“Satan Rebellion Metal” is the first
full-length for Chilean thrash/death/black metal band Invincible Force, and
will be released by perhaps the most trusted of all underground metal labels,
Dark Descent Records. The first band that comes to mind upon seeing Invincible Force’s
name and imagery is of course, the legendary Destruction. When the music kicks in,
however, it becomes clear that while Destruction did influence this band, they
aren’t really all that similar. Invincible Force takes plenty of inspiration
from more extreme metal as they incorporate lots of blast beats and incredibly
dirty and malicious-sounding vocals. This is evident from the opening of “Rise
The Wrath of Satan”, where the drumming takes hold of your attention and never
really lets up until the song ends.
Despite having 8 tracks, this album is
really more like an EP. It barely cracks 24 minutes, and is over incredibly
quickly. With that said, this format works to Invincible Force’s strengths. The
songs tend to have a few simplistic riffs (not unlike Destruction) that are
always vicious and forceful, and then end without much fanfare. Perhaps the one
exception to this is my favourite track on the record, “Summoning The Black
Destruction”. The first minute and 20 seconds or so of this song shows so much
potential. There is no blasting, and very minimal vocals. Instead, Invincible
Force unleashes their best-crafted and most brutal riffs upon the listener in
full Destruction-worship mode (the next song, “Desolation”, starts in a similar
manner, but the vocals come in quite a bit quicker). Maybe I came into this
album with the wrong intentions, but if it were 24 minutes of this sound, it
would probably be near the top of my year-end list.
Nevertheless, the thrashing that Invincible
Force provides is still up to par. Although there are a lot of black and death
metal elements to this release, it still feels like a thrash record at heart. The
band never sounds complacent in their energy, and is always looking to rip your
neck apart. The production on “Satan Rebellion Metal” is incredibly suited to
the music offered. It is clear enough that every instrument can be heard with
no struggle, but it is not a particularly clean sounding release. Ultimately,
although I don’t tend to be the biggest fan of thrash/death/black metal
combinations (or even bands that combine the latter two styles), Invincible
Force is great because they come at it from a thrash point of view. In my mind,
there’s little debate that this band would be superior if they just stuck with
the thrash elements, but “Satan Rebellion Metal” is still a must-have for those
wishing to join the dark side.
Highlight
"Summoning The Black Destruction"
Final Rating
4.0/5 or 80%.
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