Formed in 1989, but with less than a handful of full-length studio albums to their name, Canadian thrashers Entropy aren’t exactly the most prolific act in the universe. A seventeen-year absence from 1995 to 2012, and a gap of eight years since their previous album hasn’t helped, but whenever the two remaining original members, vocalist Ger Schreinert, and guitarist Dan Lauzon, do eventually get together, the results are always worth waiting for.

Released independently, the band’s fourth album Force Convergence (Self-Released) is another weighty slab of technical, science fiction related thrash metal. Acoustic intro ‘Everything Falls’ opens the album in traditional style before launching headlong into the riff frenzy of ‘Ripzone’, a jagged, fast-paced offering which combines classic thrash with a Pantera vibe, and features some expert playing by bassist Oscar Rangel and drummer Blake Lemieux as well as a sensational guitar solo, and a vocal delivery guaranteed to blast the cobwebs away.

The slow, sinister crawl of ‘Planetary Impact Extinction’ sounds like the mutant offspring of Anthrax and Death Angel before picking up speed with Schreinert sounding like Han Solo‘s torture scene in The Empire Strikes Back. ‘Threshold of Decimation’ follows, a whirlwind of classic speed metal which owes no small debt to Slayer.

‘Weaponized Storm System’ is another frantic burst of groove-fuelled energy before bluesy instrumental ‘Transmigration’ segues neatly into the titular final track. An adventurous five minutes which mixes chunky Machine Head riffs and pinch harmonics with tremolo picking, wandering basslines, and an off-kilter guitar solo, all while echoing the likes of Voivod, Death Angel, Anthrax and even Dio era Black Sabbath.

Purchase the album here: https://www.entropymetal.com/

7/10

GARY ALCOCK