Thanatos is one of The Netherlands’ oldest metal bands and has been around since 1984. Naturally, the guys have quite a career and discography under their belts, but never cease to stay true to their roots, that is so aptly summarized in their biography on their website: “us against the world/fuck the mainstream!”. So, in 2020, Thanatos offer us a new record, entitled Violent Death Rituals. Let’s see what the guys came up with this time.
It all starts with the title track, Violent Death Rituals, which comes first all calm and stomping, only to make way for a full-blown, heavy death metal song. This continues with the second track, The Silent War, but that contains somewhat more thrash elements. This trend to switch between one song that is more death metal-oriented and one song that is more thrashy, continues for the rest of the record, which closes with As the Cannons Fade.
In conclusion: Thanatos offers a high-quality record that is spiked with 10 death/thrash tracks. Violent Death Rituals is never boring to listen to, as the guys clearly stick to what they like and are good at. However, at least to me, also no song really sticks out, leaving me a bit underwhelmed, which is a pity. Still, this record comes recommended to any thrash/death metal fan – 8/10.
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