MINDWARS
“THE FOURTH TURNING”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

10/10

Mindwars are a thrash metal band based in the USA, formed in 2013 by Mike Alvord (formerly of Holy Terror) and Roby Vitari (formerly of Jester Beast). The bands debut album ‘The Enemy Within’, was released in 2014, with their sophomore album ‘Sworn To Secrecy’, a 2016 release. Wasting no time, the band released their third album ‘Do Unto Others’ in 2018, and two years later in 2020, released their fourth album ‘The Fourth Turning’.

There have been some tremendous thrash metal released already this year – Anonymus’s ‘La Bestia’, Poltergeist’s ‘Feather Of Truth’, Hazzerd’s ‘Delirium’, Assassin’s ‘Bestia Immundis’, Havok’s ‘V’, Testament’s ‘Titans Of Creation’, Onslaught’s ‘Generation Antichrist’, and Heathen’s ‘Empire Of The Blind’ – with Mindwars adding yet more to the pile. Their fourth studio offering ‘The Fourth Turning’ is full to the brim with fast paced and aggressive thrash metal, including a storming cover of a Slayer classic. More on that later… For right now, ‘The Fourth Turning’ begins with the blistering pace of ‘The Awakening’. Travelling faster than the speed of light, ‘The Awakening’ is a devastating opening salvo, setting an aggressive battering in motion…

…a motion that gets even more aggressive with the heavy foot stomper ‘Fall In Line’. Mindwars have exploded into life with their fourth album, fireworks going off in all directions, as the album moves swiftly on with the self titled ‘Mindwars’ – emanating with blistering pace and a ferocious intent. ‘Mindwars’ (the song) is a fiery thunderstorm of terrific thrash to wreck your necks to – and wreck them you will, trust me! The ferocious pace gets even quicker with the all out balls out ‘(Who’ll Stop The) Aryan Race’. Even a little bit o’ the crossover style creeping in here to give ‘(Who’ll Stop The) Aryan Race)’ a sharper and more bullish edge. Mindwars have never been a band to just sit on the thrash metal highway, they have been known to occasionally go off road, taking in influences from other styles of metal, all the while displaying their thrash metal roots. ‘The System’ combines thrash, hard rock, and traditional heavy metal, to carve out an interesting and intriguing journey that is infectious and as catchy as hell. ‘The System’ is gonna appeal to a wide ranging audience, breaking down the barriers between various genres. ‘Digital Dictatorship’ brings a much heavier feel to the album, a weighty foot stomp of the heaviest order, and then suddenly, blistering speed. ‘Digital Dictatorship’ takes off at lightning speed, with the some of the fastest shredding the album has to offer. What a song, and heavens to betsy what speed!

Beginning with the artillery sounds of battle, ‘Marching Off To War’ is a majestic and booming mid tempo march. Pulsating and pounding in equal measures, ‘Marching Off To War’ increases the tension and pace, becoming a rumbling cacophony of thunder. And the blistering pace returns with ‘Black Death’ pulverising the airwaves. There is a reason why the phrase “old school is the best school” means so much, especially when the old school is this fucking good. The sound of ‘Black Death’ is definitely rooted in the old school thrash metal style. Then there’s songs like ‘Blood Red’, which brings the modern day thrash metal sound to life. It’s a heavy, thundering and brutal savage swagger that’s gonna knock you flat to the floor.

Mindwars have offered so much thrash metal variety with their fourth outing, that fans of all ages and all styles of thrash are gonna find something here they like. And holy fuck! The pace of ‘Holy Terror’ is mind blowing – scorching the Earth as it hurtles forth at extreme velocity. Yet amazingly, there is a massive melodic edge to ‘Holy Terror’, making it as infectious and catchy as the power metal style. What a song, and what a show stopping end to the album… Oh, wait – there’s more, there’s the Slayer cover… Mindwars have covered a classic – ‘Criminally Insane’, taken from Slayer’s genre defining album ‘Reign In Blood’, released in 1986. Mindwars have done a great job, keeping to the pace of the original, tweaking the sound just a little so it fits in with the Mindwars style.

Overall, an absolute belter of a thrash metal album, Mindwars have delivered plenty of variety to please fans of all ages and tastes.

TRACKLIST

The Awakening
Fall In Line
Mindwars
(Who’ll Stop The) Aryan Race
The System
Digital Dictatorship
Marching Off To War
Black Death
Blood Red
Holy Terror
Criminally Insane (Slayer cover)

http://www.mindwarsofficial.com/
https://www.facebook.com/mindwarsband/

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