Review by Felix on March 21, 2026.

Chemicide are hard-working men of conviction, at least the two guys who are involved in the band since the first album. From their debut to "Violence Prevails", their fifth work within ten years, it is remarkable that all outputs follow the same style. Posers, jump into your miserable trenches, the next pure thrash attack is approaching. Equipped with a pretty massive and well defined mix which does not indicate their comparatively exotic origin in any way, the guys dish up the typical thrash cocktail. It consists of sharp riffs, powerful and fast drumming, a pumping bass and a lead singer who is not interested in melodic vocal lines. Pure shouting is his method of choice. Socio-critical lyrics are also on the agenda, everything else would almost be treason. Okay, perhaps the dudes are not the most talented songwriter under God's sun. Their material lacks catchiness to a certain extent – but they never deliver annoying or lukewarm material. Thus, even their less striking songs never fall under a solid level. Moreover, another crucial component must not be neglected. The four-piece scores with courage, enthusiasm and integrity. This alone is more than some other (sometimes much better known) combos can offer.

Naturally, to start an invasion of (three) cover songs at the end of the album does not make much sense, but their own pieces, for example the crunchy opener "Do As I Say, Not As I Do" (a song title Clawfinger would be proud of, but they have only "Do What I Say" in their portfolio), the dynamic and stormy "Red Giant" or "Prey Of Failure" are able to make some cool statements. Okay, the latter one suffers from a quite amateurish fade-out that reminds me of Sodom's "Outbreak Of Evil" in 1984. But firstly Sodom is definitely not the worst reference and secondly who has said that imperfection can't also have its charm? Especially as little things like that don't bother anyone who wants to damage their heads in a wild headbanging session as good as possible. Indeed, one can strain the neck muscles properly when it comes to "Violence Prevails". Gloomy parts like the beginning of the dystopian "Systematic Decay" interrupt the dominating high speed sections, but even this song ends in an inferno of speed. These guys know what we want to hear, haha.

Of course, the re-invention of the wheel cannot be expected here, already the scene-typical, ugly colors of the artwork indicate this. This anti-modern approach focuses on the nearly archaic form of thrash. A song like "Parasite" appears almost as an experiment due to its less strict verses, but at the end of the day, only thrash rockets have been created under the Costa Rican sun. The howling guitar solos confirm this. But giving new songs to an old style does not necessarily mean to copy anyone. Chemicide are surely influenced by the legends, but I don't see an obvious inspiration of a single band. Okay, a Slayer-break every now and then, but come on, this style does not leave an abundance of space. This is not enough to blame the guys in any way. Instead, one can enjoy a crisp collection of aggressive tunes which blow another fresh breeze into the scene. One cannot expect much more when it comes to this form of thrash and therefore I enjoy "Violence Prevails".

Rating: 7.6 out of 10