Review: Take Offense ‘T.O.tality’
Despite being a thrash metal fan for forty, yes, forty years, I had only vaguely heard of Chula Vista, California’s Take Offense, so upon seeing their new album T.O.tality appear in The Sleeping Shaman review portal, I jumped on the chance to check these guys out, as I’m always down for some good, old-school, hardcore-tinged, meat and potatoes, Cali-thrash.
Evidently, Take Offense has been around for over a decade, but hadn’t released an album since 2019’s Keep An Eye Out, so anticipation in thrash circles was high for T.O.tality. In researching Take Offense, I kept hearing bands like Suicidal Tendencies and Excell mentioned as a comparison, but I went into this review with completely fresh ears .
The band waste zero time getting going, blowing the album wide open with pummeler, and first single, Greetings From Below, which immediately answers the question what Power Trip might sound like if they were from So-Cal, and had Death Angel’s Mark Osegueda singing for them. Vocalist Anthony Herrera possesses some serious thrash pipes and an authoritative delivery to say nothing of the riffage and tone guitarist Greg Cerwonka conjures up. However, we’re just getting warmed up as the thrashing and pounding S.W.O is as vicious of a chugging, double bass monster as anything I’ve heard in a long time, and the aggression is palpable throughout the track.
Take Offense shift gears a bit for the title track, T.O.tality, leaning into some classic metal, including an awesome Iron Maiden-style gallop, but as if shot through a hardcore thrash blender and a complete lockdown on the rhythm section courtesy of bassist Randy Noyes, who really shines here, as does drummer Mitch Reitman. If I’m Damned, So Be It is where the Venice Beach, Suicidal-style hardcore-tinged thrash shows up, as this track checks all those aural boxes, including some shout-along vocals.
Third single, Assassination follows, and is a chugging, dizzying, combative, riffing affair, complete with some all-around, flame-throwing guitar playing from Cerwonka, as his riff squeals and leads are all killer, both in tone and technique. Uncivilized Animals proffers an old-school, speed metal gallop, but completely drenched in the now-familiar tech-thrash tone and crunch, while Now Or Never also stays in this familiar-zone, however Herrera’s vocal delivery takes a more hardcore tone and approach, which is balanced by a melodic breakdown at the mid-way point, as they shift gears multiple times throughout the track.
fast, chugging, palm-muted riffage, blazing leads, a pounding, nuanced rhythm section, and a vocalist who possesses an awesome, aggressive, thrash delivery…
The album enters the stretch-run with the second single, the epic, crushing and mid-tempo chug of Deep Inside (The House Of Shadows), which crawls along, battering the listener, but, in keeping with thrash tradition, it takes off for the charging, speedy riff-fest that circles back to the aforementioned pummel.
No Man’s Land serves as an instrumental, palette cleansing interlude that sets up the off-time, start and stop Exodus-style crunch of Stolen Land where Take Offense’s hardcore-tinged thrash is at its most prominent. Herrera’s lyrics speaking to this fucked-up time we’re living in here in the USA, and around the world. Cerwonka is all over the place here as his riffage and lead work really stand out.
Until Then is another mid-tempo chugger, while Beyond Flesh And Bone is an end-of-album epic, paving the way for the hardcore bark and hammer of the penultimate Give ‘Em Chaos, which if I’m honest, at this point in the album feels slightly redundant, but the raging, hardcore thrash closer The Prayer feels like a decent enough cherry on the top.
I enjoyed T.O.tality quite a bit, spinning it a lot as I absorbed it. It’s everything a fan of hardcore thrash metal could want, fast, chugging, palm-muted riffage, blazing leads, a pounding, nuanced rhythm section, and a vocalist who possesses an awesome, aggressive, thrash delivery, but is experienced enough to know when to switch it up.
My only gripe, and it is minor, but relevant, as with a lot of thrash, there can be a lack of self-editing, and towards the back end, the album sometimes felt like a bit of a slog as songs seemingly bled together, but at the end of the day, it didn’t change my enjoyment. I swear there is something in the water in the San Diego area, as Take Offense are yet another band in the seemingly bottomless pool of great metal and punk bands from that region. Recommended.
Label: MNRK Heavy
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Scribed by: Martin Williams
