Review by Felix on December 22, 2020.

Somebody said that Greece is the new Bay Area and maybe this was not completely wrong. Domination Inc. is one of the bands from the cradle of European culture that swing the thrash axes in order to keep this generally fantastic style alive. They do not belong to these retro units that rarely match the quality of the old heroes while using their stylistic devices. The guitars are very fat in view of the modern production and the lead vocalist conveys an almost hardcore compatible rage with regard to his constant shouting. This idea works quite well, but unfortunately another one does not. The guys deliver a rather dragging number on the second position of the running order with a length of almost ten minutes. This song expresses rather pain and despair than thrash-typical energy. Honestly speaking, this was not the best idea, because the track hurts the flow of the album (as well as an inadequate break in 'Dark City') and the idols of the past would have never done such a thing. And even if you do not look in the rearview mirror all the time, you should avoid such an experiment.

Despite these unforced errors, one can say the album holds a sufficient number of vehement riffs and mighty moments. The temporary sound is both a blessing and a curse. Yes, it does not recreate the original thrash feeling, but it develops an appropriate degree of power. The musical approach has light and shadow as well. It’s a pretty modern interpretation of thrash with stomping, menacing and voluminous sections, but the genre-shaping jagged riffs of razor-sharp guitars do not mark the most prominent feature here. Songs like the partially speedy 'Dehumanized' do not lack edges and corners, but unfortunately this is no matter of course on Memoir 414. By the way, this piece reveals another little weakness of the material. Domination Inc. mostly fails when it comes to catchy choruses or further memorable parts. The song-writing needs optimization, even though the band does not act like amateurs. Guess you are beginning to understand the dilemma of these Greeks. It’s an album with a lot of grey spots – not bad, but without any chance to challenge the outstanding works of the subgenre. As much as I regret it, broad parts of the material remain expressionless.

The album ends with a Motörhead cover. From my point of view, one can do much better things than transforming 'Love Me Forever' into a kind of thrash ballad with raw yet whining vocals. Either way, let’s come to the conclusion: retro thrash is probably not an innovative force, but recording hefty yet partly incoherent tracks and calling them thrash metal is not the best idea as well. Domination Inc. has potential, but their compositions do not always come to the point and the monotony of the vocals are not helpful too. Maybe Greece is really the new Bay Area, but this full-length does not indicate this legal succession. Perhaps the next work will show the real class of Domination Inc.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10

Review by Jack on June 25, 2002.

It is good to see a relatively unknown label in DVS Records really starting to make a name for themselves through the progressive fields of metal. Add this impressive debut from Sonic Debris alongside Wolverine and Ashes to Ashes, and DVS Records are compiling an impressive list of extremely competent acts.

Sonic Debris, themselves are influenced by some pretty big names: Faith No More, Dream Theatre, King Crimson, and perhaps a few of the more mellow moments from Smashing Pumpkins. Speaking of which, vocalist Rune Sorheim is clearly influenced by the aforementioned Smashing Pumpkins, in terms of renowned vocals by Billy Corgan.

However, do not be too hasty in judging this band to sound like another carbon copy of Faith No More, Dream Theatre and Smashing Pumpkins, because Sonic Debris have shown with “Velvet Thorns”, that they are way too capable to be just another shadow in the progressive scene.

“Velvet Thorns” makes the transition from harder to melodic to mellow sequences efficiently, but suffers from being a little contrived and maybe too wishy-washy. The members of Sonic Debris all play their instruments well, their song structures are solid, but unfortunately is hard to judge what they were trying to achieve with “Velvet Thorns”, seemingly there are too many musical directions incorporated at once. These guys are good musicians but malign their debut by trying to do much, maybe it was the fact that Sonic Debris have gone 5 years and 3 demos before releasing an actual album and “Velvet Thorns”, was an attempt to include all their signatures in one huge triumphant effort.

My advice to Sonic Debris is to allow the next album to have a more room to breathe and the results may turn into something astounding. That being said, “Velvet Thorns”, despite my harsh criticism is a solid progressive album and well worth a few listens to absorb the interesting directions that Sonic Debris display.

Bottom Line: Even if all the big guns were seemingly fired at once on “Velvet Thorns”, Sonic Debris are a band hard to deny. Possessing some uncanny ability at progressive art and a talent for songwriting, Sonic Debris may be worth looking out for in the future.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 5
Production: 8
Originality: 7
Overall: 6

Rating: 7 out of 10