ONSLAUGHT
“GENERATION ANTICHRIST”
Single Review by Iron Mathew

10/10

Onslaught are a thrash metal band from the UK formed in 1982 by guitarist Nige Rockett, releasing their debut album ‘Power From Hell’ in 1985, and the follow up ‘The Force’ in 1986. The band have endured numerous line-up changes over the years, and even disbanded for over a decade! Onslaught are as much a part of British heavy metal history as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath. In a career spanning nearly four decades, Onslaught have released six studio albums, one compilation, two live albums and two live performance DVD’s…

…and now, in 2020, will unleash their seventh studio offering ‘Generation Antichrist’. There has been some tremendous thrash metal albums released already this year – Anonymus’s ‘La Bestia’, Poltergeist’s ‘Feather Of Truth’, Hazzerd’s ‘Delirium’, Assassin’s ‘Bestia Immundis’, Havok’s ‘V’, and Testament’s ‘Titans Of Creation’ – with Onslaught’s latest release a spectacular addition to compliment those mentioned above. One thing is for sure – the Album Of The Year for 2020 is gonna be one helluva hard decision to make, these seven albums standing head and shoulders above anything else released this year………so far!

The British metal icons, and torch bearers of British thrash Onslaught, are back thrashing harder and heavier than ever before. Armed with Bull-Riff Stampede frontman Dave Garnett, Onslaught are sounding angrier and more aggressive than they have on previous albums. Lead single ‘Religiousuicide’ was an intense and high velocity gallop, with snarling and highly menacing vocals – defining how the rest of ‘Generation Antichrist’ sounds. The pace is phenomenal, the brutality savage, and the aggression levels sky high. Album opener ‘Rise To Power’, is a crescendo building, atmosphere setting two minutes of intense menace. The snarling vocal delivery of singer Dave Garnett is a superb addition to the Onslaught arsenal – the album exploding into life proper with the fast and furious ‘Strike Fast, Strike hard’. Phenomenal pace greets the listener, with vigorous head banging the order of the day. The elder statesmen of thrash metal are showing their (much) younger counterparts how to thrash – the thirty five years since Onslaught’s debut album seems like only a few days ago…the band thrashing harder than ever.

The menace pushes forth with a barrage of brutal riffage, courtesy of ‘Bow Down To The Clowns’. Just two songs in and Onslaught have eclipsed anything they have released previously – don’t get me wrong, their back catalogue is great, but this is fucking great! Onslaught have joined Anonymus, Poltergeist, Hazzerd, Assassin, Havok and Testament to produce some of the best thrash metal this year… The title song ‘Generation Antichrist’ is a vicious gallop of high velocity thrash. The energy and passion levels are right off the scale, with ‘Generation Antichrist’ (the song) faster than the Japanese bullet train, and the speed of light! This is exactly how thrash should sound. ‘All Seeing Eye’ thunders into sight, all fire and brimstone as it crackles and fizzes with energy and oomph. The intensity has not dropped for a second, with Onslaught slamming listeners with a savage barrage of brutality. A&E departments are gonna be busy with all the bone snapping and skull crushing dished out by one of the pioneering bands of the thrash metal genre – and arguably, the founders of the British thrash metal scene.

The furious pace gets even quicker, with the barn storming ‘Addicted To The Smell Of Death’. The speed of the album is breathless, the intensity breath taking, and the thrash metal on offer just fucking superb. I was around in the mid eighties when Onslaught powered from hell, and began their quest to be the force in the burgeoning thrash metal scene – and nearly four decades later, here they are, at the forefront of the genre with a fucking amazing album that will see them vie with the aforementioned six bands for the title of (2020) Album Of The Year. ‘Empires Fall’ reigns back the out and out speed, but retains the intense barrage of savagery. The menacing vocals are gonna send shivers down spines all over the world, sending lesser mortals racing for cover. But for the die hards still standing tall – “bring it on”, and bring it on Onslaught do, with the phenomenally paced and hugely aggressive ‘Religiousuicide’. Onslaught have delivered an amazing array of thrash metal, one of just a handful of amazing albums released this year, and one I highly recommend. The band round off their seventh album, with their blistering 2019 single ‘A Perfect Day To Die’ – with new singer Dave Garnett on vocals.

Overall, a superb slab of fast paced and aggressive thrash, Onslaught deliver a top notch savage barrage of brutality.

TRACKLIST

Rise To Power
Strike Fast Strike Hard
Bow Down To The Clowns
Generation Antichrist
All Seeing Eye
Addicted To The Smell Of Death
Empires Fall
Religiousuicide
A Perfect Day To Die

https://www.powerfromhell.com
https://www.facebook.com/onslaughtuk/

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