Chemicide – Violence Prevails
Review By: Bena Pietroni
Rating : 8
Being a European Thrash Metalhead there’s an abundance of quality Thrash from the continent filling playlists and tours from the biggest stadiums through to the local clubs. Whilst this is undoubtedly a huge blessing, for those such as myself who love the furiously raw strain of Thrash coming from Latin America, there are all too many phenomenally talented bands who don’t get the recognition or wide reach that they deserve. Chemicide are one of these.
I hadn’t heard of Chemicide before being sent this album to review and I’m so glad that has been rectified! After checking out the music video for ‘Violence Prevails’, I immediately had to check out the rest of their discography and was honestly annoyed that I had never listened to this band before. They will be going straight onto all of my playlists and I really hope they can get back over to Europe at some point soon. Having supported bands such as Toxic Holocaust, Cattle Decapitation and Municipal Waste, they seemed poised to explode into new levels of notoriety and this new album is perfect for contributing to that.
From the first track through to the last, the production hits you like a freight train. Chalo’s drums are so crisp and punchy, you know from the first groove that you’re in for an awesome listening experience. The band worked with Martin Furia of ‘Destruction’ and ‘Bark’ fame and the outcomes very much justify that choice. The mix manages to get a really clear, well-balanced, modern sound whilst losing none of the intensity you’d expect with a 80s thrash track. Kohke’s bass is always present (something all too often neglected in Thrash) and compliments the guitar mixes very nicely as well as stealing the show at certain points. Overall this is definitely one of the best produced Thrash albums I’ve ever listened to.
On the album as a whole, this is an absolute Thrash masterpiece. Each track is distinct, with its own character and attitude whilst feeling cohesive to the overall cacophony of the whole. The solos are killer on every track, avoiding the mindless shredding or repetitiveness that some bands fall into. Frankie and Sebastian seem to have an excellent musical understanding of one another with the guitars rarely wasting the opportunity provided by having 2 incredibly proficient musicians. They build well crafted harmonies that keep the tracks fresh as you’re listening. Frankie’s vocals are raw and utterly brutal. The lyrics are often very political, with an unrelenting rage at injustice, corruption and classism. I look forward to having a lyric sheet in front of me, so I can fully digest their meaning.
The order of the tracks feels very thought through. Sometimes you’ll find the fastest or ‘thrashiest’ tracks at the beginning of an album and the slower or more experimental tracks making up the rear guard. On this album however, the running order allows for smooth transitions between the tracks, plunging you into a tonally rhythmically or texturally different kind of song. This means that you’ll finish listening through the album before you really know it. You can hear different influences on different tracks as well. ‘Chokehold’ brings Slayer levels of brutality whilst you can hear elements of Violator and Kreator in songs like ‘Do As I Say, Not As I Do’ and ‘Violence Prevails’.
‘Violence Prevails’ is so awesome of an album that it feels almost unfair to pick stand out tracks. The riffs in ‘Systemic Decay’ as well as the rhythmic change make this my favorite overall. Shoutouts to the bass in ‘Parasite’, the drums in ‘Violence Prevails’ and the solo in ‘Prey of Failure’ as well. All of these tracks are modern Thrash classics.
01 – Do As I Say, Not As I Do (8/10)
02 – Red Giant (7.5)
03 – Systemic Decay (8.5)
04 – Parasite (8.5)
05 – Violence Prevails (7.5)
06 – Prey of Failure (8/10)
07 – Chokehold (8/10)
08 – Supremacy (8/10)
09 – That’s Right, We’re That Spic Band! (8/10)