FLOTSAM AND JETSAM – I Am The Weapon

RELEASE YEAR: 2024

BAND URL: https://www.flotstildeath.com/

For the past three albums, the eponymous²⁰¹⁶, The End Of Chaos²⁰¹⁹ and Blood In The Water²⁰²¹, the Phoenix Arizonian power thrash heavy metal outfit Flotsam And Jetsam have been on a roll with fantastic records full of heavy metal anthems that make Metallica, Megadeth and even Anthrax sound outdated in comparison, with the well of fresh ideas for creative songwriting seemingly never showing signs of drying up, in which tendency they are similar to Rage. While their 15th full length, I Am The Weapon²⁰²⁴, released on September 13th via AFM Records, possibly marks that point where they seem to be running out of fresh ideas, inferior though it may be to it’s two immediate predecessors, it is still an excellent release, with some of the best songs in over 40 years of their career.

Flotsam and Jetsam (F & J) is one of those ancient veterans who are contemporaries of Exodus, Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica, Slayer, etc, etc. most of whom are well past their glory days and the peak of their creative powers, while F & J, who had begun as Paradox and then Dredlox in 1981, changing the name further to Dogz in 1983 to finally settle on Flotsam And Jetsam in 1984 (after nautical phonetic rendition of goods washed overboard by waves, “float some” and deliberately thrown overboard by a ship’s crew, “jet some”), have been relatively consistent throughout their career, though not without some stylistic, some good some bad, changes. Having finally settled on the name and the lineup of Eric Andrew Knutson (vocals), Michael Gilbert (guitars), Edward Carlson (guitars-2014), Kelly David-Smith (drums-1997, 2011-2014) and bassist Jason Curtis Newsted (who would deflect to Metallica in 1986 for a disgraceful treatment by the Four Horsemen during the recording of …and Justice For All¹⁹⁸⁸ album), F & J released Iron Tears¹⁹⁸⁵ and Metal Shock¹⁹⁸⁵ demos catching Metal Blade’s attention for the release of the now legendary Doomsday For The Deceiver¹⁹⁸⁶ and then Elektra’s for No Place For Disgrace¹⁹⁸⁸, following of which they started changing and experimenting even trying to fit the contemporary popular sound of the day on Drift¹⁹⁹⁶ (MCA Records) and High¹⁹⁹⁷ (Metal Blade) but nothing groundbreaking to these ears until the aforementioned eponymous which brought them back to my ears’ graces with both The End Of Chaos and Blood In The Water some of the best highlights of the past 6 years.

Enter I Am The Weapon, almost certainly referring to the mind of man being the best weapon they have against every mental tyranny, be it personal mental illness or possibly even negative self-conditioning (Cold Steel Lights, Gates Of Hell, Running Through The Fire, Black Wings) or sociopolitical pressure including the government oppression (Kings Of The Underworld). The giant and frightful demon on the cover is like a Goliath and I, human yet also with horns, possibly alluding to my divine origin or power or my similarity to the demon I am facing, am like the biblical David who, at first sight, appears to be on the losing ground. To that image correspond some of the lyrics on the album, not just the obvious title track. I am the weapon, that is, I have everything at my disposal that I need to conquer any Goliath in my life. What a profoundly optimistic view of the human condition! It makes me think of Stewy Griffin admonishing Brian in “Family Guy”, “and remember, whether you think you can or you think you can’t – you’re right!”

I have to admit both the cover and the concept do entice to press play so let’s go ahead and, sure enough the John Bush’98 Anthraxian (down to the vocals) opener “A New Kind Of Hero”, possibly a double entendre of Superman standing for the societal powers and government “messiahs” we have seen emerge out of the woodwork for at least the past two decades who promise much and either deliver little or worse, make good on their promises, on one hand, and our individual “saviors” we all have and very seldom admit, and I love Knutson’s sarcasm when he sings, “you can be sure I’m here to save you…you know I’m always here to save you, I’ve just got some things I’ve gotta do, I’m gonna need a little time”, the sound of bitter experience for sure, one we can all relate to. The song is a great opener, and here, thank you, no separate intros that everybody skips anyway, but a smart, symphonic buildup to the point, not too long and just right to turn into a thrashfest before recalling Volume 8: The Threat Is Real¹⁹⁹⁸ Anthrax (which I think is the second best album of the John Bush tenure), the impression even strengthened by the following perfection “Primal” which strongly recalls Antrax’ “Catharsis”, it has that same exhilarating power of life, soul, sex and passion, and, yes, I do mean that “Primal” is a nuclear load of unbridled sexual energy, at least that’s how I read it. Listening to it makes you feel like you’re twice younger and twice more capable, something I’m sure Dave Mustaine was going for on the song “Super Collider” but dismally failed, especially with that creepy video. Here, just as old a group of gents yet what a difference!

I’ve mentioned Megadeth and the next point of light (not chronologically) is actually related to Dave Mustaine’s main breadwinner as the second perfection, “Burned My Bridges” is not just similar in title (as opposed to Burning Bridges”) but stylistically would not be out of place on Countdown To Extinction¹⁹⁹² or Youthanasia¹⁹⁹⁴ and I am venturing a guess that it’s on purpose, as in, hey, Dave, we can still sound both catchy and relevant after all our years, can you, but, of course, those are just my private ruminations and don’t have to be true. What is true is that “The “Head Of the Snake”, and “Black Wings” are excellent songs that hearken back to the creativity of Chaos and Water, the former Testament of The Formation Of Damnation²⁰⁰⁸ with a chorus like Anthrax’s Stomp 442¹⁹⁹⁵ and the latter a fitting Evergreyan closer with every element that makes Flotsam And Jetsam still a power to reckon with, almost as unstoppable as Rage.

As much as I find this album an overall excellent work, there are moments which raise concerns with several songs just very good as if they were just content with a standard instead of pushing the metal envelope, which is in stark contrast to the other half of the highly inspired material. I mean, worst offender, “Beneath The Shadows” is actually making me think of either the more lazy Necroshine¹⁹⁹⁷ Overkill (which was a so-so album, anyway) or Super Collider²⁰¹³ again, but this time in a negative way, how it is so generic and so below F & J’s potential it sounds like Knutson and Gilbert (the only remaining founders), Steve Conley (2014-guitars), Ken K. Mary (2018-drums) and Bill Bodily (2020-bass) literally wrote it in their sleep. I mean it’s so bad it actually made me think of Ted Nugent, and, in my view, metal can’t get any worse than Ted Nugent, especially since his is the case were you don’t have to separate the artist from the art to render it a complete waste of time, money and guitar strings. Lyrically, Knutson elsewhere even waxes Tea Party with “Kings Of The Underworld” (the typical Libertarian drivel against big bad government that waxes silent as soon all three branches of the government flash burning red signifying even bigger and worse government quick to render its own citizens stateless), but at least that song is musically very good, unlike “Beneath The Shadows”. It isn’t the single reason why this album is not awarded 5.5 like the preceding two but it is a major one, not because it’s a genuine filler (although it is), after all, fillers are expected after 40 years, heck they’re expected after half that history, but that it shows that Flotsam And Jetsam no longer seem to care to write consistently amazing songs like “Primal” or “Burned My Bridges”.

Hopefully, “Beneath The Shadows” is a hiccup. This band is too good, too talented, too skilled and too smart for it to be anything worse than that, but even as such, a hiccup duly noted. And hopefully they will blow me away with their next album of quality equal to End Of Chaos or Blood In The Water. I shall drink a can of cold Rolling Rock to that.