Austrian Death Machine

Austrian Death Machine

Total Brutal (2008)

Metal Blade Records

Rating: 3 out of 4 Pentagrams 

Reviewed by: Jeff Deth

This record is absolutely hilarious. A total spoof themed on Arnold Schwarzenegger, or rather, characters he has portrayed on screen. In Between songs are parodies of Arnie where he acts as bandleader trying to lead the jam session. I can see how this might get tired after repeated listens but is pretty entertaining the first time through. Each song is named after some line Arnold has used from various movies. Example: “Come with me if you want to live” from The Terminator.

This goof “band” seems to be a one off side project of As I Lay Dying Vocalist; Tim Lambesis who plays all the instruments.  So this is really not a band but is kind of cool anyway. It’s worth mentioning all the solos are played by guests from other notable bands like Killswitch Engage and Haste the Day.

The songs all jam and have none of the newer metal sounds of Dying. It’s a thrashing full on assault of headbanging and comedy. The music itself is a throwback to the thrash sound of the 80’s. So, super fast, heavy and intense. Everything is a reference to that era including the sweet cover art reminiscent of Megadeth’s Peace Sells or Nuclear Assault’s Game Over. Oh, wait a second that's because the same artist, Ed Repka, created all of them. Nice. 

There’s not a whole lot more to say about this album. No deep intellectual concepts to unpackage and analyze. This is junk food, a guilty pleasure when you’re just too tired to be serious. I could see throwing it on every now and again for fun. It should be of interest to anyone into As I Lay Dying or for old-school thrash enthusiasts. I’m sure Arnold would be proud.