Rebel Souls is a crushing death metal band originally formed in Germany and active there from 2000 to 2003. After a 10-year hiatus, Stefan Hielscher (bass/vocals) reformed it again, but in Málaga (Spain). Their debut album "The Forces of Darkness" was released in 2017, which was quite well received by the underground death metal community, so there was no doubt that there would be a sequel. We had to wait 5 years, but it was worth it. Rebel Souls' second LP was recorded in the same Spanish studio as its predecessor, i.e. Wave Nation Recording Studio, of course this was again a perfect decision, because the ten new songs sound very cruel and massive. Their music is quite complex, but they don't exaggerate the variations, rather they focus on the power and catchiness of the riffs, which I think is completely appropriate. The quartet knows very well what drives the fly, so we only get quality death metal cavalcade from them. Apart from Stefan, the new line-up includes the following experienced musicians: Alex Guerrero (guitar/backing vocals), Thor Nay (guitar) & Arnau Martí (drums). The nearly 42-minute disc is excellently put together, and I don't just mean the sound and the great songs themselves, but also the graphic elements. Thanks to Mitchell Nolte, the album cover is simply phenomenal and according to the cover letter, their stuff will appeal to those who like the music of Bloodbath, Suffocation, Krisiun and Hour of Penance. And it's a hit at its best! So welcome "Dawn of Depravity" as it will rip your ears and divide your minds with its anti-human lyrical approach!!!

This two-man team from Barcelona was founded in 2010 and "Arena" is their second full-length album. Their new stuff consists of 8 songs and 38 minutes of alternative rock music. Yes, it has elements of heavy metal, groove, stoner and progressive music too, but still what they propagate is rather soft and thus closer to the rock music, more specifically to alternative rock. The two members of the Spanish band, Raúl Morón (vocals) and Dany Valcárcel (guitars & backing vocals), have put together very professional sounding material, despite the fact that their music sometimes sounds more like neutral background music than progressive heavy metal as they claim. Nevertheless, the depth of their music and its instrumentation are worth mentioning. I think it's the vocal style that, if it were a little harder, we could talk about the definition they use. By the way, all the lyrics are written in Spanish, which is rather cool. I personally don't imagine this kind of music live at all, I mean it's well composed, arranged, etc. and sounds really good, but hearing it live would definitely make me fall asleep. According to the introduction sheet, Red Elm's music is recommended for fans of Sôber, Skizoo, Soen, A Perfect Circle, Tremonti, Tool, Alter Bridge and Crobot. Well, if you like the previously mentioned bands, feel free to try the music of "Arena" as well.

It's an indescribably good feeling to listen to the new Sadus record. Even though it's been a long time since their last record "Out for Blood" (2006), somehow after the first song starts playing and Darren's aggressive screams explode, the long wait is pleasantly forgotten. The title of the opening track is "First Blood" and it is also the longest song on the record, which immediately brings the trademarks that Sadus is known for. Due to its length, this song is the most varied in every aspect. But if you're looking for more groove-oriented tracks, I highly recommend the following three songs: "Scorched and Burnt", "It's the Sickness" and "Ride the Knife". These songs are very mind blowing and in my opinion they are the best and most impactful songs on the album. They are followed by a rather fast cut called "Anarchy", completely in the spirit of the "Swallowed in Black" album. The next five compositions of the disc have a more abstract atmosphere and mostly focus on mid-tempos. Among them is a two-minute instrumental piece titled "New Beginnings" that calms the listener down before launching into the album's title track. The sound of the album is excellent, I especially like how natural and organic the drums sound and the sharp, almost skin-peeling character of the guitars. In fact, only three people worked on the record, Darren Travis (vocals, guitars, bass) and Jon Allen (drums), along with producer Juan Urteaga, who also contributed backing vocals to "Anarchy". Oh, and there's a guest solo on "No Peace" by Claudeous Creamer (Possessed, Power Shift). To complement the visuals of this sonic masterpiece, Travis Smith creates a fantastic cover that perfectly matches the lyrical content. This pretty much looks like one of the best thrash metal releases of 2023. Aggressive, full of anger and motivation, the perfect Sadus attack!!!

Finally, I own this quarter-hour of thrash metal awesomeness. The wait was quite long, almost an eternity, but it was definitely worth believing in the return of this Tucson-located quintet. Any die-hard thrash-induced maniac should remember Atrophy and their two classic albums, "Socialized Hate" (1988) and "Violent by Nature" (1990). The musical form and core of Scars of Atrophy is therefore nothing more than the logical continuation of the once reformed Atrophy. However, since the membership is completely different from the previous ones, and according to the calendar, 2022 is to be reckoned with, therefore you have to count with a heavier, more powerful sound production and a rather bone-crushing amalgam of thrash metal. This fantastic EP featuring 4 heavy-weight thrash anthems was recorded by Mike Niggl (vocals), Bobby Stein (guitar), Dave Ruiz (guitar), Scott Heller (bass) and last but definitely not least Tim Kelly (drums), who is one of the founders of Atrophy, by the way. The opener song is "Cross Contamination". It storms from start to finish and is packed with bloodthirsty vocal parts, killer groovy riffs, roaring bass patterns, fast double bass attacks, crazy solos and ultra-catchy sing-alongs. The perfect musical formula one would say and yes it is indeed. It is followed by "DSM-6" that comes with huge elements of groove and even more solos, which I think are much more melodic. Monster piece that has to be an absolute hit played live. Apropos, Mike's vocals are just brutal and brilliant in all possible ways there. The third track is called "Smoke Screen". Another fast yet complex tune, both guitar riffs- and drums-wise, and those doubled screams/growls plus the long chain of solos are simply mind blowing. I am very impressed! Their debut EP ends with the title track, i.e. "Nations Divide". To be honest, the starting riffs along with the power chords reminded me some moments of "In Their Eyes" and "Things Change" songs, both from "Violent by Nature" album, but afterwards the whole track turns into a massive riffing orgy spiced up by beastly sing-alongs and a lot of great solos. Kind of a perfect end for the EP, isn't it? Of course, it is and honestly this EP is easily the winner for the best thrash metal material in 2022. Change my mind, if you dare, ha-ha… Can't also neglect the superb cover artwork and inner sleeve design by Gabriel Turner Byrne. They both rule supreme! The only, but definitely minor, minuses of this release are, first of all, the very small fonts used for the lyrics (so it is mandatory to have a magnifying glass to read them and enjoy) and secondly, the burnt CD-R instead of the factory pressed CD. This latter one disappointed me more than the tiny lyrics-sheet, but their music is maximally rad, so no more complaints. All is left to say, I am eagerly looking forward to their debut full-length album, hopefully it will be released soon. This line-up is so good that I am sure their next stuff is going to be the non plus ultra of speed thrashing madness!!!

I will tell you right away that this is a real value package for every Sodom fan in the world. The real deal, if you will. You may not believe it, but for me the most interesting and, of course, the most valuable part of the box set was the 72-page LP-sized book with the band's official discography. It was great to see and observe the covers in their primary form (in high resolution digitalization from the original artwork or taken from the digital printing template for the original cover) and all the other cool photos & info related to the releases. Believe me, everything else in the box is just a great bonus, including the music itself. The musical part – the 40th anniversary album, which actually consists of 17 re-recorded songs (one song from each official Sodom release), comes in 3 different formats (digipak CD, gatefold 2LP and MC), plus 4 more exclusive songs on the bonus CD – has been meticulously selected by the band and recorded at Staudio-Studios, Altenessen from summer 2021 to February 2022. The sound production provided by Toni Merkel is very good, but not as good as the materials produced by the mighty Harris Johns, those are simply unbeatable in every way. But other than that, Toni did a really good job not only engineering, mixing & mastering the re-recorded tracks, but also to drum like crazy. For me, the re-arranged versions of the older songs were also more interesting, that is, from the early period to the mid-nineties, more precisely until 1997, which by the way correspond to side A of the cassette. Of course, there's an additional cassette-only bonus track of "Equinox" at the end of side B, but I think this other side became less interesting, not because of the sound or the way of arrangements, but because the songs themselves are not as good as their predecessors. But don't get me wrong, I like these songs too, just not as much as their compositions between 1985 and 1995, for example. The exclusive blue in crystal vinyls produced only for this box are also noteworthy. They sound good, but after listening to all formats several times, I decided to stop with the CD version, as the given type of compilation sounds flawless on that format, sorry vinyl and cassette freaks. The digipak CD version comes with a 24-page booklet and a two-sided poster. These poster images also come individually in huge A1 format. What else? Oh, a signed photo card from the whole band, double-sided and A5 format, plus a 10.5 x 10.5 cm sticker featuring Eliran Kantor's awesome cover art. And, of course, all these precious things are placed in a well-designed cardboard box. In a nutshell, a must to own for any sodomaniac worldwide!!!

Do you like Swedish death metal music and sound? Well, I sure hope so, because Symbtomy will treat you to over half an hour of quality and beautifully melodic HM-2 driven old school madness. The band itself was formed in 2019 and the CD contains both demos. The second demo of 2022 starts the disc with three songs. I should mention right away that this demo sounds better than the first one, even though it was mixed and mastered by the same person, namely Holly at HollySound studio. Well, the song titles are "Embracing Anxiety", "A Wooden Jail" & "Cadaveric Shapeless Roar". These songs have been tastefully orchestrated and fully adapted to the Swedish atmosphere. The band on this demo is: Martin (vocals), Dejvy (guitar), Jarda (guitar), Duzl (bass) and Štepán (drums). In addition to the really cool riff structures, grooves and melodies, the band also brought in some well-known guests on top of their already killer musical mix, like Rick Rozz from Left to Die (you can hear his great solo in "Embracing Anxiety"), John Walker from mighty Cancer (guest vocals on "A Wooden Jail") and Max Otero from the French death metal cohort called Mercyless (guest vocalist of "Cadaveric Shapeless Roar"). Needless to say, the result is incredibly good!!! This is followed by three tracks from the first demo of 2020, i.e. "The Sounds of Perverse Thoughts", "The Taste of Human Trophy", "...And the Knife Cut Surgically". These songs were composed in the same way, with the same melodic arsenal of riffs. The only slight difference is in the sound production, but apart from this small factor, you will love these older songs just the same way, like the newer ones. The exclusive guest list of this demo is: Jonny Pettersson (Wombbath), Johan Jansson (Interment) and Ralf Hauber (Revel in Flesh). All of them brought in charismatic guest vocals, which spiced up the end result quite well. Nevertheless, for me it was Frank who did the best possible guest work with his ultra-melodic solos. On this demo, the band featured singer Martin, guitarist Dejvy, bassist Duzl and guest drummer Štepán along with bassist Adis. Both demo covers were designed by Jakub N. Rusek. Let me just say that they are flawless and fit Symbtomy's music perfectly. 4/5 of the band is based in the Czech Republic, but Duzl lives in the UK. I personally cherished listening to their stuff and can't wait to hear more from them. Hopefully their next stuff will be their debut album, but only time will tell... In the meantime, enjoy these great demos from them, which you can get separately on cassettes or both on CD!!!

The latest and 18th full-length album of the German beerthrash masters also marks 40 years of the band's existence, which is an amazing achievement, isn't it? The new record is called "Pavlov's Dawgs" and as you can guess, the lyrics of the record are full of humorous twists. The ten-track CD sounds solid & powerful thanks to producer Martin Buchwalter, with whom the group already worked on the previous LP. To be fair, Martin has achieved an even heavier & punchier sound production this time around than for example on his predecessor "One Foot in the Grave" (2017), which of course only indicates that they are getting better at working together. This album has already been released by Tankard's new record label, Reaper Entertainment, though it was preceded by the "Mit dem Jürgen! Für den Jürgen!" split release, where a new song was already included, namely "Beerbarians". As for the other new songs on the 18th LP, they surely continue in the style of the previous records. I would say that since Andi has been the guitarist, there have been a lot more melodies, and the team does not focus on speed, but rather on mid-tempo, well-developed songs. Andi's riffs, melodies and solos are not too complicated, but rather belong to the really catchy category. Gerre brings his sheer style, both in terms of vocal themes and lyrics. By the way, their ex-guitarist Andy Bulgaropulos and Harald Maul provided great help in the latter ones. Olaf's drum parts were given the heaviest possible sound and Frank's thunderous bass lines only confirm this in the most positive way possible. In addition to the title track "Pavlov's Dawg", I think the most striking pieces on the album are "Ex-Fluencer" (the lyrics of which are very relevant these days) and "Lockdown Forever". But there are also, for example, the two super epic songs "Veins of Terra" and "On the Day I Die", or the strongly Slayer-influenced "Diary of a Nihilist" and "Metal Cash Machine". To sum it up, there is certainly no shortage of variety here. The design of the digipak CD became super cool owing to Thomas Ewerhard, and then I didn't even mention Patrick Strogulski's masterpiece for the album cover. This is a hell of a thrash metal record in the notorious style of Tankard, which should be in the collection of every Tankard fanatic worldwide!!!

Finally, I got my hands on a physical copy of Venom Inc.'s second album "There's Only Black". Like their first album "Avé", it was also released in a digipak version by Nuclear Blast. Five years passed between the two records, and needless to say, I was very curious to see what this new LP would be like. Musically, it is the logical continuation of its predecessor, which in terms of style is closest to the thrash metal genre. I would like to mention right away that the sound production of the album, which was mixed by Mantas himself, turned out to be damn good. The razor-sharp guitar sound is supported by a massive low-end wall of bass, which is combined with a very punchy soundscape of drums. The latter mainly captured me by the breathy character of the cymbals, plus the use of two hi-hats, which flavor well the already varied drum patterns. In short, the infernal trio is back and in extremely good form. The only change in the membership took place at the drummer's position, where now War Machine is pounding the skins with full force. The CD's 12 songs are pretty multifaceted, there are fast, slow, groovy and, of course, atmospheric songs, and we can enjoy this in more than 53 minutes. Mantas' guitar playing is like good wine, the older the better. His solos are very well developed and his riffs are always up to date. Demolition Man's rumbling bass themes sound very brainy and fat. The vocal themes on this record are even more innovative than on "Avé" and have a completely individual thrash metal feeling. While the digipak version of the previous album only contained the lyrics of one song, here you can find all of them and that is really great. This album was worth waiting for, now you just have to catch the band live! My personal favorites are: "Infinitum", "Tyrant", "Don't Feed Me Your Lies", "Burn Liar Burn" and "Inferno", although I could easily list the rest of the songs here as well as they are all flawless ones! This is an album that I consider a must have for all underground metal fans around the world!!!

Hungary's witchy black metal merchants are back with their new aural magic called "Lélekharang". It combines six songs in nearly 40 minutes. The duo – Roland Neubauer (vocals, guitars, drum programming) and Karola Gere (keyboards & vocals) – firmly follow the path of their predecessors and invite you to their new epic journey, into the world of atmospheric keyboard passages, cold guitar harmonies and emotional screams. The CD opens with a short, but rather mysterious and medieval keyboard introduction. Then follows "Hamvak – Ashes", which is a monumental, marching black metal piece, in the well-established vein of WitcheR, but also reminiscent of Summoning here and there. What I liked most about this piece was how the lyrics were superimposed on the music. Perfect job! By the way, as before, all lyrics were written in Hungarian, but were also translated into English and included in the professionally designed booklet. The third and longest song on the album is the title song "Lélekharang – Soul Bell". It's a really passionate tune with lots of magical keyboard patterns and tempo changes. There you will find all the essence of the WitcheR style. "Csendesen – Peacefully" is the name of the fourth track. This is another epic composition, with slightly slower tempos, but very melodic guitar parts that somehow reminded me of Cradle of Filth. In a word, the soundscapes are rather rich and massive there! The album's fifth piece is entitled "Hazatérés – Homecoming". It's the second longest song on the CD, which mainly radiates calmness with its funeral-doom-metal-like pace, although in some places the guitar melodies speed up quite properly. As we've become accustomed to, the last song is a cover of a classical composer, this time Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata Op. 27. No. 2. I. Adagio sostenuto" was selected. A great closing for a great album! I also have to mention here the impressive cover artwork executed by Grafit & Hamu. It's simply flawless! And this WitcheR album is a must for all the fans of atmospheric black metal! So order it right now or cry later!!!

After the "Bury the Pain" (2019) record, I was excitedly waiting for the sequel, which successfully arrived a few months ago. The British thrash metal legend made their new album with the same line-up: Jay Walsh (vocals/guitar), Kristian Havard (guitar), Chris Shires (bass) and Dennis Gasser (drums). The previous album was already very strong, but with the material of "Seven Words" they raised the bar even higher. Among their early records, "For Whose Advantage?" was my favorite, and to be honest, I find the songs on "Seven Words" very close to that era. The new record sounds very fresh, with explosive dynamics and the quartet brings its best form. All ten compositions of their own consist of very well structured riffs and lyrics. Starting with the ultra-melodic "Behind the Walls of Treachery", to the album's title track (which has a bit of a Testament flavor), to songs like "Spit Coin" (a raging thrash anthem), "Everybody Loves You When You're Dead" (an utterly heavyweight song that will surely slay live), "Reckless with a Smile" (typical Xentrix tune, the single we could taste in advance) and all the way to "Anything but the Truth" (an incredibly epic song to close the album). This is a flawless record with flawless sound production (the latter thanks to Andy Sneap)! The O-card CD version released by Listenable Records includes Alice Cooper's cover of "Billion Dollar Babies". Of course, this, as well as any of their previous cover versions, was properly adapted to the Xentrix style. I would also like to highlight the work of Dan Goldsworthy, who once again did a great job in terms of both the cover artwork and the layout. I think every thrasher in the world should listen to this album, because it is definitely a praiseworthy record!!!