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Released on October 17, 2015 via Independent
You know, there is an old adage that says “the world would be a better place if there was more competent crossover thrash to listen to on a daily basis!” Ok, so I made that adage up, but even so it is very true. How could the world NOT be better with more crossover thrash, competent or just ok this genre of music is just one big fat helping of fist pumping, mosh pitting fun and games. In heavy metal, outside of parody acts like The Darkness and Steel Panther, crossover thrash is arguably the most fun of any of the sub-genres out there today. And before anyone gets excited I said arguably so I officially can’t be wrong because, well, arguably! But I digress. The popularity of crossover thrash, or the lack of, is an interesting dynamic in the heavy metal world. Ostensibly, crossover thrash should have never worked; mixing hardcore and metal was akin to mixing piss and vinegar! As a matter of fact in the very early days of this new sub-genre you could literally see two guys fighting over whether D.R.I. was in fact punk or metal… it was a strange new world! But eventually everything evened out and all of our metal and hardcore brothers could get along together on the skate ramp enjoying some Nuclear Assault or Agnostic Front.
Personally I find the old school crossover thrash to still be far more entertaining than most of the crossover bands that have come out over the last few years. I will say that Municipal Waste has done a fine job of carrying the crossover mantle and they are a great live band, but there have really been a lot of misses in the crossover genre. Which brings me to the Pittsfield, MA band Goblet and their brand of heavy crossover (which the band itself calls “bastard thrash”) album On Tap.
There was a time when I was a young and impressionable metal child and a great album cover could get me to buy an album from a band I had never heard before. I had bought an untold amount of albums just because of awesome artwork and let me tell you right now if Goblet had been around back then I would have purchased their album in a heartbeat! Whoever did the artwork should be applauded. So, the question that remains is the album as strong as the artwork?
The answer is yes and the young impressionable me from 1986 jumps for joy! On Tap is fun, it is memorable and it certainly doesn’t take itself too seriously. All hallmarks of what a crossover album should be and Goblet’s work here is no exception. In addition to the above the album was mixed and mastered by the one and only Joel Grind; he of Toxic Holocaust fame! It’s really easy to hear Grind’s influence on this album. It is old-school dirty sounding and that is the way this type of music should sound. It is a throwback to the early D.R.I. like Crossover or even early Cryptic Slaughter for that matter where it sounds as if the album could have been recorded in a garage or a skate ramp.
With only five songs on this EP, Goblet have done a great job of keeping the flow of the album moving and never really letting up on the pace of the blistering opener ‘Full Metal Jacket’. Goblet never truly take themselves too seriously and songs like ‘Party Monster’ and ‘Hungover as Fuck’ certainly solidify this observation. The final song on the album, ‘Acid Rain’ is probably my favorite track on the album of really good songs! Sure, there are/were a lot of crossover bands that love to fight/blame “the man” in their songs, but to me, crossover should be as fun as possible and still pack a hardy punch and that is exactly what Goblet has accomplished with On Tap!
