GIGANTOR, The Damage is Done!  (2009, self-released)

The skull:
Now this is what we’re talking about:  the very epitome of the Big Dumb Skull. It is big. It is dumb. It is a skull. Nothing fancy needed or wanted. Elaborate skulls — leave the hall!!! Making it even dumber, and therefore more attractive to the Council of the Elders of the Skull, the BDS on this album cover has no direct link to the title of the work. Although, if we use just a few extra brain cells this morning, we understand that a human head stripped of flesh and all other vestiges of life communicates the universal truth that, indeed, death is not pretty, death is final, and, yes indeed, the damage is done. There’s no coming back. Nicely played, Gigantor. You got what you wanted: entry into the Hall of Skulls. Welcome.

The music:
Well, here we go, more rehash thrash, this time from Indonesia, and really, it’s a fairly scrappy affair that should be fiercer and tighter for the sort of thing they’re going for. They’re obviously attempting a melding of early breakneck stuff like Exciter and Anthrax and the more technical, riff-tastic workouts of the Bay Area approach. The energy might be there and the intent laudable, but the vocalist is like a weak Joey Belladonna imitation with very little character or aggression. The riffs are by-the-numbers, and while some of the leads are admirably cutthroat, there’s very little of interest backing them up. Forgettable re-thrash. The damage was done years ago by bands much better than this, and Gigantor’s sound is not as huge and formidable as their name suggests. They wear Venom, Exodus and Hirax shirts. You’ve seen and heard it all before, but then maybe that’s the idea. Four songs long, including the superbly titled “Squinting Bitch.”
— Friar Wagner