Danish diehards Artillery surely had to be one of the most overlooked thrash acts of the eighties. With the metal music press more concerned with covering every Tom, Dick, and Kerry on the American scene, bands across the rest of the globe were left jostling for position. Up against the likes of Germany and the UK, Denmark was left somewhat out in the cold, despite having given the world the wonderfully evil Mercyful Fate. Even Canada, Brazil, and Switzerland ended up making more of a dent in the scene.

With two bona fide thrash classics in Fear of Tomorrow and Terror Squad under their belt, Artillery gave up the ghost in the early nineties, making a brief comeback in 1999 before returning with a renewed sense of purpose in 2009. Since then, the band has released six full-length albums, all of the same consistently high quality, and despite tragedy striking with the deaths of guitarist and former bassist/founder member Morten Stützer in 2019, and drummer Josua Madsen in 2023, the band just seem generally happy getting on with the job in hand.

Featuring two new tracks, a re-recording, and a live cut, Made in Hell (Mighty Music) is their first ever EP and a worthy addition to Artillery’s, er… canon. New vocalist Martin Steene shows versatility and strength, while new guitarist Rene Loua sounds great alongside founder member Michael Stützer. Meanwhile, the rhythm section of bassist Peter Thorslund and new drummer Frederik Kjelstrup Hansen already sound like a well-oiled machine.

Kicking off with a semi-distorted Middle Eastern vibe, the title track builds into a powerful rhythm with some solid kick drum work. Steene growls, roars, and uses clean tones while the riffs pile on one after another, the song building into a seriously punchy groove at the end. The other riff-laden new song, “Ghost in the Machine” follows with gritty vocals, high-pitched wails, and a fantastic melodic guitar solo.

Thrash acts attempting to recreate the energy of songs written forty years ago rarely works out perfectly. Still, this re-recording of “Into the Universe” from Fear of Tomorrow sounds every bit as aggressive as the original. Sure, some old schoolers will likely say you can’t beat original vocalist Flemming Rönsdorf, but Steene does a great job trying to prove them wrong. An energetic live version of “The Almighty” (also from FOT) rounds things off on an EP that proves once again that there’s more to Denmark than Vikings, bacon, and Lego.

Buy the EP here:
https://targetshop.dk/vare/made-in-hell-red-lp/

8 / 10
GARY ALCOCK
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