Review by Vladimir on April 11, 2023.

It’s time for some Teutonic Thrash Metal Attack with Speedwhore from Germany! The band is set to release their second full-length album Visions Of A Parallel World via Dying Victims Productions on May 26th. Speedwhore is an honored member of the Dying Victims Productions family, which has a rich roster consisted of very respected cult black, thrash, heavy and speed metal bands like Bunker 66, Hellcrash, Vicious Knights, Lucifuge, Iron Cobra, Iron Curtain just to name a few. Get ready for some vicious German black-thrashing metal!

If you weren’t expecting to hear some dirty and barbaric riffs of black/thrash metal, then you’re in for a real treat my friends. We start off nicely with 'Matriarch' which is a bit grim and dark from the beginning, but quickly switches to raw maniacal riffing, dive bombs and solos, vicious drumming, horrific harsh vocals, altogether giving a very ear pulsing and evil energy. The fourth track 'Hologram' introduces catchy/melodic heavy metal riffs and even falsetto beside the nasty harsh vocals. Some nice melodies can be heard on the fifth track 'Golgotha' which continues the heavy metal riffing tradition from the previous track. The sixth track 'Heir To The Ruby Throne', which I assume is associated with the Elric of Melnibone saga, provides some slower moments on the other half of the song which gives a nice mood shift. The seventh track 'Decrypted Prophecies' is a short but a very epic and dark instrumental interlude which opens up the album’s final chapter. 'The Last Bulwark Of Man' takes a different turn for the drumming style which is much more speed metal oriented this time around, while the riffs keep their rawness and dirtiness. The final title track 'Visions Of The Parallel World' is the longest one on the album, but it surprisingly throws in aggressive blast beats and tremolo picking in a black metal manner, some sinister and technical riffs, dissonant guitar chords and gloomy keyboards. The overall musicality is taken to a very raw and aggressive black/thrash metal direction, but it’s very dynamic with heavy/speed metal moments here and there, while the last track really goes for the full-on black metal approach with a grim style. I must say that I was overall pleased with how the songwriting was handled and the fact that Speedwhore really knows how to spice things up, especially when you least expect them to. The sound production is very raw, dirty and aggressive, and it almost sounds like a quality demo recording but in a good way. The guitars sound brutal, the drums have a very sharp and pulsing feel, and the vocals have an echoing style that give this album a bit more atmospheric touch.

I am very pleased with the overall performance and how Speedwhore didn’t just give us a simple black/thrash metal album, but rather threw in some nice finishing touches that really take the entire musical experience to a whole new level. It’s raw, aggressive and in your face as it should be, and if you’re already a fan of Speedwhore or any of the bands that are within the Dying Victims Productions family tree, you definitely won’t be disappointed with this one. 

Rating: 8.7 out of 10