Here’s what I know for sure. Given a couple more years and some seasoning, Tortured Demon is going to put out some brilliant Thrash Metal. And that’s not to dismiss what the British outfit have done on Rise of the Lifeless (Self-Released) as there are very interesting aspects to discuss, but this is still a band that’s figuring out what its sound is. 

Obvious said sound or style is thrash or as the band refer to themselves as “Thrashcore.” I’d ditch the whole Thrashcore term as Rise of the Lifeless is certainly more Forbidden or Dark Angel than it is Terror. Does the occasional breakdown make an appearance? Sure, but they also did on Pantera and or Machine Head’s catalog and nobody’s ever going to file them next to Bad Brains. Just give ‘Global Threat’ a play and you’ll immediately see my point. Actually, you should very much do that right now as that one’s tempos and double bass crunch will loosen the floorboards and terrify the neighbor’s dog.

If that one made you feel funny feelings, then it’s best to jump right into ‘Erase Your Life’ as it blazes with a quickness best described as Dave Lombardo piloting a McLaren F1 after pounding down four espressos. Oh, and it has the appearance of one of those mighty breakdowns we were just discussing that makes the kids like to throw down. Certainly, music to launch roundhouse kicks and elbows.

Good shit indeed, but we must address some of the deficiencies. For starters, why are we putting Rise of the Lifeless through what I like to call the Jason Newsted protocol? There is no gnarly low-end bass to be found here. ‘This War Will Come to You’ has breakdowns that should smash like a drunk driver in rush hour traffic but the lack of bass neuters the whole affair a bit. Also, we need to talk about choruses and why there are so many of them. All the time. It’s thrash, and if we’ve learned anything from that absolute mad subgenre,  there are no rules and conventional songwriting is for the birds.

Fucking hell, that next Tortured Demon record is going to melt some faces. 

Buy the album here:

https://www.tortureddemon.com/merch-store

7 / 10

HANS LOPEZ