Review by Felix on February 16, 2026.

The Force is back. "Haneda", the fourth album of Cruel Force, is in a difficult situation. Two of its big brothers, namely "Under The Sign Of The Moon" and "Dawn Of The Axe", have set the bar almost too high. And yes, the band has managed to modify its style after the long hiatus without offending the black thrash community. The symbiosis of archaic metal elements, a lot of high velocity sections, flair of the eighties and typical genre lyrics made up for the almost complete absence of black ingredients on "Dawn Of The Axe", but what will be the next step? The promo babbles again about Rainbow and Dio, but with all due respect to Ronnie James (R.I.P.) and Ritchie B., I don't want to listen to this kind of rock or metal when it comes to a Teutonic underground legion. Okay, a cool classic solo like the one in "Titan's Awakening" is welcome, but generally speaking, Ronnie and Ritchie should stay at home. "Vielleicht das nachster Zeit", as Rainbow said in their very own form of the German language.

All-clear: "Haneda" does not deliver an inappropriate approach. Malicious tongues might say the album is nothing else but part two of its predecessor. Indeed, izts general configuration with a mix of high speed rockets and more epic / experimental tracks is more or less the same as before, but as long as they deliver absolutely fascinating material, I have no problem with a continuation of the success formula. Nevertheless, "Haneda" has to struggle to meet "Dawn Of The Axe" on an equal footing. It's about nuances that can make a tiny difference in quality. Already the intro "The Cross" is absolutely okay and opens the curtain gracefully, but the extremely cool western feeling of its personal predecessor remains untouched. No big deal, I know. On the other hand, this time the vinyl's B side is kicked off by a regular track. Despite its playtime, the musically rich, almost prodigal "Warlords" is no slightly progressive number. Regardless of its different facets, it joins the ranks of the pretty straight, very fast and admirably energetic pieces that shape a big part of this sonic refuge. If I would have had the outstanding degree of energy of their songs, I would have been an Olympic athlete 35 years ago. But bad luck, already the permanent sports during my military service were a challenge. Okay, next topic.

"Haneda" holds a lot of vital material, always driven by the uncrowned king of excellent fill-ins. GG Alex at the drums lets his sticks fly over the toms and makes the best use of stereo effects for listeners with only two ears. But all of the guys do a great job. Carnivore's voice is not the most expressive one in the German underground scene, but he finds a direct way to the listener and he avoids all things he probably cannot perform very well. So do not expect theatrical or melodic vocals, but a no frills approach with lyrics about war, legends and Gods which fits the musical content brilliantly. Cruel Force race through their compositions with almost no chance for the listener to take a breath. Yes, the instrumental at the end of side A shows the pretty mild face of the band and honestly speaking, it should shy away from comparisons with the other tracks of the album. But this remains an isolated case. "Sword Of Iron", "Titan's Awakening" or "Whips-A-Swinging", these are the names of the songs that characterize an album which is filled to the brim with compact high-speed neckbreakers. Cruel Force act straightforwardly, they have a clear vision and do not seem to be interested in compromises. Breaks like the one in "Whips-A-Swinging", where an edgy guitar line seems to disturb the overwhelming flow of the song, turn out to be another great feature. Not in terms of style, but with respect to quality, Slaughter's song-writing talent follows the dogma that only the sky is the limit and we profit from his talent a lot. And I haven't yet mentioned the absolute best songs of "Haneda".

So it is time to put the spot light on the title track. Frankly, I expected a more or less epic and majestic finale when I saw its playtime of more than nine minutes. Wrong thought, "Haneda" (the song) stands for stylistic continuity. Fast, straight and lively verses show the band in its best form, and the non-commercial yet catchy chorus is in no way inferior to this. The instrumental part gives Slaughter the option to create some more or less solemn melodies, but everything goes hand in hand and so this song leaves no questions open. It justifies each and every second of its nine minutes. The second track that fulfills the highest expectations is "Savage Gods". It is not just a prototype high speed number, one of those which are typical for Cruel Force since their return. It is also a perfect combination of rapid verses with unexpected, highly effective melodies added and a deadly bridge that results in a merciless chorus. You say you can write a better number in this style? Please record and release it and I promise that I will give a higher rating than it is allowed.

Coming to the end, I may not forget to mention the absolutely flawless production. "Haneda" sounds neither over-produced nor does it lack impact. It holds just exactly the listening experience that one wants to get when it comes to an album of "modern" Cruel Force. So only one question remains: who or what is Haneda? At first I thought they write due to whatever reason about the airport in Tokyo (remember Riot's wonderful classic "Narita" from 1979). But this does not seem to be the topic here. Anyway, Cruel Force have released two totally captivating albums since their comeback without losing any iota of their authenticity. Despite the outstanding song material, maybe this is their greatest achievement. Long live the Force.

Rating: 9.1 out of 10