Sign Of Death – Revival

Sign Of Death is a relatively new band to emerge from Ladenburg, Germany. They were originally formed in in the beginning of 2019, but it is after the arrival of the new drummer in the beginning of 2021 that they begun recording music. The first single “Lost” came out later same year. In October 2021 the band entered the studio to record their first EP entitled Revival.

Band’ current line-up looks like this; Oscar (lead guitar, bass and vocal), Jannis (lead guitar & bass) and Puggy (drums). EP Revival consists of the following five tracks; “War of Minds”, “No Compromise”, “I see my Death”, “Hopes and Dreams” and this aforementioned “Lost” as a bonus track. They’re obviously playing an old-school thrash metal; filled with razor-sharp skull-splitting riffs, some cool twists and even some melodic sprinkles and solos too, just enough to break the monotony and surprise the listener. The vocals are varied from track to track, but if I have to speak in general terms, I can tell that Oscar sounds pretty pissed-off with sometimes high-pitched vocals, sometimes harsh, sometimes clean. Drums are pounding and delievred with a lightning precision.

The opening track is called “War of Minds”, it starts with guitar sounds, mostly fast thrash riffing, followed by some thrashing hellish drum beats and harsh yet clean vocals. Next one is “No Compromise”, with continuous heavy thrash riffing, and pounding precise drums. Third song is called “I See My Death” which sees some interesting twists, but again it continues more or less where its predecessors ended. “Hopes and Dreams” is probably my favourite track off Revival. Riffs are sharp and edgy, perfectly supplemented by some bass groovy parts and the vocals leaning on hardcore. The final track is a bonus track named “Lost”. It has a few starts and stops underway, but like all other tracks by Sign Of Death, this one is very aggressive and thrashy!

The whole production is superb, and it is Rolf Munkes (Crematory), who is also responsible for mix and mastering at Empire Studios. Cover artwork was done by Georgi Georgiev from Moon Ring Design. In other words, everything fits perfectly here. A very promising material, and I’m looking forward to hear their full-length.

For further info on this thrash act from Germany and their first EP, visit https://signofdeath.bandcamp.com/album/revival