Review by Felix on August 30, 2020.

Thrash metal. Did I ever use these two words in one of my reviews before? I did so? Okay, but I am sorry, I have to do it again. Crimson Slaughter from Spain call for the next thrashing attack. The band prefers the old - and, from my point of view, the true - approach of the sub-genre. Nevertheless, although the artists like to take a trip into the past, let us speculate how future generations will judge this work.

In all fairness, our descendants will not say that Crimson Slaughter released the metallic highlight of 2016. They will additionally say that the band did not surprise the audience with highly original sounds. Although there is no obvious role model like Exodus, Slayer or Testament, the four Spanish ruffians do not desperately seek for new gimmicks in order to enrich their music. (Well, we all know this kind of enrichment - in most cases, it is just crap.) No, Crimson Slaughter are loyal to the initial movement of American thrash metal and its musical ideas from the mid-eighties, even if the first seconds of "Dead Walk Away" reminds me of early Kreator. Their no-frills approach is full of energy, straightforward, but not simple and equipped with the necessary degree of rawness, brutality and pressure. Of course, the full sound of Cycle of Decay is a valuable asset that helps the songs to develop their entire strengths. Just concentrate on the clear, sharp and vigorous appearance of the rasping guitars. Yet the compositions themselves are also well done, even though there is room for improvement in terms of catchiness and coherence. Especially a few solos are going nowhere. But come on, we are talking about debutants.

Future generations will also realize that lead vocalist Víctor Sánchez cannot challenge the charismatic singers of the first wave of thrash. His screams and shouts are powerful, but they lack an individual note. Some gang shouts or extremely distorted voices support him more or less successfully, but to be honest: this is no mind-blowing vocal performance. Nevertheless, Victor's style increases the level of energy and that's naturally a good thing. The high speed that dominates the album asks for a fidgety singer and he fulfils this request. Mind-blowing sequences like the beginning of 'Kill or Be Killed' are based on the explosive guitar work, but also on his screams. Leaving these details aside, the entire track belongs to the highlights of the album. It is on a par with 'Buried Beneath The State' which offers some exciting guitar leads. In particular the second part of the verse has a very good flow.

Viewed overall, the generations of our children and grandchildren will probably say it is no wonder that Cycle of Decay did not become a classic. Yet, and I hope that the album does not fall into oblivion, they will also say that the sawing guitars, the robust drumming and the pretty mature execution of the songs in general ensure a nice listening session. Indeed, I guess they will like this album - regardless of the then current products. And by the way, who knows how thrash metal will sound in 2035? Maybe some progressive "thrashers" have started to mix once sharp guitars with an overdose of flutes and harps? Or every thrash band that wants to be taken seriously must have an accordionist in its line-up? Or a hip-hop mix of "Angel of Death" is the new big thing? Nightmarish visions! Yes, the more I think about it, I am sure. Future generations will enjoy Cycle of Decay.

Rating: 7.3 out of 10

Review by Tomek on November 5, 2015.

God Dementia is a new band/project of Zack from Dead For Days. For those of you that knew and liked his previous band - there is some bad news. Dead For Days is now more like Dead For Sure or Dead For Real. Don’t despair though and keep reading because music from his new band, which evolved from simple brutal death metal into neck breaking, groove laden, grinding death/thrash, is a thing of ass kicking beauty and anybody in the right mind should be checking it out.

The line-up of this new ensemble consists of pretty much Dead For Days/Reign Inferno dudes (in case you were wondering) and you can be sure as heck they are more than capable of playing their instruments to make this thing into a beast. The only thing that changed from before though is position of second guitarist which on this album was taken by Rick Hernandez. For the less fortunate when it comes to memory cells: Rick was/is taking the position of drummer in other above mentioned bands. If it comes to the music, Zack composed and arranged all of it and he also wrote all the lyrics. All of them recorded it together although and it came together quite impressively. It became more advanced in arrangements department than it was before I believe, but also more interesting because of the amount of new ideas they’ve decided to use this time around. From the very beginning all the way to the end Consuming The Delusional is a full-on attack on religion, government, social life and propaganda. Vocals are very aggressive and sound awesomely pissed off laying it all out and combined with ever-present vicious drum attack, rumbling of very tense bass lines and thick layered riffage of guitars do not leave much time (if any)to catch your breath. Amount of riffs that Zack puts into his songs is insane and knowing that he already got enough material for another album makes you wonder about his mental state. Production deserves an honorable mention here since all and everything is easily recognizable and definitely adds to sharpness of the album itself. Music on the album doesn’t ever ease off or give you any relief; it is tensely packed with fierce energy, a brutal force and relentless attacks from all possible directions. It is a deliberate attack on ones sanity and - takes this as a warning - if you are not ready for such thing, prepare yourself for a vicious and possibly bloody ear thumping.

One of the most energy packed albums I’ve heard in a while so at this point the only thing that’s left for me to say is: steer your attention towards God Dementia because new album Consuming The Delusional is a solid as they come, and it gets better after every listen. It is also an excellent come back for our composing guitar grinder Zack and I’m sure that him and the boys will take any and all support that can be given in any way.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10