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BYH 2004:
Morrigan’s Pit:
I had been looking
forward to the European debut of BALLISTIC for months! The band of Tom Gattis, who we still know from Deuce,
Tension and/or Wardog, brought us pure, thrashy US metal, a kind of fierce Overkill with
blistering solos. Not in the last place because of the characteristic voice
of Gattis, who doesn't sing whole shows anymore because of health
reasons (in Balingen he only sang the Tension
classic "Wrecking Crew"). For a while Jag Panzer's Harry Concklin would come along to Balingen
(after all his JP-buddy Rikard Stjernquist also drums with Ballistic), but he
had to cancel and Gattis got the Twisted Tower Dire frontman Tony Taylor in. So for a moment I was
worried how the songs would come out with this terrific, but cleaner singer
(compared to Gattis). Well, he was awesome! The hyperactive bundle of
muscles was all over the place and sang so easily in the meantime it was
scary. Songs like "Collision Course", "Watch Me do
It", "Undefeated", "Threshold Of Pain"
and the "hit" "Call Me Evil" were superbly done,
so two thumbs up!
The second day started for me with BALLISTIC! What a band!
The new singer (he "borrowed" him from Twisted Tower Dire) was
really good and the songs were absolutely fantastic. Tom
Gattis only took over the vocals on the old Tension song
"Wrecking Crew" (if you don't know the CD, buy it!)
**** were nice, but somehow I like them more on CD. The show didn't blew me
away, but maybe this was because of Ballistic....
Vampster:
Lange Zeit schien
der Sängerposten bei Tom Gattis´
neuer Band BALLISTIC
eine sehr wackelige Angelegenheit, und viele Leute haben
sich bereits gefragt, warum er den Gesang nicht einfach selbst übernimmt. Dass er es
kann, hat er in der Vergangenheit doch zu Genüge
bewiesen. Überraschend fiel die Wahl nun, nachdem JAG PANZER-Frontmann Harry Conklin für kurze Zeit in der Band war, auf TWISTED TOWER
DIRE/ISEN TORR-Sänger Tony Taylor
und auf dem Bang Your Head sollte
er zum einen zeigen, dass er als
Frontmann immer noch besser wird
und gleichzeitig perfekt zu BALLISTIC zu passen scheint. Zumindest gesanglich ist seine Stimme geradezu ideal für den thrashig/powermetallischen Sound der
Ami-Band um den ehemaligen DEUCE-Gitarrist. Ganz in der Tradition dieser Vorgängerbands sind auch die Songs von BALLISTIC voll
geladen mit einer unglaublichen Energie, die Tom Gattis
auch heute noch mit seiner
Gitarrenspiel ganz locker
zu erzeugen in der Lage ist.
Das ist der Sound, den die Fans lieben
und genau dann kommt Tony Taylor ins Spiel. WOW! Wirklich
stark, über was für eine enorm positive Ausstrahlung dieser Mann (inzwischen) verfügt und wie publikumsnah er selbst auf diesen Brettern rüber kommt. Immer in Bewegung, aber nie gehetzt,
sondern eher locker flockig, stapft der Mann von einer Seite der Bühne
zur andern und bringt seine Vocals inzwischen hundertprozent treffsicher. War
Tony Taylor in den frühen TWISTED TOWER DIRE-Tagen teilweise noch etwas dünn
bei Stimme, ist sein Gesang
inzwischen kräftig und charakteristisch und mit seiner "Spielfreude" ist er bei
BALLISTIC auf keinen Fall alleine!
Das war schon alles sehr überzeugend,
die Drums kamen aufpeitschend
treibend und die Songs stimmen
bei BALLISTIC auf jeden
Fall genauso wie auch schon bei
WARDOG und "Wrecking Crew" vom
TENSION-Album "Breaking Point", bei dem nun auch wieder Tom Gattis
selbst die Vocals übernahm,
zeigte deutlich, dass dieser Mann seinen Weg konsequent
weiter gegangen ist, ohne jemals
seine Wurzeln zu vergessen. Ein sehr feiner Autritt.
Pretties For you Review : Next up were US-thrashers BALLISTIC. Tom Gattis and his band laid down a pretty good
performance. Replacement on the vocals Tony Taylor convinced everybody with
his strong and clean voice. Tom took over the vocal parts in “Wrecking Crew”
but in songs like “Threshold of Pain” or “Call Me Evil” Tony really shouted
his lungs out. Good performance!
Metalspheres: Die US-Metal-Fans hatten
beim diesjährigen Billing
wahrlich keinen Grund sich zu
beschweren. Nachdem am Vortag bereits Cage, Ruffians
und Shok Paris für allseits zufriedene Gesichter gesorgt hatten, hatten nun Ballistic
die Chance, sich dem Publikum von ihrer besten Seite zu zeigen. Im
Vorfeld zu diesem Auftritt hatte es gleich
zwei Besetzungswechsel gegeben, zuerst war Jag Panzer-Sänger Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin in die Band gekommen, um gleich darauf aus zeitlichen
Gründen Platz für Twisted Tower Dire-Sirene
Tony Taylor zu machen. Dieser wußte auch in Balingen zu überzeugen und katapultierte mit Freuden einen Kracher des Debutalbums nach dem anderen
in die Menge. Irgendwie verstehe ich es nicht, da
wird ständig davon geredet, wie tot der amerikanische
Metal doch ist, und auf der anderen Seite
bekommen wir dann pausenlos solche genialen Bands wie Ballistic präsentiert. Den Höhepunkt des kurzen aber erinnernswerten Auftritts bildeten gleich zwei Stücke.
Zum einen der tolle Brecher
"They call me evil", welcher mittlerweile auch schon auf mehreren Samplern die Runde durch die Metalwelt gemacht hat, zum anderen das noch
aus Tension-Tagen stammende "Wrecking crew", bei
dem Tom Gattis
noch einmal selbst zum Mikrophon
griff und dem einen oder anderen
Zuschauer damit eine kleine Freudenträne
in die Augen trieb.
Powermetal: BALLISTIC
Nachdem MAJESTY mit ihrem hymnenhaften True Metal bereits für eine
beachtliche Guten-Morgen-Stimmung
gesorgt hatten, war es anschließend für BALLISTIC an der Zeit, mit ihrer
Mischung aus Power Metal
und Thrash Metal die letzte Müdigkeit
aus den BANG YOUR HEAD-Besuchern
zu prügeln. Die Band um das Szene-Urgestein Tom Gattis wollte ursprünglich mit JAG PANZER-Frontmann Harry "Tyrant" Conklin auftreten, aber da dieser einige
Wochen vor dem BANG YOUR HEAD absprang, griff Tom auf den TWISTED TOWER DIRE-Sänger
Tony Taylor zurück. Dass er mehr als
würdiger Ersatz war, bewies
das Energiebündel von Anfang an und nützte die gesamte Bühne aus. Aber nicht
nur sein Stage-Acting war
überzeugend, auch seine gesangliche Leistung war ohne Makel. Und so gab er die Songs des bislang einzigen, selbstbetitelten BALLISTIC-Albums geradezu
perfekt zum Besten, u.a. 'Collision
Course', 'Courpse Stacked High' und 'Watch Me Do
It'. Nahezu die gesamte Setlist bestand aus Songs der
"Ballistic"-Scheibe, doch
mit dem TENSION-Klassiker 'Wrecking Crew' wurde
zumindest auch ein Stück aus
Toms Vergangenheit gespielt
und auch von ihm selbst gesungen. Als zweite Band des Tages war die Spielzeit für BALLISTIC natürlich begrenzt, und so mussten die
US-Amerikaner schon bald zum Endspurt ansetzen. Diesen gestalteten sie aber mit dem
Hammersong 'Call Me Evil' und 'Threshold Of Pain' ausgesprochen gelungen, und so bedankte sich das Publikum auch brav mit
lautstarken Beifallsbekundungen.
- Toller Auftritt!
Debut CD
Reviews from the metalheads (just metalfans!):
This album is one heavy motherfuck
of a US Metal album. One of the best I heard *EVER*!
Imagine an agressive Agent Steel or Anthrax updated
to 2003. Fast, brutal and great leads!
Get yourself some killer metal album and support the US metal scene!!
Had no real expectations for this album, so it was a nice
surprise when I was blown away by the sheer power and intensity of this album:)
The songs are well-structured and doesn't tend to
get boring (which sets them apart from a lot of other newer metal bands) and
it's nice to hear a metal album without the usual ballad or orchestration.
This album just screams: "Cut the bullshit - Get to the point".
I've missed that for awhile.
One of the best debut-albums I've heard in a long time. Strongly considering
a little trip to Ballingen this summer when they
will play the Bang Your Head Festival :)
Well well, this album just keeps
getting better and better. After seven month and probably more than a 100
spins in my player, I've finally reach a verdict: 9,5/10
Extremely recommended to ANYONE into Metal! Support this band, they deserve
it!!!
Ballistic
is just another band I recently discovered by simply surfing the web. This is
a pretty new band on the market, this album being their first full-length
release, and having released a demo in 2003 called Gone Ballistic. Ballistic
play mainly melodic/speed metal, but I just can't ignore the fact that Tony's
Dickinson-esque vocals FUCKING own the living hell
out of most recent melodic metal releases.
Fucking hell - this stuff almost sounds like old-time Maiden (the era we all
loved most)... Yep, it's all there. Amazing vocals, speedy and melodic riffs,
and of course the solos...oh fuck. Those also sound a lot like Maiden, and
also sometimes - dare I say - they're even better than Maiden.
The best song on here, the one you'll all be headbanging
too almost every time you hear it, is undoubtably
"Call Me Evil". It starts off with a powerful melodic riff,
accompanied by an harmonized lead guitar. The verse
is a simple Maiden-esque riff accompanied by the
above-mentionned amazing Dickinson-esque vocals. And then there's the solo, which sounds
like Maiden, and almost even better. The good thing about this album is that
most of the songs are almost as good as "Call Me Evil".
These guys have what it takes: The talent, the skills, and they sound like
professionals already. If you like Maiden, it would be a shame if you didn't
have this album. Very highly recommended.
.....Into the valley of the king!
Following the “Gone Ballistic”-demo,
which itself was better than most releases this millennium, comes this
self-titled masterpiece. It’s basically quite thrashy
speed metal combined with power metal elements. The album blasts off with
Collision Course and the energy, the violence, the fierce technicality reigns
throughout the entire album. The one exception would be Call To Armageddon
that is pretty much chaotic but not anything else.
All the instruments are played more than excellent, they all deserve special
notes. The drumming, especially on Threshold of Pain is something really
amazing. The energy, the steadiness, the superb rhythms and the way they are
conducted sure grants Rikard Stjernquist
a high place in a Hall of Fame for metal drummers. And Petio
Petev’s lead guitar and Tom
Gattis' guitar playing, it’s just brilliant! Stunning
leads, very good riffs… … On this album Tom Gattis
sung the vocals, he had to stop that later since it caused him severe
headaches. They made him faint a few times. But here, his performance is more
than you can ask for. The powerful voice, the anger, the hate… I think he is
the main songwriter and one cannot but notice how emotional he is. Either way
he has a perfect sense for melodies, rhythms, riffs and how they should
combine. Even the lyrics are excellent; I can’t find a single thing on this
CD to complain about. A band can’t make a better debut.
A sticker on the jewel case says: “Metal heroes of tomorrow”. I say they are
already here and kicks ass. ALBUM OF THE YEAR!!
I
liked the Wardog cd’s but
fuck I was hoping that Tom & co. would not disband. So imagine my sadness when I hear those news, but then I get this cd
from Ballistic. I get many cds every month and once in a great while I get one that
stands out and blows my car speakers as well.
It is heavily hard to find anything that was left out of the debut
Ballistic cd, except maybe compromise. Where do I start?..ok the songs.
Fucking amazing composing, and how does one do this and remain this
heavy??? It is a mix of 80’s metal and
modern production that hits the listener first, so one could say it is a
dated album until you listen for a while and it sounds as modern as any of
the 80’s style bands making it big lately.
If you are a fan of power metal with the high vocals and slower songs
or ballads, this is not for you. But if
you are a fan of brutal metal (like me) played at the highest possible level
this cannot be passed. Buy or die!
"It's the sound of the gods!"
Gone Ballistic - this demo's title says it all. Heavy thundering
riffs in supersonic speed, aggression and earwig melodies with catchy hooks and
powerful breaks. And thanks to sound engineer Achim
Köhler (Primal Fear a.o.)
a sound you wouldn't expect from a demo and miss on many current
"top" albums.
Aggressiv thrash-power on high level in the vein
of good old-school - one might try to describe the style that way, but you
would probably not imagine what mastermind Tom
Gattis and his three fellow combatants unleash onto mankind
here! Ballistic was founded in Arizona by Tom Gattis in early 2001 as "Afterburn", but had to change the name due to a band
from Germany
already bearing that name.
Guitarist Peter Petev is (after Victor Smolski) another virtuoso from East Europe - he just
moved from Bulgaria to Phoenix - and seems to have about 7 fingers on each
hand, which he skilfully uses during his solo
parts. But he also performs catchy leads on top of the solid base by Michael
Scott's drums and Tim O'Connor's bass. Vocalist and guitarist Gattis himself
says about his first impression of Petev's playing:
"He made me feel like my fingers where standing still!"
The other musicians are no simple teammates either. Tim O'Connor celebrates a
thick bass-solo during the titeltrack and Michael
Scott drives the whole crew forward all the time, but plays variable and
decent. In general Ballistic combine the aggression of Wardog
(especially the last release "A Sound Beating" of this last band of
Tom Gattis) with high technical
level musicianship. To some of you the titeltrack
might be a bit too technically playful, what makes it hard to get into it,
but "Threshold Of Pain" on the other hand is so straight that even
the hyperspeed solo part cannot take the drive out
of it - full power kicking your ass!
Tom Gattis says about "Gone
Ballistic": "Yes, with this song I wanted to test the abilities of
the band. To be honest, I did not think they could play it. I will never
underestimate them again (especially the bass player)!" Listening
carefully to the song one can absolutely confirm that.
"Call Me Evil", the third track in the round, is only missing a
little pathos and it would pass as an immaculate metal hymn. Comparatively
low speed, melodic chorus to sing along with and a cool break make this song
remind me of Wardog a lot.
On Tom's website www.gattismetal.com
you can order the demo CD and furthermore find a lot of background
information and several texts about Tom's first bands Deuce and Tension
(starting with the founding of Deuce in the year 1978!).
"Gimme a bucket o'
beer!"
An article by Natanael Mignon (c) 2001/2002
Flash Demo Review:
Ballistic - Gone Ballistic 2001
Ballistic is the latest band from long time metal
master Tom Gattis. Many of you will remember his earlier bands
DEUCE in the 70’s, TENSION in the 80’s, and WARDOG in the 90’s. TENSION of course released the classicbanger “BREAKING POINT” and WARDOG released two cd’s on Metalblade. On WARDOG’s
second cd, “A SOUND BEATING” the band showed
considerable improvement from their earlier efforts (although not attaining
the TENSION status), and they played BANG YOUR HEAD festival in ’98 (?) and
WACKEN OPEN AIR in ’99 to what I would say was a great response. Tom left WARDOG when they did not take a
chance to tour with FEAR FACTORY, and went to work on a new project.
Now Toms new demo has hit
my ears and I have to say it takes all the others over. In my years of listening and reviewing
demos, it is a rare few that pack the power and great sound of this
ripper. But hey, this is Tom Gattis, and not an unknown. This demo shows greater ability from the
musicians than did WARDOG, but takes the speed and heaviness to a high new
level. Tim O’connor
is back from his TENSION days with Tom, and is a clear standout, playing even
a bass solo (very unique) on the last track “GONE BALLISTIC.” Peter Petev is a
guitarist from Bulgaria
who handles the lead parts masterfully, and will truly be known throughout Europe I think for being a guitar great. The drummer is Michael Scott, and he does
a great job with freight train speed drumming. And of course mixed in with Toms unique vocalstyle and
guitar playing, this demo is among the best I’ve heard in a while.
The first track "Threshold of Pain" is
an all out thrash masterwork.
"Call Me Evil" is slower, but the playing of Peter and Tom
on two guitars is classic! "Gone
Ballistic" is a technical piece with a great banging ending and amazing basswork.
It should not take long for this
four piece to be picked up by a label.
There is far too much talent here to be ignored. I must see this band live!!
Demph----
Everyone who reads Snakepit
on a consistent basis is aware of guitarist/vocalist Tom
Gattis and his efforts in acts like DEUCE, TENSION and
WARDOG. Here before me stands the newest 3 song demo from his new band
BALLISTIC, which also contains former TENSION bass man Tim O’Connor along
with Mike Scott on drums and Peter Petev on guitar.
These songs display a firm grasp on power metal with a dash of masterful
thrash on cuts like "Threshold Of Pain" and "Gone
Ballistic". Tom Gattis’
vocals command your attention with equal doses of power and snarling
quickness. The opening riff of "They Call Me Evil" recalls the
subtle guitar harmonies of Smith/Murray MAIDEN during their heydays of the
early 80’s, while bassist Tim O’Connor weaves in his fret oriented bottom end
to deliver a killer head flailing cut. The production is strong for a demo
offering, the songs all have high quality and the performances should make
this a no brainer sell for any record label in the
US or worldwide. I haven’t heard a mix of power metal and thrash quite like
this since the days of FORBIDDEN (circa "Forbidden Evil") or the
sadly missed Mass.
thrash band FORMICIDE. I don’t know if this is available for the public but
it shouldn’t take long for BALLISTIC to jet their way to a record signing
soon- I’m looking forward to more high quality songs from this obvious old
school oriented act.
Matt Coe
Snakepit Magazine
Ballistic
Ballistic "Demo 2001"
(3 Songs, ??
Minuten, release: 2001, Label: Independent)
Geil, Tom Gattis,
bekannt durch Tension und
Wardog (beides erstklassige, eigenständige US Powermetalinstitutionen), legendär
seit Deuce Zeiten (von
Deuce gab es eine LP mit Demoaufnahmen und den
Tracks ihrer 7", guter
Heavymetalrock im Spätsiebzigerstil, also schön bodenständig, aber auch hymnisch), ist mit Afterburn
wieder am Start, seinen
Ex Kollegen, die ihn zum Teil reichlich
verarscht haben, zu zeigen, wer
denn der Metalmaster ist! Und das über Metalgrind
(HAIL!HAIL!HAIL! Jim Powell is GOD!) unters Volk gebrachte
3 Song Demo 2001 zeigt dies auch
überdeutlich. Mit
"Threshold of Pain" und "Gone Ballistic" sind zwei rasende,
wütende Speedmetalkracher
an enthalten, "They Call me EVIL" ist ein melodischerer
Hymnenmetaller par Excellance!!!
Tommy Gattis läßt seine Gitarre
noch immer fiedeln, als ob es der letzte
Tag wäre, er reißt die tödlichsten Riffs aus den Saiten und entfesselt wahnwitzige Soli! Seine rauhe aber harmonische Stimme paßt dazu
wie der Arsch auf den Eimer! Dreimal erstklassiger Metal am Stück, dreimal pure Energie! Keine Spur von schwuchteligem Bombastgeträllere,
keine modernen Grooves, kein Rap! METAL!!!!! Diese drei irren Songs, wie ich sie
selten gehört habe, sind mir
auf alle Fälle eine dicke 9 wert! Ein Album bekäme die Höchstnote!
Kontakt: metalgrind@juno.com
9 Punkte
- Sascha
Maurer ... 2001
Nachdem sich die Power Metaller von Wardog aufgelöst haben, ist deren ehemaliger
Sänger und Gitarrist Tom Gattis mit einer neuen Band am Start.
Gattis geht als metallisches Urgestein durch, begann er seine Karriere doch Ende der
Siebziger zusammen mit Marty Friedman
bei Deuce. Mitte der Achtziger erschien dann der Klassiker BREAKING POINT seiner damaligen Truppe Tension. Mit Wardog brachte er es auf drei
Scheibletten. Für
Ballistic konnte Gattis den früheren
Tension-Basser Tim O'Connor reaktivieren.
Auch Schlagzeuger Michael
Scott sammelte bereits Erfahrungen bei VYPER, mit denen er
1985 PREPARED TO STRIKE einspielte. Einziger Neuling ist der brilliante,
erst kürzlich nach Phoenix
umgesiedelte bulgarische Gitarrist Peter Petev.
Ballistic haben keine Mühen und Kosten gescheut, um ihre brandaktuellen Stücke in professioneller Weise zu präsentieren. So ist Vorzeige-Produzent Achim Köhler für den Mix und das Mastering zuständig. `Threshold Of Pain´ macht
den Anfang mit quicklebendigem Rhythmus, messerscharfen
und pfiffigen Gitarren, tollen Solo-Passagen und dem unverkennbaren, rauen und dennoch melodischen Gesang von Sympathikus Tom. Ein überragender, kraftvoller Song mit massig Energie.
`Call Me Evil´ geht mit einer enorm einprägsamen
Melodielinie als Hymne durch. Das abschließende `Gone
Ballistic´ besticht durch
pfeilschnelle Riffs und eine
aggressive Atmosphäre. Ballistic stehen für variablen,
direkten und spieltechnisch
auf höchsten Niveau vorgetragenen Power Metal. So modern, unverbraucht
und energisch kann traditioneller Metal im Jahr 2001 klingen, wenn die beteiligten Musiker das richtige
Gefühl dafür haben. Der ausgesprochen
zuverlässige Tom Gattis
freut sich über Fanpost ebenso wie über
die Reaktion interessierter
Plattenfirmen.
Detlef Dengler
To some of you the name of Tom Gattis must be very familiar, to some it might
not be, but in any event I must say as a Tension fan when I heard he had put
another band together I was very happy and intrigued.
For those of you that are
not familiar with the name Tom Gattis,
I'll run a bit of history right now. Tom's first band was formed in 1978
along with his high school friend Marty Friedman
(of Megadeth fame) under the name Deuce. In 1981
Deuce put out a very sought after demo called "I'm Saved" and in
1982 the band had some changes with Friedman's departure to later join Megadeth. The band changed its name to Tension in 1985
and put out the acclaimed masterpiece "Breaking Point". In 1988 Tom
left Tension to return to school and later formed a band called "Wardog" that was signed under Metal Blade records
and played some big shows all over Europe
including Metal heaven Wacken Open Air Festival.
Tom left Wardog a bit later and teamed up with Tim
O'Connor, Michael Scott and Peter Petev his current
band Ballistic.
Gone ballistic is an
extremely strong effort by this newly formed band, it features some excellent
thrash metal influenced music with mind blowing bass leads and fast drumming
that are guaranteed to turn your head. The way I see it as soon as this band
gets signed by a metal label it will manage to work its way into the hearts
of all of us metalheads to the point of becoming a
favorite and this single will easily become one of the most sought after
pieces of work in the world of metal.
In all I would STRONGLY
recommend for all of you metalheads to email the
labels and make them drop a mail to Tom at tomg@hoskineng.com so this
excellent band from Phoenix will have a the shot it deserves at making it big
time in the metal world.
September 2001 | Released:
2001, Independent | Rating: 5/5 | Reviewer: El Cid
Ballistic
Gone Ballistic
Ballistic is the new band of
guitarist/vocalist Tom Gattis. Tom
already played in bands like Deuce, Tension and the Metal Blade band Wardog. Tom left Wardog and
formed together with his former Deuce band mate Tim O’Conner(bass),
Mike Scott (drums) and Peter Petev on guitar this
outfit. The three power on thrash bordering metal
songs display the vast talent of this band. The demo kicks off with
“Threshold Of Pain” a furious fast and powerful tune that blows you away from
the first note. “Call Me Evil” is a less aggressive tune but holds a lot of
melody and drive. The guitar harmonies on this track are exquisite. “Gone
Ballistic” is like the opening track a more thrashier tune and has you head banging in no
time. I haven’t heard such dynamic as on this disk in a long time. The band
brings back memories of the haydays of band like
Forbidden, Heathen and other thrash icons. I don’t think that it will take
long before this band is being picked up by a label and I am really looking
forward to the debut album of this metal monster.
Bruno Van De Velde
Undertow magazine
Demo - Ballistic - Gone
Ballistic- Its Been a long time
since music like this hit my ears! Tom Gattis
(DEUCE, TENSION, WARDOG) has come up with a true jem! While today's metal scene is dominated by
mostly bands playing one bar chord after another, BALLISTIC sounds like they
have made it their purpose to riff straight through the tunes, and it works
masterfully! This demo is similar to WARDOG only in the style of the
music, while the talent level and sheer nastiness have been taken up more
than a few notches. The production I have to say is great, but it's not
so polished as to take away the natural feel of the music, as is the case
with many of today's high production acts. If you long for the
sound and feel of the faster NWOBHM acts, then there is no better choice out
there right now than BALLISTIC. The only criticism I can come up with
is the packaging (if this is for sale), but with material like this, who
cares!
Jocim Heilsner
Metallic Attack
Ballistic "Gone Ballistic"
Demo, 2001- Reviewer: Henry Gotten 9.5/10
Ok, I first start by saying that even though this is a demo, it sounds
more like an albumrelease, and from what I am told
from sources here in Essen Ballistic is to be a Metalblade
band. But enough about that, on to the review:
Ballistic is the latest band from metallegend Tom Gattis, and from what I hear coming from the
speakers, it is his best effort to date. Tom more recently played in WARDOG
and dplayed very well received festivals here in Europe. According to Tom, WARDOG was too interested in
staying in the states and not committed enough to the music. So in 2001 they
turned down the chance to open for FEAR FACTORY (were they crazy???..ed.) in Europe and Tom did not
want to continue with the band.
Now theres BALLISTIC. Toms
vocals and guitar playing are more aggressive than in WARDOG, but that
classic Gattis styles is still there! Peter Petev
is the lead guitarist and his leads on this demo are simply amazing! I can
hardly wait to hear what this guy can do on a whole album release here, and
it is quite possible all of you will be saying his name with the classic
guitar gods of today. His style seems to match perfectly with the classic
Gattis pounding rhythm and lead style and makes for a lethal double axe
attack that could one day be among the classics (ie.
Tipton-Downing, Murray-Smith). The Bass playing of Tim O'connor
and drumming of Michael Scott move the music along like a train but with
technical skill rarely heard these days, and these two, like Petev, have a huge potential in metal.
Cuts from this demo can be found in issues of HEAVY ORDER WAS? and ROCK HARD magazines and on the Ballistic website:
www.gattismetal.com . If this band are signed to Metalblade then it is scary to think of what the release
may be. I can hardly wait!
FAN RESPONSE
I received the Ballistic this past friday
and wanted to give it multiple spins before emailing you; great stuff, world
class metal from Tom and the guys. I have to say it's not too far removed
from the material on "A Sound Beating" but I detect a bit more
"classic" NWOBHM elements in the music along with the musicianship
stepped up one more level. I hope a good record deal is not too far off for
the band. I cannot believe that good ol' Brian at
Metal Blade did next to nothing to push that third Wardog
album, let alone actully release it here (US), as
it was one of the finest speed/thrash albums of 1999 and the band really
seemed to find their sound as well. Well that's the past and this is now so I
really hope Tom gets his long credit he deserves.
George *****
Hello
First of all, sorry about my bad English. But I
hope you understand me. I
was so f**king suprised by your group Ballistic. Great
speed/thrash/heavymetal.
Wow, I realy liked the demosongs,
and I MUST order
the demo in the end of januari. If you not have sold out your demos yet ?
Here in Europe
speed/heavymetal is HUGE. Seek for a recorddeal in Europe, I
would be supprised if you do not get an offer here.
The song "threshold of pain" will be
played for my metalfriends on next
headbangerparty, and I
will give your webpage url to thwe
two biggest
metalwebpges
in Sweden
!
Mr. Thrash
Thanx
a lot for the Ballistic cds ! Killer material !! Please tell
the members they rule ! They know how to write
and play real heavy metal music, and they are excellent musicians.
Tim's bass work is impressive and his solo on "Gone ballistic" is a
strong idea ! But, the 3 others are great too.
Really hope they'll record a full album soon and that they'll come in Europe to play some gigs, I have to see this band on
stage.
Jeff *****
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