Rezinwolf - Corruption Kingdom
So Rezinwolf are another thrash metal band from the United Kingdom (more specifically from Harwich, of a bloody places) who have been garnering a lot of attention from the media recently. Metal Hammer seems to give them a stamp of approval and they're even playing Bloodstock Open Air festival this year so they've certainly been a busy bunch of lads, and their new album Corruption Kingdom doesn't exactly tarnish their reputation either.
If someone were to approach me and ask for a prime example of 'modern' sounding thrash metal, I'd hand them a copy of this. Corruption Kingdom is a lovely little bundle of aggression, melody and typical thrashery with a lot of classic heavy metal tinges to it that many bands have tried to nail, but have seldom succeeded in doing so. A big bonus Rezinwolf get is for that elusive timing trap - the album is only 33 minutes long and the songs are spread out and paced well enough to avoid falling into that pitfall of generic, needless playtime buffing that so many acts have fallen victim to recently and I'd have to say that this has been a major factor here. Corruption Kingdom rips, but it still doesn't present anything that hasn't been done before so any whiff of repetition or overlong tracks would have absolutely destroyed it to the point of it becoming so mediocre that it renders the album unlistenable. Rezinwolf have been extremely wise to limit their song lengths, and they've even thrown in some shorter tracks (Tomb of the Incarcerated runs for a perfect 3 minutes) that so many modern thrash metal albums so desperately need. As for the songs themselves, well... nothing new, but nothing to turn your nose up at either. Tracks vary from the fast and aggressive to downright anthemic in nature and despite feeling somewhat samey in places, the band have managed to write some really crunchy thrash that'll give any other band in the world a run for their money. The production will be a bit hit-or-miss for many, it's very slick, metallic and almost overproduced in places for that tried and tested 'in your face' sound but it works fairly well for what Rezinwolf do here despite feeling a little bit overdone in this day and age. One minor problem is that combined with Rezinwolf's style, it can give a rather metalcore-esque feel at times which feels slightly offputting and out of place on occasion - thankfully, these are few and far between but it does warrant a mention.
Once again, a short review simply due to the album maintaining a level of "this is pretty neat" from start to finish. It's refreshing to hear a modern thrash album that isn't all about THRASH BEER ZOMBIES all the time, but at the same time Rezinwolf still don't offer anything new or particularly lifechanging. What they do offer however is a heavy and very enjoyable listen that should last you a very long time - Corruption Kingdom is a very promising sign of bigger and better things to come. As a footnote, I shared a bill with Rezinwolf a couple of weeks ago and they put on a stunning live performance so on top of buying this. I'd implore everybody to go and see them live should the opportunity arise.
If someone were to approach me and ask for a prime example of 'modern' sounding thrash metal, I'd hand them a copy of this. Corruption Kingdom is a lovely little bundle of aggression, melody and typical thrashery with a lot of classic heavy metal tinges to it that many bands have tried to nail, but have seldom succeeded in doing so. A big bonus Rezinwolf get is for that elusive timing trap - the album is only 33 minutes long and the songs are spread out and paced well enough to avoid falling into that pitfall of generic, needless playtime buffing that so many acts have fallen victim to recently and I'd have to say that this has been a major factor here. Corruption Kingdom rips, but it still doesn't present anything that hasn't been done before so any whiff of repetition or overlong tracks would have absolutely destroyed it to the point of it becoming so mediocre that it renders the album unlistenable. Rezinwolf have been extremely wise to limit their song lengths, and they've even thrown in some shorter tracks (Tomb of the Incarcerated runs for a perfect 3 minutes) that so many modern thrash metal albums so desperately need. As for the songs themselves, well... nothing new, but nothing to turn your nose up at either. Tracks vary from the fast and aggressive to downright anthemic in nature and despite feeling somewhat samey in places, the band have managed to write some really crunchy thrash that'll give any other band in the world a run for their money. The production will be a bit hit-or-miss for many, it's very slick, metallic and almost overproduced in places for that tried and tested 'in your face' sound but it works fairly well for what Rezinwolf do here despite feeling a little bit overdone in this day and age. One minor problem is that combined with Rezinwolf's style, it can give a rather metalcore-esque feel at times which feels slightly offputting and out of place on occasion - thankfully, these are few and far between but it does warrant a mention.
Once again, a short review simply due to the album maintaining a level of "this is pretty neat" from start to finish. It's refreshing to hear a modern thrash album that isn't all about THRASH BEER ZOMBIES all the time, but at the same time Rezinwolf still don't offer anything new or particularly lifechanging. What they do offer however is a heavy and very enjoyable listen that should last you a very long time - Corruption Kingdom is a very promising sign of bigger and better things to come. As a footnote, I shared a bill with Rezinwolf a couple of weeks ago and they put on a stunning live performance so on top of buying this. I'd implore everybody to go and see them live should the opportunity arise.
1. Corruption Kingdom
2. Rage Against Us
3. Hail To Armageddon
4. Beyond The Rapture
5. Tomb Of The Incarcerated
6. Flag Runs Red
7. To Arm The Rebels
8. Onset Of Plagues
9. And Hell Followed With Him
