Cruel Force – Dawn Of The Axe

Cruel Force is, by both their own admission and that of their label, a German Blackened Death Metal quartet heavily inspired by the First Wave Of Black Metal (which, by and large, were Thrash Metal bands with what would later become Black Metal iconography, themes and overall lyrics) despite showing up to the proverbial table significantly later – This particular band saw its inception back in 2008 which was celebrated by releasing a Demo, a Single and two Full-length albums in quick succession (which, for those of you who are curious about the timeline in this case, translates to three years) only to go into a lengthy hiatus soon after. 

Only now, over a decade since their last release do the four Germans grace the world with new music – This time around giving their creation the title Dawn Of The Axe. 

Now, I will flat out admit to never having heard of Cruel Force prior to receiving this record but after quite a few spins on my record player (I lost count after the fifth) I can confidently say that I agree with the statement from the band themselves above: The connotations to bands such as early Kreator, Venom and Sodom is strong, both in the overal approach used in regards to writing the music, the riffs performed – And even the mixing which also comes off as being done deliberately old-school in order to further this comparison. And to be fair, it does work in their favour, even if, again, by their own admission, they did water down the Blackened aspects of their sound in order to make it more palatable, instead drawing inspiration from both other of their kinsmen (in this case Scorpions) as well as British Rainbow; All without sacrificing neither speed nor their blasphemous themes – Even if they have become somewhat muddled together with a more ‘Heavy Metal Cult’ aestethic. However, their general approach to de-distort the music by speeding up the music certainly gives is a very Heavy Metal-like sound and appeal (which is hammered home further by the cover art in my opinion).

The end result? A very fast-paced powerhouse of a band, one that I would not be surprised could easily full up a medium-to-large-sized venue with tunes, beer and a good time. All in all nine tracks adding up to thirty-nine minutes of old-fashioned Thrash Metal,  as seen through a modern lens. 

https://www.facebook.com/CruelForce