- Country: United States
- Style: Thrash metal
- Label: Nuclear Blast
- Release date: 27 July 2012
Paul Bostaph was injured, so Gene Hoglan stepped in on drums, and that one change makes Dark Roots of Earth hit harder than it might have. Andy Sneap mixed and mastered, Eliran Kantor painted the cover, and Chuck Billy sounds like he could shout down a building.
“Rise Up” is a deliberately simple opener with a call-and-response chorus built for the stage. “Native Blood” is the album’s real centrepiece, fast and furious, with a chorus that would have fitted on any of their early records. The title track slows into a grinding mid-tempo, and “Cold Embrace” is a long, moody ballad that tries something different and mostly gets away with it. The back half, especially “Throne of Thorns”, is thrash by numbers. It debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 4 in Germany. Strong, sure, but a little too safe to rank with the band’s best.
Best tracks:
Rise Up
Native Blood
Dark Roots of Earth
Cold Embrace
Author’s rating: 7.7/10
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