of The Underground), you can hear some symbols, and some water dripping, only to be greeted further down the line by some drums, that lead you down to a classic hardcore / speed metal vibe of sound, which to me was quite a unique mix, this was the first time I’ve heard something like this, sure I’ve heard hardcore music from the likes of ‘Hatebreed’ and ‘Madball’ but it has never been as fast as Throatball. The vocals weren’t the usual screaming and/or growling I’m used to listening to, so this was a welcome change, and it suited the style of music brilliantly. Moving on to track 2 (Get Up), and my oh my, never have I felt so uplifted and amped to be running around as with this song, which had some punk elements to it, it reminded me of bands like ‘Goldfinger’ and ‘Lost Prophets’ and probably some others, but moving my mouse all the way to some place on my screen to go and find the band I’m thinking of is just too.. much.. effort . Track 3 (Packet Of Birdseed) had some heavy thrash sounds to it, which was once again, something I didn’t expect, but it was awesome to listen to.

Review and its rating continues here: http://www.headbangtoday.com/articles