Frantic, frenetic, frenzied blackened thrash metal. Yep, this is Knife, the extreme speed metallers from Marburg, whose entire delivery is so retro that you wonder if they are truly aware of what year we are living in.
This is Knife’s second album, following hard on the heels of debut Knife that arrived in 2021. It kicks off with the eerie intro of organ and chilling spoken word but quickly launches into “Hawks of Hades”, a blisteringly raw four-minutes that sets the scene for the next 30-minutes or so. The pace is relentless, singer Vince Nihil (yes, really) has a high-pitched rasp that fits with the carnage being released around him, and basically, it’s a high-speed thrill ride that’ll have you clinging on for your life at times.
There is no ceremony, with most tracks locking in at an average of around three-minutes, pacier songs well below that. It is raw, unreconstructed, and one wonders how much the band are in control at times. Maybe that’s what is so appealing about this album, because alongside Nihil, guitarist Laz Cultro bassist Gypsy Danger and drummer Ferli Coltello, this has excitement, edge, and a thrashy punk flavour that shakes things up.
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Knife aren’t going to win awards for the most technical performance or the most complexly crafted songs, for their work is more like open heart surgery without anaesthetic. Songs like “Heaven in Dust”, “Iron Sceptre”, and “Night Vision” are all explosive, visceral and aggressive. The tempo refuses to slow, everything coming at you as fast as humanly possible. The lead breaks are razor sharp, slicing through the thick riffing. It’s a pattern that many blackened thrashers employ, so it’s a relief when Knife finally slow the pace a little for the opening minute of “With Torches They March”.
If there are criticisms, it would be that the band’s style is rather formulaic. The vocals are one dimensional, and tend to irritate after a few listens, albeit that they fit the band’s sound well. When they do vary their style slightly, as they do on “With Torches They March”, dropping into a NWOBHM flavoured approach, things improve. Heaven into Dust is an album that works on most levels, despite my criticism. It fits neatly into the same stable as Hellripper, Midnight, Nightstalker, and the plethora of other bands who are spearheading the blackened thrash movement. It’s nothing new, but if you like your metal with a slicing, razor-sharp approach, then the power of Knife may well be for you.
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Heaven into Dust is out on August 25th
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