Bitterness – Hallowed Be the Game

‘Bitterness’ means ‘unhappiness’, but since 2001 it also stands for ‘old-school thrash metal made in Ulm, South Germany’. The year 2001 saw not just the beginning of this webzine, but also the formation of this German thrash trio comprised of; Frank (guitars & vocals), Marcel (bass) and Anreas (drums).

The new album, contains nine tracks and with a playing time of 44 minutes, is entitled Hallowed Be the Game, and released through G.U.C. The title Hallowed Be the Game, and artwork (created by Andrei Bouzikov) focus on the ‘ever-advancing digitalization’ of society. According the the band’s vocalist and guitarist, explained that the album ‘…explores how individual anonymity is lost as everyone becomes part of a digital game’.

Hallowed Be the Game opens with an energetic sonic wake-up call of “WWH8” – a perfect introduction to the album. Next comes “AMOK:KOMA”, featuring sharp-edged Teutonic thrash, mixed with melodic death metal, similar to early Kreator or Sodom. “Hypochristian” is the third track, another sonic assault that leans into a groove-heavy style reminiscent of late ’80s and early ’90s thrash. I cannot help but compare the vocal delivery of Frank to Mille Petrozza (Kreator) and Steve Souza (Exodus). Michael Goldschmidt (formerly of Blackend) played the guitar solos on both “High Sobriety” and the following “Win-Windustry”, while “High Sobriety” also features Andreas ‘Gerre’ Geremia (Tankard). The song “Win-Windustry” is a standout on the album in my opinion, not solely due to the contribution of the two gentlemen, but due to the fact that it’s a real furious, yet varied and engaging, traditional thrash metal with minor elements of death metal. The title song, “Hallowed Be the Game” appears as the sixth track on the album, is a a high-speed, short and to the point thrash blast that pays homage to the genre’s roots. The following “Losing” is sligthly different to its predecessor, as the track shifts the album’s intensity with some melodic and ‘punkish’ parts. “Magnum Innominandum” is a seven-minute instrumental tune (the longest track on the album) which proves Bitterness can create atmospheric metal songs without vocals. This instrumental track is definitely another album highlight for me. Finally we come to the closing “Scream!” where the influence of the Misfits is evident. The album closer is a cover of a song originally performed by the legendary punk metal band, and Bitterness’s approach to the tune is excellent, paying a homage to one of the most iconic bands of our time.

As briefly mentioned above, there are also guest musicians featured on this album, namely Andreas ‘Gerre’ Geremia (Tankard) contributed the vocals for “High Sobriety”, and Michael Goldschmidt played the guitar solos on both the aforementioned “High Sobriety” and the following “Win-Windustry”. Hallowed Be The Game was recorded, mixed & mastered by Christoph Brandes at Iguana Tonstudios. The production is swamp-thick and oppressive with massive grooves, instrumental (including a clean guitar) parts, then the whole almost eight-minute instrumental piece called “Magnum Innominandum”), big variation – furious, melodic and atmospheric record.

Hallowed Be the Game isn’t the breakthrough Bitterness may have been hoping for, nor is it the most original/unprecedented record out there, but it still has this old-school thrash vibeI’ve been an admirer of since the mid 80s’. Recommended for fans of German Teutonic thrash metal and bands like Kreator, Tankard, Sodom, Destruction, but also the likes of Exumer, Exodus, Total Annihilation, Overkill, Holy Moses etc.

For additional information on this eight full-length, available as CD, Vinyl, MC and digital, visit their bandcamp or just with the official video for the opening song, “WWH8”.