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THELEMITE
Survival Of The Fittest

Sleaszy Rider (2023)
Rating: 7.5/10

The country of Greece once again comes up trumps with some classy 80s inspired heavy metal, this time in the form of Athens-based combo Thelemite. This is the band’s third full-length offering, having released their debut, Slave To Desire, in 2013, while the second, Thelemism, emerged in 2021.

With its Judas Priest-styled artwork, Survival Of The Fittest makes its mark immediately, a rich and fiery slab of throwback metal dripping with nostalgia built upon hot riffs, slick melodies and soaring vocals. Somehow, and I’ve heard a few people mention this, there is an atmosphere akin to Ozzy Osbourne’s classic 1983 opus Bark At The Moon. Maybe it’s the superb axe work, maybe the vocals or just a general feel, but as this album unravels you can’t help but be bewitched by its lore and passion.

At times Thelemite drifts towards a Savatage-styled majesty (‘Visions From The Past’), and there are many other musical journeys on offer here which wear their influence on their sleeve. But whether it’s a dose of Twisted Sister (‘Black Hearted’) or a streak of Alice Cooper (‘White Dreams’), this is all very much built upon 80s heavy metal.

Survival Of The Fittest, while unoriginal, remains one of those inviting then enchanting records that isn’t as one dimensional as some might think. For instance, ‘Living Without You’ has a sleazy, swaggering Guns N’ Roses vibe, while ‘NWO’ is quite the clanking chugger. Some may find a handful of tracks succumbing to too much mimicry, but such aping of the 80s seems all the rage today so just enjoy this slab for what it is… nostalgic heavy metal.

Neil Arnold

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