Review by Greg on November 22, 2023.

Here we have another promising band meeting a rather silent fate... Titans Eve is one more band that flew under the radars of many, before ceasing any sort of activity. I reckon it might be hard to keep track of every single thrash album to come out of Canada, but their sophomore Life Apocalypse (2012) was a nice addition to the national repertoire, blending modern sensibilities with hard-hitting thrash and remarkable leadwork. Not an album for the ages, but one I'm still remembering so far.

With that being said, their apparent swansong Chasing the Devil isn't much to write home about, unfortunately. Only three years have passed, but the band appears barely recognizable. For starters, whichever of the Gamblin brothers took care of the vocal department, he just didn't have it anymore, or for some reason didn't care much about the recording sessions. It's true that their vocals never had stood out for variety before, being little more than the kind of modern shout everyone and their dog loathes, but here, it's a new low... a terribly unexciting, tired performance that already sounds like an alarm bell. My worst fears became true – the rest of the band followed suit. The initial pair of 'We Defy' and 'Warpath' is as clear of a hint as it can be, in this regard, as both spend most of their running time on unimaginative grooves and metalcore-ish refrains (while we're at it, don't make me mention the terrible, aggro chugfest 'The Grind'). Gone are the creative riffs, there are still glimpses of quality in the solos, but they're not that unmissable to justify a listen to the whole album, sadly. There are a few exceptions. 'No Kingdom' fares slightly better than the tedious title-track by virtue of a surprising, anthemic chorus, which still only arrives after three minutes of thrash of the blandest species. 'Stranded' is a calming instrumental adorned with violins and cello, which would have suited the predecessor's artwork (or a David Attenborough program, you decide). Closer 'The Endless Light' is, at last, a finally solid thrasher, and the only link to the band's past material.

I can concede that Chasing the Devil is far from being an offensive album, but apart from 'The Endless Light' and that amazing, if well-hidden, refrain of 'No Kingdom', I can't offer you a lot of reasons to stay. I just think it would have been reasonable to expect more from the same Titans Eve who wrote 'Life Apocalypse', 'The Abyss', or even 'Becoming the Demon', but alas, that's the way things stand. You'd be forgiven if you were to discard the band based upon this, but I'd still recommend checking out Life Apocalypse before doing so.

Rating: 5 out of 10