Having gained a massive fan-base and reputation during last year’s tour with Overkill in support of their latest release Hellbound, TORTURE SQUAD now unleash their sixth album and I have to admit, Æquilibrium owns such headstrong charm I can not elude ;)
Brazilian thrashers are dust-dry and so old school yet differ from the others in some way, a phenomenon that one might know from Bay Area thrashers Heathen for example. Songs are longer running than the standard, offer sophisticated guitar solos and get increasingly complex and tricky. Pace alternates from furiously fast to pounding mid-tempo with neckbreaking groove and sing-along refrains. Every now and then some Death Metal influences shine through, mostly in the singing when Vitor Rodrigues starts to growl.
Nope, TORTURE SQUAD surely do not reinvent the wheel of Thrash Metal, but Æquilibrium sounds so fresh, sparkling joy and dedication that it takes less than a twinkling of an eye to sing along such tracks as Raise Your Horns, Storms, Black Sun and The Spirit Never Dies. Unfortunately, so I think, the production is lacking of necessary punch. I wish Æquilibrium would have been recorded with more brutal power. Also the last official track - a one minute running instrumental entitled Last Tunes Blues bridging the gap to the bonus track - is something I cannot do anything with it. I find it just odd.
What’s left? An album that is a real Thrash Metal pleasure :)