New album from the Edmonton thrash-metal outfit is being officially released with a Saturday show at Rendezvous Pub.
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Never judge a book by its cover, but the rule doesn’t apply to metal albums. The genre isn’t known for its subtlety and if the album cover showcases death, destruction or something that looks ripped from a Z-grade horror VHS front, you know what you’ll be getting.
Edmonton thrashers TYMO’s new album The Art of a Maniac comes plastered with a mutant Bob Ross and his canvas in front of a bombed-out city with a UFO hovering in the background, portending the songs of carnage within.
The lads have honed their skills since 2017’s Purge & Reset, as The Art of a Maniac is not only faster, but braher. One after another, the tracks pummel and pulverize, leaving the listener dizzied and wowed with a finger on the repeat button.
The album kicks off with a bit of needle crackling and jumps into Tymonicide, an instrumental rife with machine-gun guitars soloing and rapid-fire drums beating the track into a gooey look.
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The single Sanity Clause lays out a lot of the album’s themes: choking on sanity, keeping demons at bay through self-medication and allegiance to Satan. Hey, it’s tongue-in-cheek, or rather tongue-in-diaphragm the way the band’s vocalist-guitarist Tim Tymo growls and howls over the tracks.
War Beneath the Skull beckons the listener with its galloping guitars to whip their mane back and forth; this one can easily soundtrack chopping lumber under a full moon to gardening on a blistering summer day in your leather and denim.
But how hard does it bang? Folks, The Art of a Maniac thrashes at a level exceeding safe head-banging levels. Guitarists Tymo and Nick Schwartz played wizard with time and found a way to cram in a bounty of riffs while Harlen Jacobs anchors this madness with pulsating bass and Marc Durie’s drums replicate the sound of kicking a drum kit down the towering escalator inside Rogers Place.
Listen to TYMO’s The Art of a Maniac on Spotify or bandcamp or visit tymo.ca. An official release party for The Art of a Maniac is happening May 14 at Rendezvous Pub, with Rising Sun, Naitaka and Kill With also on the bill.