Review by Michael on March 21, 2023.

Oops, is this new In Flames? That was my first (positive) thought when I heard the intro to 'Feeding The Decline', the first song on Deimos' Dawn debut. Melancholic violin sounds (as they were also heard on the debut album of the Swedes from what it feels like a 1000 years ago) start the song but after about 25 seconds a Tom Araya memorial scream ends this mind game and you get a nasty, brute thrash riff rolling around the ears and this will be repeated on all eleven songs in a similar form.

What this new German thrash metal band formed around Marc Grewe plays is uncompromising thrash, which stays on a high tempo mostly, but also slows down here and there in favor of some groovy elements. For example 'The Final Illusion', which starts quite modern but develops into a galloping stomper that is very catchy and has a quite great chorus.
'Over Your Dead Body' reminds me in parts of newer Kreator (guitars), with Marc's vocals giving it a heavier touch than, for example, "Hate Über Alles" has. The song is also very catchy and has some cool groovy parts that almost invite you to bang. Whereas, when Marc tries to sing a bit more melodic, the whole thing sounds like a slightly drunk Lemmy (although, as we know, there never was such a thing). Songs like 'The 4th Wall' or 'Two Handed Game' remind of Forbidden on their "Distortion" album and also a few bluesy influences like in "When In Doubt: Kill!", which have strong parallels to Overkill and of course Black Sabbath. A really cool thrash highlight can be found on 'Put Down That Weapon' pretty much at the end of the album. The song starts pretty quiet and then literally explodes in the further course. Especially the chorus is aggressive and insistent but the whole song is also spiced up with a few casual thrash guitar solos. That song is a real grenade. Also 'Unholy Water' impresses with its catchiness and melody and reminds of Morgoth a bit. The song is played mainly mid-tempo thrash, which is ultra groovy and guaranteed to be a real live banger.

As a conclusion it can be said that Deimos' Dawn have presented a damn good thrash metal debut which skillfully combines modern sounds with old school thrash on which all five musicians show their skills. Marc Grewe shows that he can perform not death metal only but also thrash and now I'm curious about what else will come from him and the band. 

Rating: 8.5 out of 10