Warning SF (stands for San Francisco) is a re-united early-80s thrash band, and Aftermath is the re-issue of several the band's older pieces. Seven tracks were re-recorded, and three are re-released 1980s demos.
This is a 35-minute 10-track sonic slugfest in which good vocals, great lead guitar work and the imaginative use of keyboards are underpinned by a distortion and rock solid rhythms that put the heavy into metal.
Singer Torre Carstensen has a good range and does not break into falsetto, preferring a gruff delivery that recalls Hetfield, with occasional deviations into not-quite-death metal grunting. The compositions are solid, the execution is extremely bass-heavy, with the lead guitar occasionally breaking away into soaring treble solos, and the mood of the songs ranges from anger to doom. There is no saccharine power metal here – Aftermath is all about all heavy minor key chord progressions and lyrics with doom and death and end-of-days themes.
The three old demo tracks show the band in a very different light – younger, more energetic, more aggressive vocals in far higher ranges with tons of falsetto, and fast, heavy rhythm played on 6-string guitars that would appear never to have been detuned.
If you're looking for progressive music, stay away – there is nothing new here. If you grew up with bay area thrash, or even with very early NWOBHM, you'll thank Warning SF and Relentless Records for triggering tons of nostalgia.
Track Listing:
01. Intro
02. Road Death
03. Aftermath
04. Thunderhead
05. Sounds Of Armageddon
06. Happy Doomsday
07. The Noose
08. Fall Upon Your Knees
09. Not A Chance In Hell
10. Metal Maniac
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