Gama Bomb - Sea Savage

Angry Metal Guy 60

Another year, another Gama Bomb release. Why do we even review these? We know exactly what we’ll get: a fun, fast, professional thrash album loaded with riffs and silly humor. Well, there is a slight lineup change here on Sea Savage, the band’s seventh album, as long-time drummer Paul Caffrey is replaced by James Stewart, also of Vader, Sermon, and Decapitated. Well, he left Vader to play for Decapitated I presume, unless I take the statement from the Sermon guy literally: “I think he’s now decapitated and he quit Vader to do it,” in which case he now plays headless.

Not much has changed since we last saw Gama Bomb, on 2018’s Speed Between the Lines. Well, the album might not be quite as thrashy as past efforts. Think more like the faster material of Judas Priest or Accept and you’ll have a good idea of the pace here. “Judo Killer” is an effective, catchy opener, jackhammering along as Philly Byrne shouts and falsettos his way through the song, and the title track keeps the merriment going at a similar pace, Stewart’s inspired drumming anchoring the precise riffing of guitarists Domo Dixon and John Roche. As always, the album is chock full of choruses that alternate between gang vocals and shrieking falsettos. It all adds up to plenty of loony fun.

Sea Savages is a concept album, where the band sails on the S.S. Gama Bomb in search of a Yeti, but they go crazy during the voyage. Somehow this also includes songs about a tiger (“Sheer Khan,” which features a super riff, the best on the album) and a gloriously silly take on 80s TV shows and movies about cops (“Miami Supercops”). As we’ve come to expect, Gama Bomb carry on doing what they do best – riffing and headbanging their way through silly material. Here they also bestow upon us their fastest song to date in the light-speed “Electric Pentacle.” They also dial things back (relatively speaking) to drop their slowest song on us, with the funniest title, in “She’s not my Mother, Todd,” which marches along at a comfortably brisk pace.

There are no bad songs on Sea Savages. Gama Bomb blast through twelve jaunty cuts as they sail the seas of thrash, and they are on point throughout. Even bassist Joe McGuigan gets in on the riff action in “Lords of the Hellfire Club.” Dixon produced the album, and the band recorded their parts from various abodes throughout Ireland, London, and Warsaw. Zach “Friend of the Blog” Ohren’s mix matches the album’s taut production. This is an enthusiastic platter, but overall is lacking in memorability. While nothing stinks, at the same time nothing really throws me overboard here. In the words of Dennis Green, “they are what we thought they were,” and that’s just fine when it comes to Gama Bomb. It would be awesome if they could deliver a couple of thrash classics per album, yet while their floor for quality is high, the ceiling is correspondingly low. They’re like a case of beer; you don’t get one bottle that blows you away, they are all the same, and you enjoy the bottles equally.

Here on Sea Savage Gama Bomb continue on their merry way and bring us along for the ride, delivering twelve more strong songs. Nothing here will rewrite the history books; rather, we can crank this album whenever we want for some good harmless fun, knowing the band will deliver some high-floor, low-ceiling thrash tunes for our enjoyment. The band’s music has always been addictively fun and that doesn’t change here. As the year wraps up, some good-humored fun metal is just what we all need.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: Prosthetic Records
Websites: gamabomb.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/gamabomb
Release Worldwide: December 4th, 2020

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