The latest offering from the British thrash legends Onslaught has been released to the masses and its bringing their music to a whole new generation of metal lovers. With this whole thrash revival taking part in metal these days, its great to have the old guard show the young kids that metal did not just form in the last decade but has been kicking ass since the 70s (in the case of Onslaught 1983). From the opening intro, militaristic drumming starts the show off right and gives the listener a great idea of what is to come. On the first proper track, Sy Keeler’s vocals are in top form, a raspy squeal that is enough to send chills down any true metalhead’s spine. It brings the listener back to a time when everything was not over produced in a studio, a time when auto tune was not the way to record every vocal performance. His voice drives along with the beat of Steve Grice’s drums and is powerful enough to match up to the guitar duo of Nige Rockett and Andy Rosser, a tandem that has only been playing together since 2008 but sound as tight as anyone else in thrash metal today. And in bringing people back to the old school of metal, the next track “The Sound of Violence” starts off with a very familiar sound, the harmonic tritone that begins Black Sabbath’s eponymous song “Black Sabbath.” This is a kick back to the roots of metal that I think gives a nod to the forefathers of metal that kids who are just now getting into metal need to pay more attention to. The song then kicks off into hyper speed in order to bash the listener over the head with pure fury and intensity. The rest of the album is much of the same with dueling guitars, immaculate solos, thunderous drums, and venomous vocals that all add to the thrash legend that Onslaught has been crafting since the early 80’s. The only exception to the high speed of this album is the plodding “Code Black.” This mid-tempo number seems to be the typical mid album track that allows the listener to catch their breath in order to make the other tracks seem that much more ferocious. To me, this track really stands out from the rest because it doesn’t really stand out at all. By that I mean this track is rather boring with metalcor-ish type riffs that all seem to just be thrown together as filler. As unsatisfying as this track is, it does not diminish the rest of the album which is typical thrash metal, which is not a bad thing. In order to really stand out in the thrash genre these days a band has to really do something different, something that hasn’t been done to death over the years. While not groundbreaking, Sounds of Violence is a solid effort and a great introduction to this band. However if one wants to really understand the greatness of Onslaught you really need to check out The Force and Power From Hell.
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