ARTILLERY
“THE FACE OF FEAR”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9/10

Artillery are a thrash metal band from Denmark forming in 1982. Spanning almost four decades, the bands career has been dogged with line-up changes, and on two separate occasions Artillery disbanded. The early eighties saw the release of a number of demos before the bands debut album ‘Fear Of Tomorrow’ was released in 1985, followed by ‘Terror Squad’ in 1987. The bands third album, 1990’s ‘By Inheritance’ preceded the first band break-up. Returning in 1998, the band released ‘B.A.C.K.’ in 1999, before breaking up once more. The band returned in 2007, released four more albums over the next ten years, and in 2018, released their ninth studio offering ‘The Face Of Fear’.

Artillery are well known as one of the earliest thrash metal bands and have made their mark on the worldwide metal scene since their inception nearly forty years ago. The band have performed at some of the worlds most famous festivals such as Dynamo, Roskilde and Wacken Open Air, and have shared a stage with Slayer and King Diamond. Even with their stop/start career, Artillery remain at the forefront of the thrash metal genre, alongside bands such as Overkill, Flotsam And Jetsam, Kreator and Destruction, all these bands also enjoying almost four decades of success. So what does forty years of experience bring to the ears of the listener…

…full on, fast paced and aggression fuelled thrash metal, that’s what! Opener ‘The Face Of Fear’ is quickly into its stride, forging forth in feisty fashion. Thundering on at high velocity, ‘The Face Of Fear’ is an explosive opening. ‘Crossroads To Conspiracy’ opens slow and moody, a mid tempo foot stomp giving way to a full throttle thrash metal avalanche. An avalanche that just keeps flowing furiously with the heavy hitting ‘New Rage’. Razor sharp guitars cut and thrust a savage path across the land as it marches on majestically. Electrifying pace lights up the album as ‘Sworn Utopia’ flies along faster than the Japanese bullet train, leaving only desolation in its wake such is its high level of brutality. A level of brutality that is maintained with the buzzsaw sounding riffage of ‘Through The Ages Of Atrocity’. Thrown into the mix is a dose of heavy rock boogie, a pinch of traditional heavy metal and just a smidgen of the melodic swagger. ‘Thirst For The Worst’ is a mean and moody atmospheric mid tempo epic that borders on the anthemic as it foot stomps on its way. At the halfway mark through the album, there has been no pause for a breather, the foot has well and truly been planted on the monitor…

…the album racing on at full tilt. ‘Pain’ wanders into life with a huge heavy rock influence, breaking out into mid tempo melodic thrash as it gets underway proper. ‘Pain’ will appeal to a wide range of fans as it stands proudly astride the borders of the thrash, heavy rock and traditional heavy metal genres. The two minute instrumental ‘Under Water’ is the only breather you get from the intense thrash metal onslaught that Artillery are delivering. An onslaught that just gets more intense with the ferocious ‘Preaching To The Converted’. The heaviest and most thrash metal song on offer, ‘Preaching To The Converted’ will pummel the senses into submission. The last two songs on the album are bonus offerings, re-recorded versions of ‘Mind Of No Return’, from the bands 1982 demo ‘We Are The Dead’, and ‘Doctor Evil’, from their 2013 album ‘Legions’. An old one but a good one, ‘Mind Of No Return’ does have that eighties feel about it as it thunders on by, while ‘Doctor Evil’ lifts the feel to a more heavy metal one as it ploughs forward at pace.

Overall, full on and in your face thrash metal of the fiery, fierce and feisty nature, Artillery deliver forty five minutes of head bangingly addictive thrash.

TRACKLIST

The Face Of Fear
Crossroads To Conspiracy
New Rage
Sworn Utopia
Through The Ages Of Atrocity
Thirst For The Worst
Pain
Under Water (instrumental)
Preaching To The Converted
Mind Of No Return (re-recorded version)
Doctor Evil (re-recorded version)

http://www.artillery.dk/
https://www.facebook.com/ARTILLERY.DK/

This review is the property of Iron
Mathew and Metal Gods TV. It is strictly prohibited to copy any part of this
review, unless you have both of the parties’ permission, or are the band/record
label/PR company in question. Failure to adhere to these instructions will be
considered as Plagiarism and you will be reported to the appropriate
authorities.

---