Label: Iron Shield Records
Date: January 19th, 2024
Wherever I saw on some cover picture that the band has these four colours – neon, red, orange or yellow – I know it’s thrash metal. Even if we bet on it, I wouldn’t lose. Also, sharpened letters and a name that ends with suffixes like “ator” or “tion”, it just must be thrash. On the picture there is some nuclear waste in the background and in front of it an illustration of typical thrashers in battle vests, with beers in hands, which also you can guess only once what genre is it, without listening. Next option should be some monster, hybrid whatever or war field with zombies. I caught myself just being too familiar with this and a bit proud of myself. But not to get me wrong, thrash sits right next to traditional heavy metal as the oldest genre and it really stayed true to its style. It progressed through decades but the essentials are always the same. It’s cool for certain type of metalheads.
Students of German thrash metal school with straight A’s that I welcomed come in a band called Infestation. Their first album got out on the sunlight under the name of “The Vermin Within”. Nothing more, nothing less, just in place for real big fans of thrash metal. So, let’s dig in.
I am not that big fan of thrash because every band except Sepultura, in my mind, sounds the same. But Infestation reminded me of those basic starts of thrash with good production and in the era of experimenting they actually stayed old-fashioned, to my pleasant surprise. “Infernal Anthem” describes itself by its name and leads us into a shredding start of the album, with the song “Infestation”. They didn’t spare their instruments and thus gave us an awesome, though a bit typical thrash metal song. I am not going to describe songs one by one, there is no need, but the energy of the album is so crazy and full of adrenaline which crawls into your body. I just saw myself in the mirror in one minute, headbanging like on the concert.
“Executioner” and “Ravage Unleashed!” are perfectly made for mosh pits. Special fact about thrashers and their energy is that even if you are not a fan, that flow of energy will take you. Guitar riffs and drum blasts definitely made killer melodies. In combination with a damn good vocal of mister Maurice Surkus, it makes heaven for the fans. I must say that Infestation, especially the voice of Maurice Surkus is obviously inspired by Destruction and Sodom. Having heroes among those tough guys and sound like them is a privilege. The audience for bands with this style will always be present and some new kids will find their gods in Infestation and similar bands.
Lyrics smell of bullets, metaphorically said, and songs like “Kill the Traitors”, “War Zone” or “Mind of a Killer” are full of aggression that people get before they enter the damned war fields. Thrashers always resemble of war in my head.
Infestation is a young hope for classical thrash metal and one day they will sit on the throne instead of their heroes I mentioned before. On moments typical but with energy they have, the path is cleared, because in time of apathy and depression, this kind of energy is necessary like water to Earth.
