Thrash Metal
Century Media
Release Date – October 20th 2023
Line Up:
Guillermo Izquierdo – Vocals/Guitar
David G. Alvarez – Guitar
Jose J. Izquierdo – Bass
Victor Valera – Drums
Tracklist:
1 – Scavenger
2 – Cold
3 – Snob (featuring Jamey Jasta)
4 – Fire Eyes (featuring Pablo Garcia)
5 – Rats
6 – To Whom It May Concern
7 – Gernika
8 – I Am Hatred
9 – What Kills Us All (featuring Sho-Hai)
10 – Vultures And Butterflies (featuring Todd La Torre)
11 – Indoctrinate (live Bilbao 2023 – bonus track)
12 – Give ‘Em War (live Barcelona 2023 – bonus track)
Here we go with some old school thrash from one of the leaders of the genre – Spain’s Angelus Apatrida. This is their 8th full length record since their debut in 2006 and they bring the best of both the euro thrash swing and the straight to the point brutality of the Bay Area, plus some melody too.
They attack from the off on opener ‘Scavenger’ – it’s rapid and aggressive and bound to induce manic moshing before ‘Cold’ eases back on a crushing Pantera like vibe that goes through a couple of movements and plenty of big expensive riffs. ‘Snob’ features Jamey Jasta and goes for the throat after a slower start it delivers a barrage of punchy riffage that has you on the ropes before the melodic intro lines of ‘Fire Eyes’ eases you back to take a breath. The start is doomy before it levels out into a crushing dark stomper which features a ripping solo from Pablo Garcia of Spanish Power Metal mob Warcry. This is rabid, rapid and razor sharp with singer/guitarist Guillermo Izquierdo spitting the lyrics with real malevolence. They get going even faster on ‘Rats’ with drummer Victor Valera putting in an Olympic sized shift behind the kit. ‘To Whom It May Concern’ is a 9 minutes plus thrash epic. Picked shimmering guitars lead to a softer melodic vocal from Izquierdo before they change gears and we’re off on a whole load of crunchy guitars and a pounding rhythm and of course it goes through some light and shade bringing those classic Metallica epics to mind. It’s back to the old school thrash on ‘Gernika’ and ‘I Am Hatred’ before ‘What Kills Us’ keeps up the good work with the help of Spanish rapper Sho-Hai (no, me neither). ‘Vultures And Butterflies’ brings the melodies back and a stunning performance from Todd La Torre of Queensryche which shows that Angelus Apatrida are not afraid to slow down and offer something different. This is power metal at it’s finest.
My copy has two bonus tracks recorded live this year – the pit favourite ‘Indoctrinate’ from Bilbao brings an Exodus feel with the gang vocal thing going and a heavy chugging riff then ‘Give ‘Em War’ from Barcelona is 3 plus minutes of utter brutality.
Old school thrash for the modern age with a few twists. Another fine release from Angelus Apatrida who are often overlooked in favour of the Yanks but, let me tell you these Senor’s are an equal to any of the bands across the pond in either direction. Do yourself a favour and pick this up but where gloves because it’s red hot.
Written by: Smudge
Ratings: 9/10
About Author
