#demolition-hammer — Public Fediverse posts

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Demolition Hammer:
🎵 .44 Caliber Brain Surgery

#DemolitionHammer

https://masshypnosia.bandcamp.com/track/44-caliber-brain-surgery-demolition-hammer-cover

https://open.spotify.com/track/0aMqAaZaFz8iD2IsUfMzkt

🎶 show playlist 👇
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6G4PaS9BNkIuGqMo44rbfZ

🎶 KEXP playlist 👇
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6VNALrOa3gWbk794YuIrwg

Five years ago, I highlighted Invictus’ 2020 debut LP Catacombs of Fear as part of our year-end death metal roundup feature. Since then, the Japanese death metal trio toiled under the ground with a brutal live schedule and steadily wrote what might very well be my most highly anticipated follow-up in the death metal realm. Hot on the heels of killer releases from personal favorites like Depravity, and jumping just ahead of another highly anticipated salvo from Eximperitus, Invictus’ upcoming Nocturnal Visions has big shoes to fill and stiff competition to combat. But if anybody has the chops and the balls to do it, it’s Invictus.

Having only one previous album and a few scattered demos/singles to their name, Invictus haven’t messed with their formula very much since their inception. Boasting a killer combo of Demolition Hammer nastiness and Consuming Impulse-era Pestilence attack, Nocturnal Visions pushes 35 minutes of pure adrenaline. Nary a second faffs about with filler, fluffy atmosphere, or anything else that could be construed as something other than devout reverence to The Almighty Riff™. With each twist of phrase or shift in movement, guitarist/vocalist Takehitopsy Seki tears through an unrelenting assault of intense grooves, speedy thrashes, and writhing rhythms that don’t just open up pits, but rather rip open dimensional rifts straight to hell itself (“Altar of Devoted Slaughter,” “Wandering Ashdream”). Instead of relying on blasts for intensity, Haruki Tokutake’s percussive strategy focuses on machine-gun double-bass runs and thrashy skanks so brutally exacted upon my spine that I needed a back brace and headgear just to approach the second half—accommodations which in no way deterred my summary bodily encrushment (“Persecution Madness”). Bassist Toshihiro Seki clunks and clangs beneath the surface with a violent, hammering tone that, while not always as audible as it ought to be, nonetheless deepens the tonal quality of the record’s warm, slightly swampy production (“Nocturnal Visions”). Unlike many of those acts from whom Invictus draws inspiration, Seki’s vocals operate squarely inside the Incantation/Tomb Mold school of subterranean monstrosity. Counterintuitively, this sets the trio apart from their influences by hiding in plain sight with their contemporaries.

Nocturnal Visions by Invictus

Regardless of where you fall in the greater scope of metallic fandom, Nocturnal Visions is a magnificent showcase of energetic songwriting and devastating hookcraft. While the formula opener proper “Abyssal Earth Eradicates” utilizes feels and sounds familiar, Invictus executes it with a youthfulness, voracity, and dare I say exuberance that makes me forget for a moment the entirety of death metal’s history. As Nocturnal Visions progresses through its early movements, boasting killer tracks in “Altar of Devoted Slaughter,” “Lucid Dream Trauma,” and “Persecution Madness,” my ability to care about anything other than banging my head, grimacing like a gargoyle, and stomping my poor abused feet against the floor vanishes. What’s left is a mind-broken sponge reduced to primal instincts, with a vocabulary of one word, “Fuck!” exclaimed exclusively with each new swaggering groove or pummeling riff. Even after several dozen spins, pit monsters “Persecution Madness,” “Dragged Beneath the Grave,” and later highlight “Wandering Ashdream” received such frequent and aggressive verbal confirmation of their sheer awesomeness and perpetual energy that my coworker had to perform a wellness check. Even the daunting eight-minute closer “Nocturnal Visions” earns its keep here, switching up themes and reprising refrains just enough to keep my interest up and my engagement high.

That doesn’t leave much room for negatives, and indeed, few found purchase in my evaluation. Obviously, Nocturnal Visions exhibits nothing new or innovative; it’s simply doing classic death metal far better than most. Consequently, Invictus left some creativity and novelty on the table. They could easily pick up bits and bobs from that stack of potential ideas and bring an extra dimension to future efforts without sacrificing their core sound. Additionally, pacing Nocturnal Visions at such a blistering rate of speed so consistently across 35 minutes leaves a little to be desired in the way of songwriting dynamics. Tokutake in particular makes the most of his arsenal of patterns, fills, and tumbles to alleviate this condition, but not quite enough to cure it—see the otherwise ripping “Frozen Tomb.” Seki’s somewhat one-note vocal approach doesn’t always help matters in that respect, but his performance is rock-solid and dependable enough not to hurt either.

Of course, these critiques amount to mere nitpicks in the truest sense of the term. Nocturnal Visions is, simply put, a staggering monument to old-school death molded for the modern era. Invictus blasted my skull apart with their debut, but this sophomore effort is more than a worthy successor. Hear it!

Rating: Great!
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Me Saco Un Ojo Records
Websites: invictus3.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/Invictus
Releases Worldwide: January 26th, 2026

I’m sitting here in the early weeks of 2025 hoping to review a ton of traditional metal in the coming year…

These are the words of a madman, a madman who uttered said words, then immediately disappeared for the next year. What an idiot! This just goes to show that even the very, very best of us can fall victim to our hubris and that the best laid metal plans can be derailed by life circumstances and creative apathy. Don’t let Steel convince you that he placed me on sabbatical—I did that shit myself. Musically, at least, I used my time away wisely. It felt so good to let myself listen to whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and it was honestly the shot in the arm I needed to consider coming back to reviewing in any capacity. So here I am, ready, I think, to put digital pen to digital paper in an effort to describe how I feel about some music. Now watch as I resurrect myself through the power of Deathraiser!

When considering what Brazil is best known for, people often throw out things like the Amazon rainforest, round-ball football, coffee, beef, and that really tall statue of the Christmas Superstar, but you and I both know that Brazil is primarily known for thrash metal. Seeking to add to that legacy, Deathraiser is raising themselves from the dead by releasing sophomore album Forged in Hatred a mere 15 years after their debut. Do yourself a favor and play the embedded single, “Primitive Medicine,” and you’ll not only hear shades of the band’s famous big brothers in Sepultura, but you’ll also hear a healthy dose of Kreator and smell a touch of Bay Area botanicals.

Forged in Hatred by DEATHRAISER

Over the course of Forged in Hatred’s toight-like-a-toiger 34 minutes, Deathraiser holds religiously to the 5 R’s of thrash metal as they riff, rage, rip, wreck, and riff their hearts out. Take some deep breaths during the first 25 ambient seconds of opener “Severe Atrocity,” because it’s the last chance you’re going to have. The track shows the band’s two-pronged musical strategy, initially committing to the blazing classic thrash of yore before serving up a delicious crossover groove a la Enforced (see “Everything Dies” for a track that sounds like it was written by those violent Virginians), and the resulting contrast hits me like a Demolition Hammer. Deathraiser do the style so well that it took me multiple listens to realize that sixth track, “Symphony of Violence” is actually instrumental; far from being self-indulgent filler, it’s such a fantastic thrash song that my brain didn’t even register the lack of vocals.

Forged in Hatred has a couple of issues, but neither really lowers my opinion of the final product. The drum production leaves something to be desired as the sound lacks bottom end and feels a bit shrill. Some will say the songwriting is too derivative of the old masters. I’ll admit that there were a couple of moments—on my very first playthrough—where I accurately predicted the next riff before it actually arrived, but Deathraiser executes these songs so well that I actually don’t even care. The vocals are convincing, the riffs are fantastic, and each song is memorable in its own way.

Let Forged in Hatred take you back to your youth, a time when yer mom warned you about finding Deathraisers in your Halloween candy (this album proves that she just didn’t want you to have a good time!). Yeah, you’ve probably heard everything on this record before, from some legendary bands that are releasing new albums this very week, I might add, but few bands of any era are currently playing thrash as convincingly as Deathraiser do here.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Xtreem Music
Website: facebook.com/deathraiserofficial
Releases Worldwide: January 23rd, 2026

Vindicator – Whispers of Death Review

By Steel Druhm

New thrash doesn’t hit my ears as much as it used to, and more than any other metal genre, it seems the hardest to effectively recreate outside of its original boom era (1983-1990). There were shining moments in the Great Rethrash Movement that kicked off in 2000, and sure, the Big Dawgs have managed to drop surprisingly spry platters here and there.1 We know thrash can still deliver a WOW factor when executed at a high level, and even when it falls short and doesn’t blow your doors off, it can still be a good rowdy time. That brings us to Ohio Sons Vindictor. They’ve been banging it out since 2005 and have 4 albums under their belt, the last 2 of which received favorable coverage from AMG Himself. Now we get the fifth outing, Whispers of Death, and with it a whole lot of old school thrash enthusiasm. Can these Mid-West thrashards keep the momentum going in these lean years of thrash n’ bash? The speed world certainly needs a hero.

Opener “Whispers of Death…Anxiety’s Grip” puts a good boot forward with satisfyingly crunchy riffs and an over-the-top energy commitment. Olde/new frontman Marshall Law (I know) serves up blackened rasps, harsh thrash barks, and proto-death croaks, always sounding like he’s having a major emotional crisis and needs a hug. The backing riffs are high-octane and effectively brain-shaking, and there’s a goofy vibe behind it all that reeks of acts like Tankard, but it never gets too tongue-in-cheek. There’s a lot of impressive fretboard showmanship, and things are kept bouncy and agitated even as the song pushes against the 6-minute mark. “Charnal Pastures” ups the heaviness factor, going for something like blackened thrash and reminding of Skeletonwitch at points. It’s a wild, reckless ride off a cliff, and Law gives it his all. “Thirst for Violence” also rips shit up, approaching Demolition Hammer levels of speed and fury and even flirting with death-thrash. It’s good unholy fun.

Sadly, there is a second-half dip, with a few songs hitting less intensely and leaving fewer bruises. “Exhaustion” is a punky crossover type song that’s goofy but not especially interesting, though it gets points for reminding me of legendary Long Island hardcore act Crumbsuckers.2 “Bleed Between the Lines” isn’t bad, but it feels generic and a bit underwhelming. However, there are some winners to be found as the album winds out. “Merry Evenings Make Sad Mournings” is an ode to excessive imbibing and the regret that comes with it. It’s a rip-ride that Tankard will wish they wrote 30 years ago, and Law screaming, “I’m never drinking again!” is a sentiment we can all relate to. Penultimate cut “Ripper Attack” marries Accept-style metal riffs with thrash leads for a fist-pumping, stadium-ready bomber about murder and mayhem that sounds way happier than it should. There are 2 interludes included, and “Abominable Intelligence” is a sort of instrumental with spoken word that falls into the interlude box as well. None of these are bad, but they feel unnecessary. At 45 minutes, Whispers of Death would be stronger and tighter with these removed.

Billy Zahn and Vic Stown are a potent axe tandem with a lot of ability. There’s no shortage of effective thrash riffage flying around, and when it comes time to wank the noodles, these cats burn the night down. I appreciate the inclusion of traditional and black metal elements into their work product as well. Marshall Law goes for broke from minute one to minute done with a collection of different vocal approaches. His base thrash snarl is effective, and his forays into black/death extremity add to the fun. Bassist Ed Stephens (Ringworm, Shok Paris) has chops, and he’s fairly audible, adding a meaty low-end rumble and twang. New drummer Glen Monturi also acquits himself well, offering a nonstop barrage of blasts, rolls, and toms trucking. It’s only the consistency of the writing that holds Whispers back from that next tier of thrash goodness.

Whispers of Death is a frantically entertaining thrash outing by a band that loves the genre dearly. It’s not going to make year-end lists or bring speed back in fashion, but it’s the kind of thrasher you can air guitar along with as you chug shitty beers with quality hooligans. That’s why we blast this shit, so Vindicator knows their audience and feeds it properly. That’s good enough for me in 2025.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: No Life ’til Metal
Websites: vindicator.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/vindicatormetal | instagram.com/vindicatormetal
Releases Worldwide: August 22nd, 2025

#2025 #30 #AmericanMetal #Aug25 #CommunalDecay #DemolitionHammer #Havok #NoLifeTilMetalRecords #Review #Reviews #Skeletonwitch #ThrashMetal #UnitedWeFall #Vindicator #WhispersOfDeath

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #KEXP's #VarietyMix

Demolition Hammer:
🎵 Skull Fracturing Nightmare

#DemolitionHammer

https://detherous.bandcamp.com/track/skull-fracturing-nightmare-demolition-hammer-cover

https://open.spotify.com/track/3xv7T856LlRsyr4v9CBU4D

🎶 show playlist 👇
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6G4PaS9BNkIuGqMo44rbfZ

🎶 KEXP playlist 👇
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6VNALrOa3gWbk794YuIrwg