It’s been 12 years since we have heard from Germany’s Cruel Force. They are back with a new logo and a new bassist, all the previous members are back and firing on all blackened cylinders.
‘At the Dawn of the Axe’ is on fire as per their earlier material. Blackened Thrash, with a Teutonic feel and delivery of fellow countrymen and more modern bands like Deathhammer (without all the high pitched screams constantly). Its thoroughly evil, ooh the smile is rewarding. ‘Death Rides the Sky’ is classic Cruel Force, fists raised high with bullet belts straining with alcohol consumption. The breakdown sections keep the evil alive and there’s a fair few tempo changes to keep you on your toes. It highlights the maturity being captured on this release by the (almost) same musicians form their first activity period. Kind of like the evolution of Sodom and Destruction for example. ‘Power Surge’ has more speed metal traits, and no it’s not an Overkill cover! Although I hear early snippets of said band in this track. ‘Realm of Sands’ is more refined in its delivery and production. Still as energetic, it has some nice “gang” vocals, but musically it is more varied with some awesome drum fills and the sonic experience is captured well in the production. This track is overtly long at over 7 minutes, it hangs around that little bit too long for me. Of a similar stance is ‘Devil’s Dungeon’ in terms of presentation, speed an aggression. ‘Across the Styx’ stands out as my personal highlight of the album. It has a great intro and classic Cruel Force sound, made more relevant when the tempo kicks up a gear.
Overall, it is a solid album. It’s very similar from track to track, which you would expect. There are elements of maturity in some of the song structures but that youthful gnarly blackened approach exists and smacks you in the face more often than not.
(7.5/10 Paul Maddison)
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