Admirers of thrash metal’s Big Four may find themselves involuntarily drooling at the prospect of this collaboration between former Anthrax guitarist Dan Spitz and Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine.
With Spitz in charge of the music and Mustaine – here performing as Don Chaffin for reasons best known to himself – providing lyrics and vocals that drip with plenty of his customary vitriol, these songs exude a deeply satisfying swagger.
In truth, much of Red Lamb bears strong echoes of Megadeth’s more recent material: that strident and precise mixture of rhythmic thud and virtuoso squall seems to come naturally to Spitz, and Mustaine’s snarling delivery is perfectly at home within the juggernaut riffing of bullish tirades like Runaway Train, One Shell (In The Chamber) and Angels Of War.
Whether this project has legs beyond this initial 100-yard dash remains to be seen, but for now, this is a hugely enjoyable meeting of minds.