Review by Felix on April 8, 2025.

Ten things I did not know until I listened to With The Old Breed. In detail, it was new to me that

1. frontman Johannes Clemens embodies exactly the dude that Mille stopped to be roughly 40 years ago. Mr. Petrozza, once an energetic ruffian, now an egocentric and lazy dictator, can admire his reincarnation in the video for “Lament of the White Realm”, among others. Johannes acts full of passion and aggression, his grim yet juvenile nagging and barking fits perfectly to a track that leaves definitely no room for improvement. Just enjoy the fantastic guitar melody fragment which accompanies the line “Agony calls through the echoing walls, over the edge a promise falls”. Simply perfect.

2. the mid-paced tunes of “Pleasures Of The Flesh” (Exodus, of course) still have such an impact. But the strong 'Fragmentation' with its drum intro, the sawing guitars, and its casual background shouts remind me a lot of 'Till Death Do Us Part' and 'Braindead'. And, by the way, its ominous guitar tones at the end show an element that did not occur on these semi-classics. So don’t jump to conclusions – Warfield don’t begin to run out of breath on the fourth position, they just add another, very well-tasting flavor to their material.

3. it makes so much fun to scream “Dogs For Defense” repeatedly, a song title Holy Moses obviously forgot to use.

4. newcomers, who need f**king seven years for the successor of a well-done debut, can return with such an infectious vibrancy. Honestly speaking, I was more or less certain that the thrash metal lights had gone out in the living room of the brethren Johannes and Matthias, but on With The Old Breed they prove impressively that they are still able to play themselves into a delirium Clemens, a new medical diagnosis which does have only positive effects on your health. Their fury meets on a par with technical precision – Drummer Dominik Marx delivers his share as well – and thus a very resilient and robust base is laid for a great full-length.

5. I was wrong concerning the production of their debut. I wrote that it is dust-dry and well balanced, but now, in direct comparison to the crystal clear, somewhat cold yet never sterile vehemence of With The Old Breed, a massive difference gets evident. No doubt, especially the directness and never mechanical yet positively emotionless guitars transport the true old school thrash metal feeling – regardless of the fact that the pretty modern mix does not worship the golden eighties.

6. it is possible to perform in the classical three-piece configuration (bassist/vocalist, guitarist, drummer) like Venom, early Tank, Motörhead, or Sodom without spreading any filthy, primitive, or noisy vibrations. Warfare does not count in this context, because their drummer was responsible for the vocals. Warfield compensate for this by rasping guitars, surgical accuracy, and restless belligerence. Already the first songs, the socio-critical opener 'Melting Mass' and the Slayer-esque 'Appetitive Aggression', feature these traits.

7. the young thrash generation does not shy away from the sporadic use of keyboards. The acronym 'GASP' (Gather at Suffering’s Peak) is not only the longest song of the album, it is also the only track where the keyboards occur. They add an appropriate, almost surreal end-time feeling and reinforce the baleful mood of the song. This form of integration of this instrument upgrades the piece, even though its ending is a bit too long.

8. my musical mindset is really immune against any form of evolution. 'Soul Conqueror' is nothing but a simple and compact, direct and violent torpedo. I have already heard a lot of similarly limited, strict songs and I begin to wonder how this song-writing formula comes to new results again and again. But the song works excellently and this is a kind of track I always liked and sorry, this will not change in future as well.

9. that the trio has such a good instinct for the flow of a full-length. One can listen to this work from the beginning to the end and neither uniformity nor inadequate breaks show up. Thrash might be a narrow-minded genre, but this is not to say that its albums automatically suffer from the given frame. By far not! With The Old Breed will hopefully not be the last album to prove this thesis.

10. young dudes like the three musicians from the Southwest of Germany want to be With The Old Breed. After more than 56 years of survival, I can say that I have already joined the ranks of this breed and I enjoy that Warfield want to march with us. An entrance examination is not required. Their musical approach leaves no doubt that they have inhaled the Bay Area spirit completely. Bands like Exodus, Sacrifice, or Forbidden find their echo in the sound of the Teutonic three-piece.

In total, we have an old-school presenting (yet freshly attacking) approach and a longing for the old breed. Therefore this review, written by an old guy, demands an old slogan to be complete. So if you see this album: buy or die! Or: thrash or be thrashed! Or: bang that head that doesn’t bang! It’s up to you, but don’t ignore With The Old Breed.

Rating: 8.8 out of 10

Review by Felix on April 8, 2025.

Ten things I did not know until I listened to With The Old Breed. In detail, it was new to me that

1. frontman Johannes Clemens embodies exactly the dude that Mille stopped to be roughly 40 years ago. Mr. Petrozza, once an energetic ruffian, now an egocentric and lazy dictator, can admire his reincarnation in the video for “Lament of the White Realm”, among others. Johannes acts full of passion and aggression, his grim yet juvenile nagging and barking fits perfectly to a track that leaves definitely no room for improvement. Just enjoy the fantastic guitar melody fragment which accompanies the line “Agony calls through the echoing walls, over the edge a promise falls”. Simply perfect.

2. the mid-paced tunes of “Pleasures Of The Flesh” (Exodus, of course) still have such an impact. But the strong 'Fragmentation' with its drum intro, the sawing guitars, and its casual background shouts remind me a lot of 'Till Death Do Us Part' and 'Braindead'. And, by the way, its ominous guitar tones at the end show an element that did not occur on these semi-classics. So don’t jump to conclusions – Warfield don’t begin to run out of breath on the fourth position, they just add another, very well-tasting flavor to their material.

3. it makes so much fun to scream “Dogs For Defense” repeatedly, a song title Holy Moses obviously forgot to use.

4. newcomers, who need f**king seven years for the successor of a well-done debut, can return with such an infectious vibrancy. Honestly speaking, I was more or less certain that the thrash metal lights had gone out in the living room of the brethren Johannes and Matthias, but on With The Old Breed they prove impressively that they are still able to play themselves into a delirium Clemens, a new medical diagnosis which does have only positive effects on your health. Their fury meets on a par with technical precision – Drummer Dominik Marx delivers his share as well – and thus a very resilient and robust base is laid for a great full-length.

5. I was wrong concerning the production of their debut. I wrote that it is dust-dry and well balanced, but now, in direct comparison to the crystal clear, somewhat cold yet never sterile vehemence of With The Old Breed, a massive difference gets evident. No doubt, especially the directness and never mechanical yet positively emotionless guitars transport the true old school thrash metal feeling – regardless of the fact that the pretty modern mix does not worship the golden eighties.

6. it is possible to perform in the classical three-piece configuration (bassist/vocalist, guitarist, drummer) like Venom, early Tank, Motörhead, or Sodom without spreading any filthy, primitive, or noisy vibrations. Warfare does not count in this context, because their drummer was responsible for the vocals. Warfield compensate for this by rasping guitars, surgical accuracy, and restless belligerence. Already the first songs, the socio-critical opener 'Melting Mass' and the Slayer-esque 'Appetitive Aggression', feature these traits.

7. the young thrash generation does not shy away from the sporadic use of keyboards. The acronym 'GASP' (Gather at Suffering’s Peak) is not only the longest song of the album, it is also the only track where the keyboards occur. They add an appropriate, almost surreal end-time feeling and reinforce the baleful mood of the song. This form of integration of this instrument upgrades the piece, even though its ending is a bit too long.

8. my musical mindset is really immune against any form of evolution. 'Soul Conqueror' is nothing but a simple and compact, direct and violent torpedo. I have already heard a lot of similarly limited, strict songs and I begin to wonder how this song-writing formula comes to new results again and again. But the song works excellently and this is a kind of track I always liked and sorry, this will not change in future as well.

9. that the trio has such a good instinct for the flow of a full-length. One can listen to this work from the beginning to the end and neither uniformity nor inadequate breaks show up. Thrash might be a narrow-minded genre, but this is not to say that its albums automatically suffer from the given frame. By far not! With The Old Breed will hopefully not be the last album to prove this thesis.

10. young dudes like the three musicians from the Southwest of Germany want to be With The Old Breed. After more than 56 years of survival, I can say that I have already joined the ranks of this breed and I enjoy that Warfield want to march with us. An entrance examination is not required. Their musical approach leaves no doubt that they have inhaled the Bay Area spirit completely. Bands like Exodus, Sacrifice, or Forbidden find their echo in the sound of the Teutonic three-piece.

In total, we have an old-school presenting (yet freshly attacking) approach and a longing for the old breed. Therefore this review, written by an old guy, demands an old slogan to be complete. So if you see this album: buy or die! Or: thrash or be thrashed! Or: bang that head that doesn’t bang! It’s up to you, but don’t ignore With The Old Breed.

Rating: 8.8 out of 10