Well these young Swedish whipper-snappers formed in 2009 and, after a few demos, splits etc this is their debut album, and there’s quite a lot to like if you’re a fan of old school thrash metal especially when you consider these young’uns weren’t even alive when “Master Of Puppets” was released.
Their razor sharp take on traditional thrash / speed metal has been keenly honed over the last few years and the nine tracks on this album show just how tight these lads have become. The production is brilliant and is reminiscent of that on old Artillery, Destruction and Assassin releases. Organic & retro sounding but without kicking the arse out of it. The band’s speedy & precise riffing requires a certain clarity and the mix & mastering job by vocalist / guitarist Gustav Hellberg is exactly that.
There’s quite a variety on offer here from out and out thrashers (“Dark Internal”) to slower more considered numbers (“Obsessed By Vengeance”) there’s also a tasty little acoustic interlude “Evil” in the middle of the album to give your neck a rest.
Of course, being an old school thrash metal band these days means it’s difficult to bring anything original or innovative to the table and you’re consequently gonna be compared to other bands but what I like most about this record is Insane sound really genuine and you can tell every song here is played from the heart with maximum conviction. This record is a surefire winner for any thrash/speed metal fan and it illustrates that you don’t have to try and be the new Opeth (thank fuck) or Enslaved to grab the attention…… in fact I’d rather listen to Insane any day.
(8/10 Mark Eve)
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