Label: Century Media Records

Date: February 5th, 2021

Consider me surprised! And not just because this is a twenty years old band that I’ve never heard about. Or because the self-titled record is their seventh full album and I’ve never heard about them. Or because they’re signed to a major label and I’ve never heard about them. It’s a simple matter of musical offering which basically killed my eardrums right from the start. And not just because I left the speakers’ volume way up high for some reason.

If you’re not thinking of Pantera somewhere around the twentieth second of opener “Indoctrinate”, you might just be deaf. Or ignorant, one of the two for sure. However, later on the dominant force is revealed to be a bit different. Angelus Apatrida is a band that performs something that can be called crossover thrash. Their sound does not leave the Pantera influences for too long, but overall appearance of Anthrax styled, hardcore infused thrash is the main source of inspiration for the Spaniards. Only, their music leans towards some modern tendencies in thrash. Especially when it comes to this massive production work that gave the album at least thirty percent more power than it would have, should it have been recorded back in the late 80‘s / early 90’s.

Now, you might be thinking that Angelus Apatrida is a copycat formed to pay tribute to the good old days. To some extent, you might be right. However, there is no doubt in my mind that the Spaniards have what it takes to make a serious mark on the scene. They give out enough strength and aggression throughout to fill at least five releases by third-rate bandwagon type of acts running around. Also, their riffing is quite catchy. Their rhythms are pummeling just like Pantera’s were. These gang choruses are perfect to singalong to. Even when it is a single voice, they are fairly memorable. Not to mention that Mr. Izquierdo sounds properly pissed off here. I definitely wouldn’t want to be caught within his sight when shit hits the fan.

I’ve recently come across Exorcizphobia from Czech Republic and right now Angelus Apatrida takes another high position among my favorites on the thrash metal ground. Considering the albums coming from the birthplaces of thrash lately, it would seem that the balance of power is shifting. US and German hordes have a gigantic competition. Let’s see where it takes us.

Cannot recommend this enough! I’m off, hunting down their previous releases.