Kev Rowland
Formed out of the ashes of Swiss speed metal band Carrion, Poltergeist were formed in 1988, and proceeded to tour with the likes of Destruction, Kreator, Sodom, Tankard, Coroner and Voivod, and released three albums. However, after a 1993 tour with Coroner it was decided to call it a day, with some of the guys then turning up in Gurd. Fast forward to New Years’ Eve 2013, and bassist Marek Felis, guitarist V.O. Pulver and singer André Grieder met up and reminisced over old times. One thing led to another, and soon they had put together a new version of the band. Marek departed again in 2016, but André and V.O. are still the driving force, as they were all those years ago.
October 2016 saw the first new album from Poltergeist in 23 years, and it certainly doesn’t sound as if the line-up had only been together for a relatively short time, as here is a band that are determined to live up to their history. V.O. has been providing vocals and guitar in Gurd since Poltergeist broke up, who are very much an active unit, and while André hasn’t been nearly as active, he still has a good voice. The result is thrash that is incredibly melodic, reminiscent of elements of Iron Maiden together with Anthrax and Testament. The more I played this the more I found that there is something about this album which really appeals to me. There is a welcome naivete which combines with strong riffs and thumping backbone which ensures that this is something that delivers on so many levels.