Throwdown - Haymaker

Throwdown
Haymaker
Trustkill

On the eve of the first new Throwdown record in four years, here's a blast from the past. Haymaker was the last album featuring Throwdown's classic lineup. That lineup (before 2004) sounded like the West Coast version of Hatebreed. The next lineup (2004-2010) was, shall we say, highly influenced by Pantera. The new album Intolerance seems so far to be a mixture of the two sounds. I haven't heard all of the new record but I do like what I have heard. The Dimebag-style guitar playing of the newer Throwdown albums is still there but it does sound like a return to the older, beatdown hardcore that made the band famous.

Haymaker is still a personal favorite. I loved it then and I love it now. I don't care that it's considered "simple" or whatever. The record is heavier than Oprah and that's what matters.

If you never heard MONUMENT TO THIEVES, that band is Throwdown's Haymaker lineup, minus vocalist Dave Peters who still fronts Throwdown, and has a mature version of the Haymaker sound. Monument To Thieves is worthy of its own future post.

In the meantime, let's enjoy a record that, while sounding mildly dated, still hits like a jackhammer. Haymaker provided Throwdown with its first hit. The surprise success of "Forever" on Headbanger's Ball and on satellite radio led to festival touring like Sounds Of The Underground, Family Values, and Ozzfest, which led to headlining club tours, which led to flirting with "the bigtime", which led to Throwdown abandoning its old sound a few years later. By all appearances, 2014 is a make-or-break year for Throwdown. We'll see what happens.









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