Review by Felix on October 25, 2026.

Some bands seem to run out of ideas over the course of a full-length album. Perhaps that’s why they sometimes opt for relatively unusual, shorter formats, such as a seven-song release running just 25 minutes. In Violator’s case, however, you can’t really accuse the Brazilian band of becoming less imaginative toward the end of “Annihilation Process” than they are on the opening tracks. The real problem is that the release suffers from a downright frightening lack of compositional depth right from the start. Good thrash metal is like a juicy piece of meat, but these South Americans are serving up tofu thrash.

To put it more simply, the music undoubtedly falls into the category of frantic, high-speed thrash metal. I won’t deny the band’s energy, enthusiasm, or technical ability. Unfortunately, not a single riff from the guitars constantly sawing away at top speed manages to stick in your head. The same goes for every verse, bridge, and chorus. The vocalist sounds lively enough, but his delivery lacks real power. His nervous, almost frantic delivery of the lyrics, combined with his relatively high-pitched voice, doesn’t leave a particularly professional impression.

This weakness could be overlooked if the songs offered more than just speed. Unfortunately, they don’t. There’s little logic to the EP’s structure, and the record simply doesn’t flow. It starts at energy level 100 and finishes at exactly the same point, without any significant variation along the way. That’s certainly better than remaining at a constant level of 50, but it’s hardly the be-all and end-all of songwriting. It’s also telling that the band chose a cover song that fits so neatly into its existing approach. Even here, Violator makes no attempt to introduce a different accent, whether subtle or more substantial.

At this point, you might hope that a brutal production would give the material the extra punch it needs. Unfortunately, that remains wishful thinking. The relatively thin guitars rasp their way into oblivion, and nothing in the mix compensates for this weakness. The result is a release with mediocre production at best, attempting to combine the characteristic South American wildness of the music with grandiose melodies and catchy passages, yet failing to find any common ground between these elements.

It sounds like thrash metal, but it simply fails to stir any emotions in me. No meat, just tofu. I’m happy for the band that other reviewers enjoy “Annihilation Process,” but, much as I regret it, I just can’t understand what they see in it.

Rating: 3.5 out of 10