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DARKNESS
First Class Violence

Massacre (2018)
Rating: 7.5/10

Germany’s Darkness has always been one of those criminally underrated thrash acts which seem to have slipped under the radar of most. Since forming back in December 1984 they’ve released a batch of solid albums, the last being the fantastic 2016 opus The Gasoline Solution which was one of my favourite albums of said year.

And here they are again with their fifth studio offering, aptly titled First Class Violence, which begins with a Slayer-cum-Teutonic attack; kicking in with brash, volatile percussion and a riff that just scores through the skin with its immense precision.

Lacky’s drums have always maintained that uncompromising snarl; choppy slaps of booming terror. This is matched by the scathing guitar assault of Arnd and Meik, a deadly duo that creates huge tremors throughout this composition. Meanwhile, Lee’s no frills bursts round of what is essentially a catchy yet agitated release from a band that refuses to baulk when it comes to their style of hammering.

After a short intro (‘Prelude In E’) the band is keen to knuckle down, furiously charging through nine bouts of mayhemic destruction. The seething ‘Low Velocity Blood Spatter’ features a flurry of blasts and interchanges with occasional slower menace, made all the more sinister by Lee’s spits which at times flirt with deathlier growls.

But the title is just the tip of the iceberg as the opus develops, where monolithic thrash boulders are cast out to the audience by the juddering bass strikes of Dirk whose mighty pounds work in frightening tandem with the drums on the slamming introductory strikes of ‘Neoprimitive’. This track becomes a wild, foaming ride of raw emotion, with the combo barking up the 80s tree before the equally frantic ‘Hate Is My Engine’ provides further rabid rapidity. Flecks of Destruction and Sodom seem only natural, but Darkness shrug off any such comparisons by simply avoiding any gloss or over indulgence of melody, the posse just frantically bursting at the seams with fleshy riffs of speed and those percussive hammers.

‘See You On The Bodyfarm’ begins with sinister rolls of grimness. With each bass shudder there’s a black, oily streak of malevolence as the riff creeps with a vengeance, the sound becoming thicker and thicker until the pace quickens and the black plumes are belched with fury.

Yeah, yeah, the 80s was brim full of similar designs, but the fact that Darkness is still able to dredge such a dry quarry and find nuggets is admirable. Forget the watered down appeal of once blazing souls as Kreator, Darkness work by the book but remain as fresh, energetic and hurtful as their inception. This is epitomised fully with the bone-shuddering precision of ‘Born Dead’ that comes flecked with Eastern promise only to pack a hefty percussive punch with its crushing gallop.

The same could also be said for the razor wire attack of ‘I Betray’, which starts out like some glimmering power metal beacon before its transformation into what is arguably the albums most aggressive design; an unrelenting hot streak of speed and spit. And then there’s that hostile title track, which is another quarter pounder of concrete to the skull as Lee snaps with such fuming venom that one can feel his spit burn the ears. The mix of tempos on this one makes it all the more infectious. Indeed, it’s anthemic to some extent, a clattering rally cry to all those headbangers to join arms and fight.

What we get with First Class Violence is a straight up thrash metal record, and I wouldn’t have expected anything more. But the quality within the band’s arsenal still remains, because when times are tough and you just want to let yourself go it’s albums like this which get the adrenalin going.

Neil Arnold

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