Review: “Thrashmageddon” by Demolizer
When you have an album titled “Thrashmageddon” as a self respecting Metal Head, you should know what to expect. The resurgence in the Thrash Metal scene during recent years has been a mixed affair but bands like Havok and Hazzerd have been leading the charge with London’s Thrasherwolf waving the flag held aloft by Anthrax, Megadeth and Nuclear Assault for the past four decades. Where warfare, corruption, injustice, murder, suicide, isolation, alienation and addiction are air apparent, a Thrash act are there to bring our attention to it and hailing from the Capital city of Denmark come Copenhagen residents Demolizer, all guns blazing with the follow up to 2018’s EP “Ghoul“…
…Recorded, mixed and mastered at Ballade Studios by Lasse Ballade, “Thrashmageddon” sees Ben “Polle” Radtleff (guitars, vocals), Aria Mobbarez (guitars), Bjørn “Krölle” Hjortgaard (bass) and Max Petrén Bach Hansen (drums) building on the the foundations that they have already put in place; they may have only officially formed in 2018 but songs were written for their debut EP as long ago as 2014. After a sinister building introduction “Copenhagen Burning” gets underway with Polle raving like a madman at the start of the apocalypse; the band going for an all out Thrash attack; harder and faster than anyone else; which is as clear a signal of intent as a hand grenade minus the pin. “Cancer In The Brain” sees no let up in the intensity with which Demolizer like to play; their energy is an infectious disease and they have the skills to throw down solos at break neck speed. An obvious single with that familiarity of old school Thrash, especially with the mid track slow down which is perfectly timed. Lets not forget the gang chants, which are fist pumping moments for the headbangers and beer drinkers to spill their pints too in the pit. “N.T.C” has a relentless quality which is reminiscent of Municipal Waste as it flies through with the finesse that is often lacking elsewhere; Ballade has done a fine job in getting the mix perfect for Demolizer’s sound.
There is more freedom in “Bloodshot Eyes” with it’s elongated solos coming off in fine fashion as the two guitars interweave as they would live; indeed capturing that live electricity and bottling it for the record is something that has been done very well, everything sounding tight and bright. It’s only when the sub one minute “Gore” hits that you might look up and say there is more to this band that meets the eye; it has within those 48 seconds the high octane punch in the face of the precursor bands that went on to form the cornerstone of Death Metal. Polle shows off some David Vincent esq vocal rasps on the melancholic “Until The Day I Die” which ends up being your mid album slow burner with some slick lead moments before it breaks out, so perhaps Morbid Angel have been an influence. The guitar wizardry continues into “Lost In Torment” with its whammy bar solo immediately after the opening musings giving it a Power Trip vibe while its rapid fire approach gives the moshers and headbangers no chance for a breather. 2019 single “Built on Slavery” will be one known to fans already and its nice to see it on here and not cut adrift as standalone because of its age. Geared to old school Thrash fans with it’s distinctly Exodus inspired sound, the quartet seamlessly tempo shift between a plethora of riff segments. The record could be called “Riffmageddon” and it would be just as accurate a description of it. The final onslaught of “M.S.W” proves that in this half an hour of power, there is no space for a filler track with its no nonsense, middle finger raised, anti establishment roar: “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, I am now face to face with the man who sold the World!” [7.5/10]
Track listing
- Copenhagen Burning
- Cancer In The Brain
- N.T.C
- Bloodshot Eyes
- Gore
- Until The Day I Die
- Lost In Torment
- Built on Slavery
- M.S.W
“Thrashmageddon” by Demolizer is out now via Mighty Music