Hailing from the frozen north, or at least the part called Finland, Ceaseless Torment have been around since 2008, and after a couple of 4 track demos, released their first official full-length album in 2014 ‘The End They Bring’ followed in 2017 by ‘Force of Evil’, now 5 years later they are about to unleash their third, the highly anticipated “Victory or Death”. 

Let’s get this out in the open, tundra style, CT are unapologetically thrash, they do what they do with all the precision of a butcher at a corpse, but by God is it effective. Doing my due diligence, and checking out the previous two releases, “Victory or Death” builds on the momentum of those two first cuts in an almost backward way, and I mean that as a compliment. Sure, there is progression, or maybe that should be regression, but it’s not in any way compromised the bands heaviness, no, instead they have merely found a more effective, efficient way of being brutal. Like a serial killer perfecting his trade, after all killing is an artform of sorts. The production is wonderfully retrograde, this sounds like it came out of the 80s, and yet it has all the clarity you’d expect of a recording from2022. My first thought after listening, was ‘Agent Orange’ era Sodom covering ‘Seasons in the Abyss’, or is it ‘Seasons’ era Slayer covering ‘Agent Orange’? Either way you get the idea, this is as old school as it gets. There’s tremolo riffs and manic leads aplenty, along with lots of muted power chord chunkiness. This will have you madly banging your head for the whole of it’s 36min run time. 

Starting out with the 2½ minute ‘Final Sacrifice’, (with more than a hint of ‘War Ensemble’ in the intro), it’s then a heads down gallop to the finish. ‘Beyond the Boundaries of Sanity’ follows in similar style and it’s only when you get to the breakdown, that you get any sort of reprieve. ‘All Be Dead’ is a mid-paced monster, with some epic Hanneman/King worship at the start. The pseudo title-track ‘Only Victory or Death’ has more great guitar interaction, the harmonies throughout it are awesome, lead single ‘Sons of Sodom’ does what it says on the tin with a real nod to Tom Angelripper and the boys, and ‘Obsession Possession’ is speed feat while the closing ‘Slaves of Hell’ is the closet the band get to an epic and is probably my favourite track, a slower, longer, brooding intro, which expands into a real gem, with a really great riff set. 

This is the bottom line: this is extremely enjoyable thrash, which might not be the most original sounding  (and by that I mean if you’re madly missing Slayer, then this will definitely help you through your loss) but it more than makes up for it in sheer heaviness and enthusiasm. Good job.

“Victory or Death” due for release on September 30th, 2022 via Wormholedeath

Frank returns and takes a listen to the new album by Infantry, here’s what he thinks…

 It is about time I blew a few cobwebs away and wrote a review, it has been a while.

Infantry, a five piece from the Netherlands, blurring the lines between Thrash and Death metal, bring us their second full length release in the form of Terminal Society. Independently released on 31st August 2022 albeit only available via streaming sites at this time, although physical releases have been promised in the near future in the form of CD’s and digipacks. It is the long-awaited follow-up to 2017’s debut “Make war not love”.

 The opening track “Disposer of Immortality” draws you in with a slow technical thrash style riff, then hits you full on with a double guitar assault with a nice helping of growling death vocals that compliment the aggressive nature of the music. I really like the straightforward clear production here, and this carries on throughout the album. If you like dirty chugging riffs, with a heavy groove, the second song, “Submission”,  has what you require and then some, it’s direct and straightforward but works very well. This is the kind of track that would get a pit opening up at the front of a gig with plenty of headbanging at the back. The next track ” Destination:Wonderland”, the next track is a real death metal style banger helped along by guest vocalist Miranda Visser,  from Hellevaerder, adding a style that compliments Ronal Van Baren’s guttural roar. These three opening tracks showcase the band has more than one string to their bow.

 Although not heavy on solos throughout, when they are allowed to express themselves, the twin guitar attack of Luuk Steemers (rhythm) and Arjen Kliess (lead) compliment each other, and at times it’s almost Iron Maidenesqe. This is undoubtedly helped by the aforementioned production. The track “Coup D’etat”  showcases the guitar work perfectly. The eight tracks come in at just over thirty-eight minutes, almost an EP compared to many new releases and they flow effortlessly from the speakers, culminating in the title track, which perhaps is my favorite on the album.

 The song structures are good and well balanced, and lyrical content deal with the standard death/thrash mainstay of death, destruction, political injustice, and warfare as you would expect.

Throughout the rhythm section, Andrea Serra (bass) and Glenn Veldman (drums) do a great job complementing the guitarwork, the mix works perfectly to bring their skills to the fore, every musician has a place in this band and it shows.

This album has been a long time in the making, recorded over two years, partially at a home studio by guitarist Arjen Kliess with the drum tracks recorded at Profination Studios by Edwin Van Wingarden and Corne Venis, then perfectly pieced together with an almost faultless mix by Arjen himself. In a brief chat with him via Facebook he described it as: “a long process… we are very much satisfied that we finally released Terminal Society”

 I’ll go along with that statement, in a year full of quality releases, this more than holds its own.

After a few UK dates were canceled a couple of years ago, Infantry are eager to get across the North Sea and showcase their talent, and I for one will be happy to buy a ticket.

Check out Terminal Society – OUT NOW

Hutch reviews the debut EP from Wyoming Thrashers, The Band Repent, here’s what he thinks

Hailing from Casper, Wyoming, The Band Repent or TBR to you comprise vocalist Shawn Hill, lead guitarist Steve Thomas, Jeremy Amack on backing vocals and rhythm guitar, Joe Rodriguez on bass and drummer Dominic Ambrose. ‘Written in Blood’ is their debut EP.  

First impressions are reasonable. Despite average production which sees the vocals buried in the mix to the extent that you must strain to hear Hill’s enunciation, this is big and brash. A real angry fist to the face. I can’t say the EP gets hugely more exciting as it develops, but the punishing combination of guttural growls and relentless death thrash that ticks many boxes certainly.  Opener ‘March’ teases, a short sub-three-minute track that segues into ‘Blood Boils Red,’ which hints at crossover but ultimately plumps for a more direct course of engagement. It’s a bludgeoning tool that drives with a visceral passion.  

‘1,000 Years’ sees TBR channelling their inner Lamb of God, albeit with a slightly less polished result. The increase in tempo is welcomed, the heads in the pit will be moving. ‘Unbreachable’ builds nicely, erupting into a pit swirling beast that whilst nothing new certainly gets the head nodding and the foot taping. This is the one that would encourage those pits, and yet it quickly descends into a doom-laden segment that merely spreads confusion. Once TBR hit their stride though, they bring the stomp of LOG combined with elements of Slayer. It’s no bad thing, yet a little originality would enhance this so much. 

Heading for the finish line now, and things slowly hit the buffers with ‘Wrath’. It begins reasonably well, a chunky riff and gruff vocals, but the song is bloated, slow and uninspiring. It drags much more than expected, and after a minute, you’ll be hitting the skip button. Final track ‘War’ brings a slightly more optimistic feel, with a precision drum intro and a groove that you immediately find yourself wanting to mosh to, but it descends into rather uninspiring fare, and it doesn’t really hold the attention. In summary, there are flashes of promise lurking within this EP. You’ll need to listen hard, but they are there. The challenge, as it would be for any band these days, is to blast something that really grabs the cojones and doesn’t let go. TBR give it a go, but it’s more a tickle than a full lock.  

Written In Blood Is Out Now – https://open.spotify.com/album/4IDGVT7c4CETp90WHrWbkw?si=N0yrCrqPQsKpdKxEixDl3w