Review: “A New Order” by Toranaga U.K.

Once known as Toranaga, then The Bastard Son of Toranaga and now Toranaga U.K. with vocalist Mark Duffy the only ever present in a band with a revolving door of musicians over the past forty three years, its safe to say that this West Yorkshire based Thrash Metal outfit have a lot of history. Arguably best known for their first pair of albums in 1988’s “Bastard Ballads” and 1990’s “God’s Gift“, 2024 began a fresh start with a new line up. Joining Duffy are guitarist Josh Goldie, former Metal Moth drummer Toby “The Wall” Wallace, Scarred by Truth bassist Mike Todd, Millennium guitarist Liam Mulpetre, all seasoned musicians in their own right. Together they embrace the spirit of the original band, sharing a pair of re-recorded cuts and a pair of fresh ones, produced and mixed by acclaimed composer Steve Kilpatrick at Soundfackery studios in France and wrapped in the artwork of Sarah Louise Rose.

Curiously enough, rather than easing you in with something old and familiar, the new cuts are presented first in this collection with “Desecration” the first of those to rear it’s ugly head. Todd’s bass line is allowed to bleed out underneath the guitars in the mix as the band embrace the classic early 80’s Thrash sound, built on Traditional Heavy Metal foundation. The main riff is an of era classic before a ripper of solo lights the way and what’s amazing is that Duffy’s voice still sounds really good. He’s lost none of his power or presence with plenty of bark and bite in the lyrical narrative. A melodic opening passage with a sinister edge brings “A New Order” to life, the thought provoking, politically and socially aware track very much sounding like an old school Megadeth demo resurrected for a new age. Is it too late or have we all been consumed by the algorithm, brainwashed into compliance by what we see generated in an AI fuelled world, driven by the matrix? Then come the re-recordings, both purposefully chosen from the aforementioned “God’s Gift“, both shorter and sharper than the originals and benefitting from modern production values. What they also do, perhaps unintentionally is put the spotlight on the new cuts because all four are very much in keeping with each other as if conjoined at birth, a testament to the quality of the current line up. Re-recordings can be a risk if they’re not done right, especially when the song in question is a bonafide old school Thrash classic, known and loved the world over. This rendition of “The Shrine” however is a belter, taking the corpse of the original and re-energising it with an injection of pure adrenaline. The riffs sound cleaner, crisper and meaner than the original and that should help a whole new generation of fans fall in love with it during the current genre resurgence. Imagine if a Thrash band turned their hand to the kind of storytelling you might expect from Iron Maiden? That’s exactly what “Sword of Damocles” is, a dark tale with clever tempo changes to keep you on your toes which works very well and when the final moments of riffage hit your brain will expect the five piece to burst into “Master Of Puppets“… [7.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Desecration
2. A New Order
3. The Shrine
4. Sword of Damocles

“A New Order” by Toranaga U.K. is out 19th May 2025