Metal Mind
2011
1. Mi Sangre (The Blood Song)
2. Monster
3. Dark Days
4. Death is an Illusion
5. Ain't Giving In
6. Prelude to Madness
7. Thrasher
8. Warrior Blood
9. Concealed in the Dark
10. End of Eternity
11. The Great
12. Show Your Hate 2011 (Re-Recording)
13. Eternal War 2011 (Re-Recording)
Hey look a new Artillery album and it took less than the neighborhood of a decade. We're off to a good start already. Seriously, I loved Flemming Ronsdorf, but if the band needed a vocalist change to put out material more regularly than practically never... it was a good trade. Not to mention I thought Soren Nico Adamsen did a very admirable job on When Death Comes.
Well with the excitement over the fact that there simply is a new Artillery album out of the way, it was time to listen to the thing. Upon doing so, I have to say that the album did not exactly jump right out at me. At the very least not in the same way that When Death Comes did. Maybe it was partly that When Death Comes had a new sound/new singer and was fresher. More than that though the songs on the last album had more immediate hooks and more addictive choruses. All in all my initial reaction to this album was 'pretty good, but not exactly what I was hoping for'.
After listening My Blood more however, I started to warm more and more to it. It's still true that this release is not as catchy and anthemic as When Death Comes, but it does thrash ahead with some pretty good energy. I don't rate this one as highly as the last, but nor is it by any means a bad album. Actually, is a really solid album that's head and shoulders above much of the current thrash scene. Good riffs and very headbangable. Most thrash bands could only hope for an album this solid from start to finish now days. Another bonus is the couple of bonus tracks I got with this one which are re-recorded versions of some old Artillery tracks. In the end, I prefer the originals as they were pretty damn good to start with, but it's still nice to hear the new singer's takes and he does an admirable job. I have no doubt this band would be good live for the new and the old material.
In the end, this is not something I'd consider a modern thrash classic like When Death Comes, but nor is the formula broken or the band putting out bad material. This is actually one of the better releases I've heard so far this year. The winning formula of middle eastern sounding riffs that thrash hard and some solid vocal deliveries that add to the energy is still intact. This just doesn't quite have that extra something to really push it over the top/to the same level as When Death Comes. I'd still highly recommend this album to any fans of Artillery and thrash in general. If you like your thrash metal with a power touch than this is very solid.
Highlights: Monster, Mi Sangre, Warrior Blood, Dark Days
Rating - 4.0/5
2. Monster
3. Dark Days
4. Death is an Illusion
5. Ain't Giving In
6. Prelude to Madness
7. Thrasher
8. Warrior Blood
9. Concealed in the Dark
10. End of Eternity
11. The Great
12. Show Your Hate 2011 (Re-Recording)
13. Eternal War 2011 (Re-Recording)
Hey look a new Artillery album and it took less than the neighborhood of a decade. We're off to a good start already. Seriously, I loved Flemming Ronsdorf, but if the band needed a vocalist change to put out material more regularly than practically never... it was a good trade. Not to mention I thought Soren Nico Adamsen did a very admirable job on When Death Comes.
Well with the excitement over the fact that there simply is a new Artillery album out of the way, it was time to listen to the thing. Upon doing so, I have to say that the album did not exactly jump right out at me. At the very least not in the same way that When Death Comes did. Maybe it was partly that When Death Comes had a new sound/new singer and was fresher. More than that though the songs on the last album had more immediate hooks and more addictive choruses. All in all my initial reaction to this album was 'pretty good, but not exactly what I was hoping for'.
After listening My Blood more however, I started to warm more and more to it. It's still true that this release is not as catchy and anthemic as When Death Comes, but it does thrash ahead with some pretty good energy. I don't rate this one as highly as the last, but nor is it by any means a bad album. Actually, is a really solid album that's head and shoulders above much of the current thrash scene. Good riffs and very headbangable. Most thrash bands could only hope for an album this solid from start to finish now days. Another bonus is the couple of bonus tracks I got with this one which are re-recorded versions of some old Artillery tracks. In the end, I prefer the originals as they were pretty damn good to start with, but it's still nice to hear the new singer's takes and he does an admirable job. I have no doubt this band would be good live for the new and the old material.
In the end, this is not something I'd consider a modern thrash classic like When Death Comes, but nor is the formula broken or the band putting out bad material. This is actually one of the better releases I've heard so far this year. The winning formula of middle eastern sounding riffs that thrash hard and some solid vocal deliveries that add to the energy is still intact. This just doesn't quite have that extra something to really push it over the top/to the same level as When Death Comes. I'd still highly recommend this album to any fans of Artillery and thrash in general. If you like your thrash metal with a power touch than this is very solid.
Highlights: Monster, Mi Sangre, Warrior Blood, Dark Days
Rating - 4.0/5
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