Gotta be honest, I hadn’t heard enough ARTILLERY prior to last year, you know, heard a bit here and there over the years.
Well they toured Australia and headlined the ‘Churches Of Steel Festival’ here in Adelaide early 2020. What can I say? Best thrash set I’ve ever seen and I saw Exodus with Paul Bailoff in 1986.
This album is excellent. Riffs chugging along at a good pace, not all ‘speed’ like some thrash bands but with plenty of ‘chunk’ as well. The vocals are excellent, melodic and legible but still angry enough when they need to be. Michael Bastholm Dahl is the best voice in thrash today IMO. He’s an excellent front man too, elevating the quality of the live experience. The twin guitar attack is used quite well, the leads fitting the song, and not leaving you wonder what that guitar solo was about, if you know what I mean (like another band I could mention, but won’t). ‘In Thrash We Trust’ (the song) is as good a thrash anthem as any you will hear, ‘In thrash we trust, you can , you will, you must’. There’s a massive variety on this album, there’s even what could possibly be called (nearly) a ballad on here (‘The Ghost Of Me’) and it’s awesome, I dare to say that no other band of their ilk could pull this song off. Another band would need a singer of this calibre and they don’t have him, because he’s here. With the next song it’s straight back to full speed with ‘The Force Of Indifference’, so anyone who cast a sideways glance at the stereo during the previous one is back to business as usual. ‘Varg I Veum’ is almost Ripper era Judas Priest-like in feel and shows the versatility of this band. ‘Eternal Night’ is something to behold, there’s that chunk I mentioned earlier. A thrasher, ‘Beggars In Black Suits’ closes the album in fine style. Maybe calling this album ‘thrash’ is pigeon-holing it too much. There’s plenty of thrash on it but it’s much more diverse than that. Check this album out if you haven’t already. HORNS UP \m/
Fave – ‘In Thrash We Trust’, ‘In Your Mind’, ‘The Ghost Of Me’, and ‘Eternal Night’.
For fans of – Exodus, Forbidden, Flotsam and Jetsam, Judas Priest
Release date – OUT NOW