Stormwrath - Swords of Armageddon

When people look back on the thrash revival in 20 years, I imagine it will be similar to how we look upon thrash in the 80’s now. There are always those compelling bands out there that, for some reason or another, never really lasted that long, despite making music better than some of their peers. This is why its crazy to think we are reaching that point in the current thrash revival. Stormwrath formed only four years ago, released one album, and has already broken up! Contrary to what this might imply, the band does a bit more than rip-off Exodus, Slayer, and Kreator like most other bands do. These guys rip-off Sodom!

Perhaps rip-off is an unfair term. The second you hear Jose Kurtz’ vocals, it will become clear that his style is based on Tom Angelripper’s. He does take a harsher approach though, not unlike what Angelripper did on “Tapping The Vein”. Despite being from Spain, Kurtz has a very similar tone to Angelripper, and his voice is so harsh that it approaches the guttural sound of death metal. Musically, Stormwrath follow a standard death/thrash assault. Blisteringly fast guitars complimented by equally brutal drumming give way to a plethora of riffs. While few of these riffs are truly remarkable, the sheer number of them is likely to get you banging your head more than a few times on this concise, 37-minute journey. There are only a few suprises on this record, but they all appear at the end. “Beyond Trinity” opens with a slower section and a nice lead melody. Towards the end of the song, the band goes into full Iron Maiden mode, with a warm driving bass line and pulsing drums. This section would not have been out of place on the “Piece of Mind” record (in fact, it sounds like that is directly where the band got the influence from). Some more upbeat riffs follow this, and while out of place for Stormwrath, they are a nice change from the monotony of the rest of the record. The following track, “Throw The Hammer”, is a short, punky affair, not unlike Sodom’s “Ausgebombt” or “Bombenhagel”. Though Kurtz still uses his standard vocal approach rather than something lighter, this track is a very stark contrast to the other songs. Finally, the closing song, “Ride The Scythe” introduces some keyboards to create a more evil, brooding atmosphere. Once again, this is not so much outstanding as it is something different. Ultimately, however, it is worth reiterating that most of this record is driven by fast, brutal death/thrash riffing.

“Swords of Armageddon” isn’t likely to be the most compelling thrash release, but I have no doubt that once more people hear about it, it will be well remembered. Unfortunately a lot of Spanish thrash hasn’t quite gotten enough exposure yet, but this is one band I have to recommend simply for its similarities to Sodom.

Highlights

"Ascend To Hell"

"Beyond Trinity"

"Throw The Hammer"

Final Rating

3.8/5 or 76%. 

Written by Scott 

Beyond Creation - The Aura

Technical death metal tends to be quite predictable these days. Ever since the invasion of Brain Drill, there has been an endless stream of bands that are obsessed with figuring out how many times they can sweep pick in a 4-minute song. While I enjoyed the initial hilarity of Brain Drill at first, it made the rest of the genre hard to listen to. Luckily, there are some bands that manage to take the best elements of modern technical death metal and mix it with their own style. This is where Beyond Creation fits in. While they definitely play standard modern tech-death, they understand how not to overdo the technical elements.

Consistently throughout this record, you’ll be hit with the staples of the genre: blasting drums, shredding guitars, loud but enjoyable bass, and plenty of tremolo picking. As mentioned, however, Beyond Creation does a few things to differentiate themselves from the crowd. Songs like “Coexistence” feature lengthy clean sections (not unlike Obscura sometimes does). The band also does time signature changes seamlessly. Some bands can make these sections feel awkward, but on “The Aura”, you never really notice they are there (in fact, I’m just assuming they are; everything sounds normal to me, but this is a tech-death record, so they've got to be there). In addition, the drums do more than simply blast. They often switch between heavy double-bass sections and blasting, while using snares or toms for accents on what the guitars are playing. The drumming is a very important element to help break the monotony, but the guitars also work to eliminate this issue. Although there are leads almost constantly, they aren’t leads just to show off. There is always a discernable melody to the leads. My favourite of these comes at the halfway mark in “Omnipresent Perception”, but in general, these leads are far too numerous to actually remember most of them. This brings me to my only issue with this record: it’s still a tech-death album. At 52 minutes, it’s difficult to really remember much of this album. Even if you put aside memorability, it’s a lot to digest in one sitting. There’s no doubt that Beyond Creation do this style much better than most of their contemporaries, but what happened to writing songs that were simple structurally, but technical from an instrumental perspective? “Individual Thought Patterns” and “Unquestionable Presence” are my main points of reference here; both of those albums are insanely technical, yet are completely memorable throughout.

For fans of the genre, I know this is going to be a favourite. It does everything well, and it is even accessible as someone who isn’t a fantatic of the style. If I go for modern tech-death, you can bet that I’ll be reaching for this record. It is impressive that a band’s first record can so accurately capture all of the high points of a genre. “The Aura” is sure to be a record that people will be talking about for years!

 Be sure to check out and like Beyond Creation on Facebook!

Highlights

"Coexistence"

"Omnipresent Perception"

Final Rating

4.0/5 or 80%. 

Written by Scott