When a band says their latest offering is more ‘mature’…. What does it actually mean? I get that juvenilia can be embarrassingly crass, unformed, technically lacking. But there is, undeniably, a tipping point, however indefinable, when the energy and impetus of starting out passes into the realm of comfort zone, of routine, of regularity of formula. So on reading that Ultra-Violence’s lead vocalist Loris Castiglia has described ‘Operation Misdirection’ as ‘the last chapter of a trilogy we started five years ago with our debut album’, and that ‘this is their most mature set of songs to date’, alarm bells ring. I brace myself for some second-rate Metallica rip (rather than some second-rate technoindustrial: let’s not confuse Ultra-Violence with Ultraviolence here).
‘Operation Misdirection’ delivers 10 slabs of throbbing thrash with song titles like ‘The Stain on My Soul Remains’ and ‘My Fragmented Self’ (which is a bit Metallica / generic thrash), and it’s frantic and direct with some wild fretwork, pulverizing pedalwork in the drum department and some underworld growl vocals.
Opener ‘Cadaver Decomposition Island’, a six-minute behemoth that packs it all in, including an unexpectedly anthemic chorus. Then again, it is called ‘Cadaver Decomposition Island’, so it’s fair to say that maturity is relative, and some of the fret-based fireworks on display here – especially on ‘Nomophobia’ – is supermanic. The cover of Dire Strait’s’ Money for Nothing’ is… unexpected, while two live cuts to fil it out at the end is... I’ll leave it there. Critical opinion only counts for so much, after all, and ultimately, people will make up their own minds…