NIGHTBREED
“BEYOND INFERNO”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

10/10

Nightbreed are a thrash metal band from Greece formed in 2010 who released their ‘From Yuggoth’ demo in 2012, and their debut album ‘Nightbreed’ in 2015. The bands sophomore album ‘Beyond Inferno’ was released in 2018…

…yes readers, two thousand and fucking eighteen! And here I fucking am in 2020, dumb-fucking-founded that I fucking missed it! You may have sensed a little tension and anger by now – and you’d be damn right. Let me explain… I first heard Nightbreed when they burst on to the scene with their debut album five years ago, and was immediately hooked on the bands frenetic and furious assault of brutal aggression. The band made my (forever growing) lists of “favourites” and “bands to follow” – only for me to discover five years later, the band released their second album two years ago! Fuck, fuck, fuckitty fuck!! I just can’t believe I missed it (insert “angry” emoji here). But I guess I’m only human after all… But I’m also so glad I’ve heard it now… It’s a fucking corker, and an even bigger assault of brutal aggression than their debut.

At thirty six minutes ‘Beyond Inferno’ is a little short by modern day standards, but what it lacks in length it sure makes up for in depth. An incredible ten songs deep, ‘Beyond Inferno’ is rammed to the rafters with raw savagery. The savage assault begins with the minute and half instrumental ‘Chained To The Nightmare’. A mellow and soulful instrumental, ‘Chained To The Nightmare’ builds an atmosphere of tension, as it reaches a climax ready for the title song to blaze in to life. ‘Beyond Inferno’ (the song) is immediately its stride and Nightbreed are off doing what they do best – delivering a savage thrash metal attack of ferocious brutality. Head bangingly addictive, ‘Beyond Inferno’ is an electrifying start…

…that just gets better and better. The more mid paced ‘Psychotic Crime’ stamps into view, before shredding guitars blitz the airways and we’re off at high velocity. Much quicker than the opening salvo, ‘Psychotic Crime’ is guitar heavy, thundering along at high speed. These Greek thrashers certainly know how to thrash! And at less than three minutes in length, ‘Graves Below’ is the shortest song on offer, taking on a more menacing feel as it races flat out to a finish. Senses are gonna be pummelled hard, as ‘Graves Below’ exerts an immense amount of force as it romps on by. Nightbreed do not relent on the intensity levels for one second – the album powering on with the melodic thrasher ‘Ripped By Chains’. More accessible and less brutal than what has gone before, ‘Ripped By Chains’ is more Annihilator or Flotsam And Jetsam than Slayer or Kreator.

I am still seething that I missed this release two years ago, but my mood is subsiding because the album is so fucking good. There is an old saying “everything good comes to those who wait” – well, I unwittingly have waited two years for this album so it had to be good! In fact, it’s better than good – it’s great… And the pace gets even quicker, as ‘Coven Of The Soulless’ sets off at a blistering pace, scorching the Earth as it hurtles along. The neck breaking speed with which Nightbreed perform is breath taking, and will stretch necks to their limits, as head bangers all around the world frantically try and keep up with the breathless pace.

‘Infinite Space…Infinite Terror’ does take a step into the brutal thrash metal genre occupied mainly by German thrash metal bands. Nightbreed, with ‘Infinite Space…Infinite Terror’, now place themselves alongside such greats as Kreator and Sodom, with the speed and brutality levels rocketing right off the scale. And that’s where the levels remain, as ‘Prowling Evil’ explodes into life and sets a devastating pace, decimating towns and cities with merciless abandon. And the speed remains extremely high as ‘The Lynching’ hits with more aggression than heard on the album so far – an album that started off great, and just got greater. The brutal aggression that has gotten more aggressive as the album has progressed, may just scare a few listeners, causing them to shit themselves! And to the final song, and still no let up in the incredible pace, power, brutality and sheer aggression. ‘Human Sacrifice’ is a scorcher, a blistering cacophony of everything Nightbreed stand for. If I had heard this album back in 2018, it would have definitely got my vote for Album Of The Year.

Overall, a simply breathless barrage of out and out thrash metal, full of savage brutality and raw power.

TRACKLIST

Chained To The Nightmare
Beyond Inferno
Psychotic Crime
Graves Below
Ripped By Chains
Coven Of The Soulless
Infinite Space…Infinite Terror
Prowling Evil
The Lynching
Human Sacrifice

https://nightbreedofficial.bandcamp.com/
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This review is the property of Iron Mathew, Frenzy Fire 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.

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