The Finns SHRAPNEL STORM come around the corner with their third album - and the direction is clear right from the start: hoarse vocals, thrashy riffing, dark atmosphere and epic guitar solos. The musicians skillfully throttle the tempo from time to time, creating a field of tension between kind of restrained and attacking parts. The melodic component is mostly in the background and sharp riffing Thrash dominates. Unfortunately, the sound can't quite keep up in terms of sharpness and seems somewhat undifferentiated. The band grooves and blasts its way through eleven tracks in a similar manner to Overkill, Anvil or Exodus, often encouraging the listener to shake or mosh along. However, I miss huge choruses and hooks here and so the irresistible barbed moments are missing. Only Snake Here Is You, with its gripping mid-tempo riffs and simply barked chorus, is already heading in the direction of a direct hit, but ends completely unspectacularly. Bring Me The War comes stomping along in a similarly cool manner and integrates a few complex time changes and Pantera-like sounds. Kinslayer scores with high speed, playful drum figures and combined steamroller riffs that also leave room for a pinch of melody. The conclusion with the frenetic This Is Where I Fell is just as conciliatory.
Unfortunately, the big light bulb moments or melodic tongue twisters don't materialize until the end of the 40 minutes, leaving a good, albeit too arbitrary and shapeless impression at the end, which probably makes the band drown in the sea of strong groups. Just strong old school grooves alone are not enough for complete enthusiasm!