Mexican record label EBM Records as a part of their ‘Thrash Is Back' series of albums has signed a number of artists from around the globe- including Albany, New York's Armor Column. Featuring Noah Carpentier (Skinless guitarist) and two Held Under members with vocalist Jeff Andrews and drummer Johnny G the group also includes Ray Russell on guitar and Tom Barber on bass. Since their 2007 formation, the quintet has released the "Armor Up Your Ass" EP in 2009, as well as this 8 song full length debut album.

"Maximum Collateral Damage" has that mid to late 80's power/thrash sound with middle to upper register vocals in a melodic manner. Jeff's voice can seriously punch up to bird call Bobby Blitz/ Troy Norr (Coldsteel) highs on appealing material like opener "Warmonger" and "Rattenkrieg" - the latter featuring some twisted blast drumming during the transitions along with sick shred lead breaks. Musically Armor Column waver between riffing and rhythms that are certainly thrash-based, but also appreciate a lot of the US power metal acts like Metal Church, Heretic, and Iced Earth. A lot of war samples from famous movies punctuate the proceedings, and my favorites included the militant charge "Dictator's Whore" as well as the tribal, neck breaking nature of the stop/ start thrashing title track which features a restrained mid-section a la older Metal Church/ Metallica.

Unlike a lot of newer bands who seem to be liberally cutting and pasting from their favorite Bay Area bands discography and calling it their own with modern production values, Armor Column truly appear to be cut from a different cloth. As such I can see a variety of old school headbangers loving "Maximum Collateral Damage"- solid, tight power riffing, dynamics with speed and tempo control, and a helium lunged singer make Armor Column ready to strike.

Karakter: 4.5/6

Okay, cards on the table here kids. When I first looked at Armor Column's promo, I was expecting another round of retro-thrash full of more pomp than circumstance. Boy, oh boy, did I ever read this one wrong. Armor Column are the real deal folks, genuine thrash metal goodness, the way it was meant to be played – heavy, fast, melodic, powerful, without an ounce of shtick to be found. It's good to thrash again my friends, and MAXIMUM COLLATERAL DAMAGE is the way to do it.

90-seconds into “Warmonger” and I was sold. With an introduction by none other than Mr. John Rambo himself, the tune quickly whips into a melodic, riff packed solo wielding, vocal soaring beast. So many so-called “thrashers” today forget that much of the music was built not only on fast, crisp riffs, but melody, harmony, and killer vocals. Armor Column didn't forget, and this album flaunts it. Recalling the best parts of 80's power/speed metal, with a definite Overkill/Exodus influence, MAXIMUM COLLATERAL DAMAGE shreds with defiant confidence.

One track after another, MAXIMUM COLLATERAL DAMAGE crushes like a panzer division rolling through your neighborhood. Whether it's the bouncing rhythm of “With Blood and Vengeance,” the precision assault of “Rattenkrieg” or the rapid fire “We Breathe Extinction,” Armor Column succeeds in crafting tunes that not only recall metal's glory days, but renew your hope that traditional metal isn't quite dead yet. Much of the credit is due to vocalist Jeff Andrew and the guitar team of Ray Russell and Noah Carpenter. The guitar work is sharp, clean, and precise – lots of riffs, loads of incredible solos (check out “Dictator's Whore”), and no fluff to be found. Andrews' vocal delivery sounds like a cross breed of Bobby Blitz and Paul Baloff, which is to say, freakin' amazing. He's got Baloff's snarl but he's got the tone and melody of Blitz, and he can really hit those high notes the way Blitz used to.

MAXIMUM COLLATERAL DAMAGE has to be one of the year's best kept secrets, as I had zero awareness of the band or album prior to receiving the promo. Armor Column is the kind of band that can appeal to just about any serious metal fan and MAXIMUM COLLATERAL DAMAGE is a masterful debut. The album's available now through EBM Records, so check out their webstore and the band's site for samples and more info.

Rating: 4.5/5

How can you go wrong with an album that sets out with a sample of Sylvester Stallone as Rambo? OK, technically there are plenty of ways you could go wrong, but ARMOR COLUMN's debut “Maximum Collateral Damage” could without a problem have been part of the soundtrack of said movie.

ARMOR COLUMN is the other/new band of former SKINLESS guitarist Noah Carpenter where he lived out his Power/Thrash cravings before SKINLESS split up in 2011. They had one EP out in 2009 and ‘now' “Maximum Collateral Damage” in 2011, a promo that only came to me towards the end of 2012, so might be a re-release of some sorts. Carpenter is joined by three former HELD UNDER members and they sound like they stepped straight out of the Eighties, in a positive way.

While unleashing some serious power throughout the just 41 minutes, the Americans know how to mix things up just enough to keep it all interesting, incorporating slower sections to add dynamics, but in the end the album just oozes 80s style Power/Thrash. “Warmonger” kicks things off in style with the already mentioned Rambo sample, giving way to an up-tempo Power/Thrash attack with good drive and very 80s vocals and they don't look back from there.

The six strings are probably the biggest asset of the Americans, be it the shredding of “With Blood And Vengeance” or the amazing guitarwork of “Dictator's Whore”, this is where the folks really shine and stand head and shoulders above most of their competition. The former track also shows some great HERETIC/METAL CHURCH influences, while “Rattenkrieg”'s vocals remind me of good old Blitz Ellsworth more than once.

The album has mostly killers on offer, but the 30 seconds of just gunfire and war sounds of “Where There's A War, There's A Way” and the overall somewhat meh “Rattenkrieg” take away precious playing time from an already not abundantly long album, which sours the note a little, but if you're out for no-frills Power/Thrash 80s style with great guitarwork, look no further than ARMOR COLUMN's “Maximum Collateral Damage”!

Here you go, metal...pure and simple. Damn, I cannot believe I am hearing this for the first time! The album has an incredibly wild range of style from the crunch and velocity of thrash to a vocal style resulting from what seemingly appears to be an unholy genetic experiment involving King Diamond, Bobby Blitz and perhaps even Matt Barlow with Joey Belladonna. You throw into that volatile mix rhythms, shark sized hooks and blazing leads which run the gamut of heavy metal history from a long haired Halford to Ruthie's Inn and the result you get is explosive!

Yeah, these guys, as with any good metal outfit, defies being thrown into a genre, though I've heard the term "power thrash" thrown around a bit in reference to Armor Column. Screw that, this is just heavy metal which will rip off your head without mercy and piss down your throat!

Maximum Collateral Damage continues where their 2009 EP "Armor Up Your Ass" leaves off; four tracks which appear on that album also appear here: "Dictator's Whore", "Armor Column", "Where There's A War, There's A Way" and "We Breath Extinction". But, let me emphasize this, the newer tracks really do take the band to new heights!

"Warmonger", opens up with a sample of ol' Sly Stallone as Rambo..." You know what you are... what you're made of. War is in your blood. Don't fight it. You didn't kill for your country. You killed for yourself. God's never gonna make that go away. When you're pushed, killing's as easy as breathing." and BLAMO! Thrash Guitars, kit being pounded like the German 6th Army during the final days of the Battle of Stalingrad, and the high pitched notes which reminds you of the days when metal singers really belted out the songs.

Though the album makes heavy use of intro samples, they do it right; for example, "With Blood and Vengeance" is introduced to the listener with Harry Dean Stanton's character Tom Eckert in that 80's cold war paranoia propaganda cult classic "Red Dawn" screaming: "Avenge Me! Avenge Me!" right before another down pouring of molten metal burns through your skull...it just fits perfectly.

I especially enjoy how this album doesn't grow stale; there is no repetitiveness to it, it shreds from beginning to end and changes things up each time with epic choruses, a mind-blowing lead here and there, sick bridges (check out "We Breath Extinction") and fresh rhythms...that's the way a metal album damned well should be!

I don't give two hoots what your thing is, what genre you're dedicated to, even if you lean towards the blacker side you're gonna dig the growls on the title track "Maximum Collateral Damage"; as I said at the very beginning, this is a fuckin' heavy metal album which can be called Thrash, Power or even at times Melodic and it's the proverbial shit! If you're a headbanger then you're gonna dig this!

Maximum Collateral Damage is an album of old school Thrash Metal, of the east coast variety, from New York's Armor Column. The music is mid-paced (by Thrash standards, which means it is actually pretty fast but not insanely so) with excellent, crunchy riffs and awesome solos, courtesy of guitarists Noah Carpenter and Ray Russell. Singer Jeff Andrews has a decent mid-range but when he screams, which is often, he sounds like Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth. Factor that in with the east coast Thrash style and the band Overkill comes to mind a lot when listening to Maximum Collateral Damage . War is the main lyrical theme (if that wasn't obvious from the band and album names) and songs like "Warmonger," "With Blood and Vengeance" and "Dictator's Whore" are just plain Thrash ear candy.

The band loses focus a bit when they slow down, like on "Rattenkrieg," but these are minor bumps in the road. What is more distracting is the use of movie quotes and sound effects. The first three songs get the spoken word intro and when the fourth, "Where There's a War, There's a Way," just launches into the riff you think "great, just a regular song." That is, until the end when you get 30 seconds of gunfire and battle sounds. Too much guys, rein it in next time.

Even with the overuse of effects, Maximum Collateral Damage is an excellent slab of old school, ass-kicking Thrash Metal. Any fan of the 80s should get a charge out of Armor Column.

Rating: 4/5

Armor Column is a relatively new band hailing from Albany, New York and within the line-up we find a certain Noah Carpenter who used to be in the death metal band Skinless. That band recently broke up by the way. Armor Columns sound very alive though on ‘Maximum Collateral Damage'. They describe their music as powerthrash, which is a combination of thrash and, you guessed it, power metal (American styled power metal that is). The emphasis lies on the thrash though. The riffs are monstrous and as a change this band is relatively original when it comes to the guitar parts. Lots of other thrash bands could learn something from this as you hear too many copies these days. Singer Jeff Andrews is a striking feat too and it took me some time to realise how he sounds. I would describe it as a mix of Eric A.K. of Flotsam and Jetsam en Mike Sanders of Toxik. This dude can reach the high notes and his style fits very well to Armor Column's music. I have to admit that I did have to listen to this album a couple of times before I finally got it but I'm sure fans of thrash and power metal should check this out.

Rating: 82/100

New York has always been a hotbed besot with a thrashing potentate of blood and vengeance. Where there's a raging war, there's a way of violence, and the dictator's horror always ensues. The plebian force known as Armor Column are no exception to the old-school rule. Defleshed and skinless, joining the ranks of the defiled, the unblessed, battle scarred, power thrashing death brigade clang and clatter with a full mettle racket, and unleash their terror on us all.

Having recently been signed to the Eternal Brutality of Men label, Armor column have a bright, blood splattered future ahead of them. EBM Records really knows how to choose thrash bands which stigmatize, stand out, and make their mark, and Armor Column are no exception. Check out their other caustic acts like Toxic Trace and Pollution from Serbia, Zombie Holocaust from the U.S., or Prayers of Sanity from Portugal, you will not be disappointed.

If you thrive on acts like Zoetrope, Powermad, I.N.C., Helstar, Vicious Rumors (especially their newer more vehement direction), Charred Walls of the Damned, and other East Coast inspirational warmongers like Whiplash, Blessed death, Carnivore, Toxik, Znowhite, etc. then I beseech you to get your arms or fists up, and assuage this highly regarded carnal diary of aggression. Face your untimely demise or begin to shred with these masters of 'Maximum collateral damage'!

Like many thrash efforts, this CD is laconic, but in this case quality prevails, and there are no fillers or weak moments of digression. The wrath rat war ensemble of "Rattenkrieg" may not spread the plague like the actual atrocity of the historical Eastern Front holocaust, but it is still heavy and like a gust of death breath it will choke the very life out of you. Fans of Hail of Bullets, or the soon to be deceased God Dethroned, may want to enlist in the carnage.

From the haunting Rambo introduction on "Warmonger" right up to the pummeling frontline assault of "Maximum collateral damage", you are destined for extinction. The sonic discharge of "Where there's a war, there's a way" will truly make a price on your head if you ignore the patterned, war burden rules of engagement. Clearly zoning in on the pulsating lead laden land blast of "Dictator's whore" ably verifies my point. The song "Armor Column" itself will pierce your tortured skull like a stray bullet.

I am amazed that guitarist Noah Carpenter is a member of the brutal death metal act Skinless, as he rages with serious thrash ability. Then again, if members of Exhumed can become Dekapitator, then anything is feasible, and welcomed in my hell.

Ready and willing ironclad vocalist Jeff Andrews has that shrill rage, that fans of Tim "Ripper" Owens, as well as those other aforementioned East Coast screamers are known to deliver. If you are not engrossed in the underground metal milieu of 80s-era Roadrunner, Combat, and New Renaissance artists, then picture early Anthrax, Overkill, Nuclear Assault, and Metal Church for comparison.

The final defligistergerizing of bone shattering illusion is laid bare that when a relatively unknown act can deliver such a thrash near-masterpiece on their debut. Here is hoping that bands who have fallen prey to modern advanced technology, and or stodgy metalcore based frangible shit type Lamb of God, Machinehead, Trivium tendencies (Yeah, I mean you Indestructible noise command!), will realize that there are plenty of us who want our thrash to mirror our past iniquities!

4/5

Leaded by one of the founder members of the mighty SKINLESS, Noah Carpenter, North Americans ARMOR COLUMN are a band that, dispite having released this same year their debut album, is not that new as they've been around for 4 years now. These 5 musicians from Albany have created a perfect killing machine that spits Power/Thrash Metal with several details from Speed or Crossover for instance, perhaps surprising some people as anyone who hears their lyrics, stares at their cover artwork or sees that Noah is one of their guitar players, may think we're in front of a Death Metal album at the US style.

After this introduction we have to start stating in this “Maximum Collateral Damage” there are some things that may stand out among others: those falsettos at the Heavy Metal style and melodic ranges from vocalist Jeff Andrews are simply fantastic, while the two guitars deliver riffs, one right after another, in the old shool Thrash vein, creating high-speed tunes and making these 8 tracks really enjoyable.

The influence from bands as EXODUS, TESTAMENT or JUDAS PRIEST is undeniable in a CD that delivers huge aggressiveness in each aspect of the record, with songs such as “Dictator's Whote” or “With Blood and Vengeance”, which will leave is without breath.

In the other hand, production is clean and organic, which serves as a perfect culmination for the unbeatable debut album by ARMOR COLUMN.

Suming it up, if you dig good old Metal crafted by a perfect blend of styles and an overwhelming voice, these ARMOR COLUMN and their “Maximum Collateral Damage” will be one of your faourite albums off your collection.

EBM Records (2011)

Puntuación:  9/10

Maximum Collateral Damage is what happened to my ears after listening to the Armor Column debut full length “Maximum Collateral Damage.” Armor Column features Skinless (split-up) guitarist Noah Carpenter, and let me tell you, he shreds this album to death, and it's absolutely amazing. But it is not only him on this album that is fantastic, all the musicians are fantastic and are very talented. I love vocalist Jeff Andrews on this album, his aggression but melodic and soaring high vocals flow very well with their brand of Power/Speed/Thrash metal.

With 8 tracks, clocking in just over 40 minutes, it is hard to find a dull moment in “Maximum Collateral Damage.” Majority of the lyrics of the album revolve around war, and the music conveys that. You can tell there is a war happening, the lyrics and music melt together and help paint that image in your head. And if you still don't think there is enough war imagery, just check out the cover of the album, it says it all. To pick favorite songs off “Maximum Collateral Damage” is a very difficult choice and shouldn't even be an option because all 8 of the songs are fantastic, and can be listened to and enjoyed at anytime. But I do award extra points to the songs: “Warmonger”, “Armor Column”, and “Where Theres A War Theres A Way.”

The appeal of Armor Column's debut “Maximum Collateral Damage” comes from the blended styles of metal they use from Power, Speed, and Thrash metal. It can appeal to so many different tastes of music, even some death metallers will enjoy this record because of the music at some points. For fans of instrumental guitar shredding (me being a huge one) this is a must listen album, the guitar work is simply incredible and astonishing. This was an incredible debut album by these 5 guys from New York, and I cannot wait to hear what these guys come up with next

95/100

Un bon vieux logo has been, une pochette au thème guerrier, pas de doute le bon vieux Thrash de notre enfance n'est pas mort et les Américains d'ARMOR COLUMN prouvent en plus qu'il est encore possible d'écouter de bons vieux screams haut perchés en 2011.

Car les New Yorkais, en plus de se complaire dans un Thrash aux tempos enlevés, disposent avec Jeff Andrews d'un atout de taille qui tirera aux nostalgiques une petite larme : si le frontman a une voix tout ce qu'il y a de plus classiquement Thrash, il a en outre la capacité de monter de manière affolante dans les aigus tout en restant crédible. Certes cela hérissera les petits jeunes habitués aux growls, mais pour nous autres anciens, c'est l'assurance de rajeunir d'un bon paquet d'années. Sur cette base vocale solide se dressent des gratteux dont la raison d'être est de revisiter toute la gamme du petit Thrasheur avec efficacité et un minimum d'inspiration. Que ce soit sur les titres joués à fond de train ou ceux plus mid-tempo et saccadés, le duo joue juste et exploite à merveille le feeling propre au genre, épaulé par un batteur dont la double pédale semble être une extension naturelle.

Sans en faire des tonnes, sans céder aux sirènes du Métal moderne et en assumant des choix certes désuets, ARMOR COLUMN assure parfaitement et propose un Thrash solide avec un chant délicieusement atypique de nos jours. Je doute que ça plaise à la nouvelle génération, mais pour les anciens c'est du pur bonheur !