Hail the old school and unpolished metal!!
Robin "Bonebreaker" Jönsson - Chainsaw
David "Goliath" Sällström - Earthquake bass & Doomsday roar (track 3,7)
August "Ripper" Holmstedt - Four front assault & Deathly shrieks
Memoir - Ripper, except "Parasitic Wounds" by Goliath
When it comes to black/thrash, Sweden is usually a safe bet to find some quality bands, being the country where Bathory spawned from certainly helps, and while most would point to Nifelheim, there are some truly wicked young and hungry bands, as is the case with Sulfuric and their debut record ‘Into the Darkness’.
The band market themselves as “oldschool” and “unpolished” metal, and they certainly embody and live up to those descriptors, this is pure, uncut, uncompromising and unfiltered thrash metal, with blackened vocals and imagery, and while there can be a legit complaint about whether or not the band’s music is at best a pastiche, and at worst a recreation of Bathory riffs and Sodom speed, and there is no denying about all the tricks and elements the band do in fact do here that are blatant and unsubtle. The band actually managed to use all those tried and true tropes and tricks without just being fetishists of old school thrash metal. A key aspect where the band truly separate themselves from most blackened thrash bands, is their overt punk tendencies. When it comes to blackened thrash, most bands just take black metal and focus more on riffs, speed and being more technical with their instrumentation, other bands just play standard thrash and add blackened vocals, Sulfuric on the other hand, play up the punk melodies and even grooves and use black metal as a rounding seasoning, which also gives the music an obscure atmosphere, and without discarding the sense of energy.
Furthermore, the band also display an excellent understanding of this style of metal, and technical prowess, the band members, individually and as a whole unit are very proficient musicians, they can be as savage and aggressive as the best, but they also know how to dial back the intensity when needed, as well as displaying more than just riffs and frenzied solos, and this is where Sulfuric are truly exemplary black/thrash, they play raw and straightforward thrash, with no frills or deviations, yet they add technical proficiency, and adherence to the DIY metal ethos of the 80’s as a contrast to the savagery.
Finally, the band also added that balance of old school devotion and technical excellence on the production, since they play unapologetic thrash in pure 80’s fashion, the band also included a very professional and even clean production sound, however I want to stress that when I say “clean” sound, I mean 80’s thrash “clean” sound, as all the instruments are audible and don’t overpower each other, but also, the sound is very natural and vintage, the production is akin to Slayer’s Reign in Blood, it's sufficiently polished to be considered professional, but it's not devoid of grit, and the final product sounds as heavy and intense as it should.
Overall Sulfuric truly delivered on their promise of pure old school and unpolished metal, with no filler whatsoever, just a ripping good time. While this type of music tends to be a bit monotonous, Sulfuric keeps things varied enough within their lane, and are consistently enjoyable for me to highly recommend this one, so crack up some beers and get ready to mosh.
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