Greek purveyors of black thrash domination have set out their mission to unleash upon the public savage black thrash from yesteryear, and with members of Thou Art Lord in their ranks, the credentials are certainly there. The production is as expected, murky, grim and befouled as the title track opens up the primitive mauling. The rasping vocals are predictable and initially my reaction was nothing to hear here and move on, but as the album progresses it ensnares you with its authenticity of dragging the listener through a retro laden analogue sounding bestial fright fest. Plenty of acts write in this style these days and hardened old thrashers can often pick out some obscure band the newer bands seem to have ripped off riffs from. Whilst there is an erring familiarity in the riffs, the tunes are contemporary, moulded into fearsome anarchic violence. There’s tons of variation in pace and Hellhammer is obvious on “Codex Inferno” complete with the odd death grunt. There is a massive Venom influence coursing through the black blood veins of this release as on “The Bleeding Nun”.
As the album hits halfway for some reason the whole release just accelerates with some speed metal piercing on “The Witches Coven”, which has some lead work I swear is straight from Priest, but probably isn’t. The lead work is something that stands this album apart, each has some thought process within it, situated well and executed in virtuoso aplomb as on “Hellfire Legions”, but don’t misread my description thinking this is some guitar hero worship, more of a nod to when solos mattered. I did enjoy, and am a total sucker for the riff cymbal smash approach that appears on “The 9th Seal” complete with a speed metal hook not too far off Exciter momentarily. There is nothing that is truly outstanding about this album, but being honest few albums really are these days as they close the album with a cover of “Strike Of The Beast” (Exodus), gritty and raw, the cover works and even has a blast after the riff break. Dripping in rancid splendour this release is vicious and wild.
(7.5/10 Martin Harris)
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