Parasite of Society

Whenever a band reunites after having been inactive for more than a decade, fans naturally wonder if the band will pick up where it left off stylistically or move in a different direction. In Headhunter's case, it is definitely the former rather than the latter; Parasite of Society, Headhunter's first new studio album in 13 years, picks up where the German outfit's early- to mid-'90s recordings left off. Back then, Headhunter was often described as a band that was relevant to both thrash metal and power metal — and that approach is alive and well on forceful yet melodic tracks such as "Doomsday for the Prayer," "Read My Lips," "Egomaniac," and "Silverskull." Headhunter's thrashiness decreases on an enjoyable cover of Skid Row's power ballad "18 and Life," but much of the time, Parasite of Society is a perfect example of a CD that has one foot in thrash metal and the other in power metal, and considering the relationship between the two, that is perfectly natural. Thrash metal/speed metal, after all, came out of power metal; thrash/speed metal thrived when, in the '80s, Motörhead (arguably the first thrash metal/speed metal band), Venom, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, Testament, and others combined the heaviness of metal with the velocity of punk. If hardcore was the first time punk crossed over to metal, thrash was the first time metal crossed over to punk. So bearing all that in mind, there is no reason why Headhunter shouldn't function as both a thrash band and a power metal band on this 2008 release. Parasite of Society falls short of exceptional, but it's still a solid, engaging disc that has something for fans of Megadeth, Anthrax and early Metallica as well as for Judas Priest and Iron Maiden fans. [AFM Germany's 2008 Digipak edition included one bonus track.]