House of Thumbs - Crossing The Rubicon review

I really like this album. Pure and simple. It's Australian, it's metal and it's fucking good. Admittedly it's nigh on two years old, having been released in 2010 but as I said before, I (really) like it...
From the opening track Tourian, the bass is there with a relentless vocal line courtesy of Linden Audino, the guitars are spastic yet the drums keep it all together. I had the mental image of some nutter flinging himself about in a padded cell. Hang on a minute; that was me, and I wasn't imagining it. How the FUCK did I end up in here again?
Tom Rossell takes us all around the kit for Impulse and there's a distinctly Patton-esque vocal to this one - I love the gorgeous off kilter guitar riffs from Nick Lord and Jake Mormile - but the drums! Oh they drive me insane with their pounding goodness. The clean vocals are delivered with as much passion as the screaming howlings and both are used to full effect; I don't think an entire album of one or the other would do House of Thumbs justice. All Fours is a fine example of this, jumping from the clean to the filthy with ease (and again, the bass is there - top marks, fellas...).
CTR is a concept album (get the album and work it out for yourself) but each song stands on its own merits so if you don't feel like listening to it all in one go then you don't have to. Kin, End Game (G.O.D) and Sunday Rat Parade (love that title) show off the damn fine production on this album, recorded, mixed and mastered with the assistance of Ren Reich; some may argue it's too clean but I think the those Thumb fellows have hit a good balance. They manage to avoid going into Linkin Park territory with their cleaner sections and when the heavy shit drops back in, it's highlighted all the more by the mellower breaks that precede it. I particularly enjoyed the Japanese punctuating Shura (there's just not enough 'nihongo' in metal, if you ask me) and Hangman dips into the realms of groove so it's it's not just one style happening here. There's a shitload of stuff going on here and that's what I like; it's varied but not just for the sake of it. Nick Rackham's bass isn't hidden in the shadows and Linden's vocal style is varied enough to keep you guessing where he's going with it next. Coupled with Tom and Jake's backing vocals (and their respective skills on drums and guitar) and Nick's guitar work, it's fun times all round. If Nick's nick-name (ho ho) isn't 'Lordy' like in those old drug ads then it bloody well should be...
Plainfield and Lead Therapy are brutal and you know this stuff will come off even better in a sweaty, heaving night club. Apparently House of Thumbs are demoing even as I type and here's a linky-poo for your attention: http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/song_details/12185613
My version of the album came with a bonus track, entitled ??? (or at least that's how my media player read it) which opened with a decidedly creepy organ (no, it wasn't an audio interpretation of my penis...) and insectoid noise before launching into a screaming track of obscenely heavy chords. I thought I was going to be crushed under the sheer weight of it. Fucking awesome. I can't wait to see these guys on the road and I can't wait to hear their new stuff. Check it. Yo. Yo. Yo...