INFRARED
“Manifestation”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

10/10

Infrared are a thrash metal band from Canada forming in 1985, releasing their ‘Recognition In Power’ demo in 1988 before going on hiatus – reforming an incredible twenty five years later! In the ten years since the bands reformation, Infrared have released four albums – ‘No Peace’ (2016), ‘Saviours’ (2018), ‘From The Black Swamp’ (2021), and ‘Manifestation’ (2024).

The bands brand of thrash is brutally savage with a shit tonne of aggression and immense head bang ability – 2021’s ‘From The Black Swamp’ was a twelve song battering from all corners of the thrash metal genre with 2024’s ‘Manifestation’ an even more brutal battering! Infrared are on fucking fire, delivering fast paced ferocity to test the head banging skills of even the most seasoned of head banger – the two minute menacing and highly eerie instrumental ‘Cataclysm’ building a tension filled crescendo of anticipation ready for the band to unleash all fucking hell with (album opener) ‘Temple Of Sin’. And at a hundred miles an hour too, Infrared roaring down the highway at phenomenal speed! ‘Temple Of Sin’ is fast, frantic and head bang-able to the max, ‘Manifestation’ off to an absolute flyer – ‘Nikko’ screaming into view with just as much ferocity as the album opener! I dunno what the band have been feeding on since their last album three years ago, but there’s much more aggression oozing from Infrared, as evidenced by the albums first two songs, albeit ‘Nikko’ is of the heavy, foot stomping variety of thrash. That is until the band step on the gas to race off at pace!

What a blistering brace to begin your new album – an album that storms on with the fierce ‘Demon’s Blood’, the band hammering the ground with an immense amount of force. ‘Manifestation’ is setting off earthquakes and volcanoes all over the world such is its incredible impact, the impact lasting a long fucking time in the memories of every listener, fan and follower. And not relenting one bit the all conquering intensity of the album so far, ‘Pressure Syndrome’ savagely batters and beats everyone in sight – Infrared maintaining the brutal barrage of unabashed thrash! The sub one minute instrumental ‘Manifest’ swaggers by acting as an intro for ‘Manifest Nation’, all the aggression and savagery heard so far manifesting itself into a faster, fiercer and more brutal style of thrash! And even though ‘Manifest Nation’ turns in a gear changing tempo changing firestorm of blazing thrash metal, the level of brutality remains at an all time high!

As does the level of head bang ability, everyone around the world violently rocking their head back and forth, ‘Concuss’ entering the fray with a nineties Metallica come Slayer ‘South Of Heaven’ come Testament’s Chuck Billy style snarling vocals kinda vibe, the menacing mid tempo march sending some listeners diving for the relative safety of behind the sofa! And just to clarify my Chuck Billy comment, when Infrared’s Armin Kamal growls the chorus line “get in the pit” the similarity with Billy’s growling “into the pit” from Testament’s ‘Into The Pit’ off the bands 1988 album ‘The New Order’ is undeniable! And with an even higher level of menace than heard so far, ‘Reforma’ is a menacing foot stomp of ground shuddering heaviness, the band veering off to a more melodious realm during the chorus break! And as is their want, Infrared continue to change through the gears to deliver varying pace and power.

And as ‘Manifestation’ enters its final quarter, the band hit the accelerator hard to rocket off at high velocity, ‘My Dreams Are Real’ the fastest and most furious song heard up to this point! The mosh pits are gonna love this one, circles and walls of death forming everywhere as metalheads go fucking wild – ‘Parasite Patrol’ maintaining the albums recent upturn in speed! The pace and power right now is incredible, everyone’s neck muscles stretching to their limits (and beyond most likely) in order to keep up with the band – a band that has delivered a full on and in your face aggression fuelled avalanche of brutal thrash! The albums final hurrah ‘Then The Earth Goes Black’ making it a final ferocious three of blistering speed, the head bang ability shooting right through the fucking roof! What a glorious gallop of thrash, I’m off to listen again, sayonara my friends!

Overall, a fierce rampage of all out head bang-able thrash metal with extremely high levels of aggression and menace.

TRACKLIST

Cataclysm
Temple of Sin
Nikko
Demon’s Blood
Pressure Syndrome
The Manifest
Manifest Nation
Concuss
Reforma
My Dreams Are Real
Parasite Patrol
Then The Earth Goes Black

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