Hutch checks out the new album from German Thrashers Daily Insanity, here’s what he thinks…

Germanic thrashers Daily Insanity follow up 2018’s EP Conspiracy with a debut album which is at times straightforward no-nonsense thrash metal in the traditional Teutonic style but which also veers completely away from the template. It’s an album that keeps you on your toes for the entire 42 minutes. 

Plenty of thick, chunky riffing make the start of the album promising enough. For a three-piece these guys slug out a big sound and the Berlin trio don’t steer far away from their thrash roots on the title track, which is unashamedly part Destruction, part Sodom. The killer riff and pummelling rhythm section continue to fire with passion on It Doesn’t Matter, bassist and vocalist Hans giving a guttural roar or two that fit neatly with the stoic thrash riffs the band drop.  

The first signs of variation appear on Stolen Valor, the use of synths to add atmosphere and depth works well but comes a little out of left field after the explosive opening. There isn’t a lot of pratting around though, as Stolen Valor quickly erupts in a raging thrash inferno, quickly followed by even more aggression on the balls out rager Warchild.  

Marching Drummer utilises the double kick drive of Silvo ‘Gustl’ Baier, who cements the slower, pounding feel of the song with a solid effort, before the Celtic Frost style intro of I Am The Mission provides a doom ridden opening, adding a change in mood and feel which after a classic Kreator passage slows again.  There’s a gentle instrumental, A Lonely Soldier to follow, providing opportunity to catch the breath before the final three tracks burst into flames. The dark Sleepless reverts to a feisty thrasher which leads to the heads down thrash of penultimate track Doomsday, one of the weaker songs on the record with a rather basic delivery and composition. The finale is The Reckoning, a curved ball of a track which allows the temperature to cool. It’s a song that stands out in comparison to the other songs on Chronicles of War, mainly because the vocals are a real struggle. Whilst Hans can do the growling roar, his clean vocals are not strong, and it really is a weak track to conclude a solid if unremarkable release.  

There are flashes of powerful, muscular thrash here but there’s also plenty of rather routine and uninspiring metal which really doesn’t get the listener too excited. That’s not to say it isn’t worth a listen, but I can’t see me coming back to it in the same way I often do to other bands. 

Chronicles Of War was released on the 10/9/21 and is available via BandCamp

https://dailyinsanity.bandcamp.com/album/chronicles-of-war