Throwdown's latest slab of aggression, Venom & Tears, initially sounds nothing like what one would expect to hear from a band like Throwdown. The winding southern style riffing and the guitar tone, coupled with the vocal delivery of the albums opening track 'Holy Roller' bears a striking similarity to what is arguably one of the greatest metal bands ever. PANTERA! And while that is immediately going to cause certain individuals and critics to cry of 'rip off', there is a positive approach to viewing the change in Throwdown's sound, and the new album overall.
Once you get past 'Holy Roller', the second track, 'Day Of The Dog', kicks in with a rather different feel to it. The main riff is way more hard rock oriented, though it retains that ever familiar groove that's been sorely missed for quite some time now. And the classic 'gang chorus' as a part of the chorus is definitely a nod toward their hardcore roots.
'S.C.U.M.' is basically a song about all the "worthless" people that permeate our society, from junkies and (suburban?) gang members to pedophile priests and the corruption that plagues law enforcement. Musically, it brings to mind 'Fucking Hostile', through and through, excepting the last two minutes or so of the song, which has an apocalyptic feel to it, and some wicked bends that are completely reminiscent of Meshuggah, and Dimebag (R.I.P.).
'Americana' and 'Weight Of The World' both have more of a Down meets Damageplan feel to them. Although 'Americana' does once again find Throwdown utilizing the obligatory 'gang chorus'. What really stands out is the instrumental track entitled 'Cancer, that comes in at the half way point of the album. If anything were unexpected, this would be it. The dirge-like quality is rather fitting though, given the feel of this album, and the band, or moreso the individual it brings to mind.
'Hellbent (On War)' brings the aggression factor back up to Eleven quick, with the best elements of the band's hardcore roots present, perfectly mixed in with their more current metal-as-fuck, Pantera-esque trappings. The same thing can pretty much be said for 'No Love'.
Never a band to run short of surprises, the title track seems to have a suicidal slant to it, which is rather different for a sXe band who was previously more positive than anything. Whether the lyrical content is based on that or not, is completely open to interpretation. If nothing else, it's definitely dark.
The rest of the album is pretty much more of the same. Throwdown hasn't entirely lost what it was that made them Throwdown, and their intensity has gone up once again, if that's even possible. But based on the overall sound of the album, the comparisons' to Pantera are going to be inevitable. You really couldn't come closer to nailing down Pantera's sound unless you were deliberately TRYING to do so. And even then, numerous bands have tried, and ultimately failed miserably. If ever there were something said about Throwdown that was true, 'The second coming of Pantera most definitely fits the bill.
