UMUR
"Face the Madness" is the debut full-length studio album by Danish thrash metal act Killing. The album was released through Mighty Music in August 2021. Killing formed in 2013 and released the "Toxic Asylum" EP in 2018. The EP was followed by a couple of singles before the release of "Face the Madness".
The music style featured on "Face the Madness" is 1984-1987-era US influenced thrash metal. It´s raw, aggressive, and powerful thrash metal with a caustic sounding lead vocalist in front. It´s music influenced by thrash metal before thrash metal got more polished and technical in the late 80s, and although the album isn´t completely devoid of more melodic moments (and memorable choruses like the one on "Don’t Get Mad, Get Evil"), it´s predominantly focused on power and aggression. The razor sharp riffs, the blistering solos, the pounding rhythmic assault, and the above mentioned rusty nails vocal performance all compete in being the best at ripping the skin off your face.
It´s arguably old school retro sounding thrash metal in terms of songwriting, performances, and lyrical content, and in that respect the music isn´t exactly unique or particularly original. Thankfully Killing obviously know what they do and they are both able to write catchy and powerful thrash metal tunes and perform them with great skill and conviction. In addition to that, "Face the Madness" also features a raw and powerful sounding production job, which suits the material well, so upon conclusion it´s a high quality release. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.
