Trample The Weak, Devour The Dead
Review Score: 9
Reviewed by: Matty Moore
There’s a new Terrifier in town and they are not clowning around.
After the release of 2017’s ‘Weapons of Thrash Destruction’, which received extremely positive reviews, Terrifier played the long game. They took their time, became a 3 piece, toured here and there and they kept fans waiting desperately for more, for 6 long years… until now.
‘Trample the Weak, Devour the Dead’ exploded into the airwaves on May 23rd 2023 and reminded everybody exactly why Terrifier should be considered one of the most impressive and just pure bad ass bands of the modern wave of thrash. It was worth the wait.
I am a simple man, when I see an album cover with Ed Repka’s art gracing it, I listen to the damn thing. Ed Repka, if you didn’t know, is behind some of the most iconic and brutal album covers of all time. Leprosy by Death ring a bell? How about Rust in Peace? Or Peace Sells…? How about Municipal Waste?! Along with a metric ton of other bands that are lucky enough to have this man paint a picture that shows exactly what the listener is in for. Terrifier were one of these lucky bands and the cover for ‘Trample the Weak, Devour the Dead’ immerses us in a puddle of thrashy goo before we even hit play.
The butterflies and goosebumps increase as the first track on the album ‘Trial by Combat’ kicks in the door, grabs you by the ears and slams your head against the wall. You may actually feel like you’ve been in active combat after listening to this song due to the comraderie driven shout-fest of the chorus and the machine gun drums. Who wouldn’t want to belt out “It’s a Trial by Combat, a Total Deathmatch” at 3am with your dumb buddies? I know I do, but like I said I’m a simple man.
Like a volcano that has been waiting 6 long years to erupt, the next couple of songs on the album give the listener exactly what we are waiting for and expecting. Pure thrashful bliss. It carries us up to the heavens with the melodic and downright catchy riffage on display in ‘Perpetual Onslaught’ then smashes us right back down to the 7th layer of hell with ‘Bones of the Slain’ (which has just a pinch of Tom Araya influence on the opening scream).
We get a little bit moodier with the next track ‘Depths of the Storm Sceptre’ with full wind and thunderstorm intro a-la Ronnie James Dio and a seriously heavy verse riff. Speaking of riffs, lead guitarist Rene Wilkinson is an undiscovered heavyweight champion. The next song on the album proving this as it showcases his skill and precision even more than previous entries with his Alex Skolnick style intro and leads on ‘Grinding the Blade’. It starts off slow but the tempo suddenly gallops into oblivion and dares us to not headbang viciously. Spoiler alert: You can’t do it.
Sometimes when we get to the back end of an album, we start to get a little worn out, especially with a straight up thrash metal record. Well, that is absoloutley not the case with this bad boy. Terrifier seem to have a knack for hitting where it hurts and going straight for the jugular with their music. They know exactly how much is too much, not enough or just right. And let me tell you everything is just right with this record. ‘Death and Decay’ is the song that snaps its jaws and barrel rolls us, crocodile style, to the bottom of the lake when maybe we thought we’d had enough. Possibly my favourite song on the album ‘Dawn of the Slaughter’ continues to eviscerate us. This one stands out as an exemplary example of what modern thrash metal should be. A perfect thrash song in my opinion.
Album closer ‘Awaiting Desecration’ allows drummer Kyle Shepperd to deliver a massively groovy rhythm section, which keeps this train rolling full speed ahead until its final notes screech to a halt. Vocalist Chase Thibodeau also manages to provide a somehow even more impressive performance on this final track, like he left every single thing he had on that studio floor and didn’t have to hold onto the demon anymore. The Kings of Kelowna have done it and they are here to claim their thrones in the Kingdom of Canadian Thrash Metal.
‘Trample the Weak, Devour the Dead’ is a solid 9/10 for me. Inject this into my veins all day long please.
**No video yet, just audio**