Time Signature
Satans of metal...
Genre: melodic thrash metal
Numbnuts may, with their name and song titles like 'SexSexSex', 'The Shorty Song', 'Modern Metal Cliché', and 'Satans of Swing', come across as being very silly.
And in a way silliness and humor are parts of the Numbnuts universe, but the music itself certainly is not silly. It actually kicks ass. The style is perhaps best described as melodic thrash metal with both classic thrash metal elements and modern (post-)thrash elements combined with an overarching rock 'n' roll attitude. A lot of the riffage is melodic, still having the energy of thrash metal, while other riffs are crushingly heavy - almost having a metalcore breakdown nature to them, although they are accompanied by vocals. Apart from these heavy passages, most tracks are mid- to uptempo and melody, aggression, groove and professionalism characterize the music. There is even a cover version of 'Sultans of Swing' - only, it's been renamed 'Satans of Swing' and metalled up.
The only problem I have with this release is the lack of guitar solos. I mean with its nods to classic thrash metal and its melodic nature, this album just calls out for guitar solos to complete the picture.
The vocals may be silly, but I do do not see any problem in having humor in metal - in fact, Denmark has a tradition of humor metal with legendary acts like Vicious Aroma, Sliced Pimples, and Red Warszawa. Numbnuts simply honor this tradition and show that solid metal can also be fun.
If you like modern melodic thrash, melodic metalcore or melodeath, you definitely should check out this release.