{"id":1231,"date":"2022-03-07T23:03:50","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T06:03:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sdmetal.org\/msm\/?p=1231"},"modified":"2022-03-07T23:03:52","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T06:03:52","slug":"vio-lence-let-the-world-burn-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sdmetal.org\/msm\/vio-lence-let-the-world-burn-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Vio-Lence – “Let The World Burn” Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cLet The World Burn\u201d<\/strong> is the latest release from thrash legends, Vio-Lence<\/strong>, released March 3rd<\/sup>, 2022 on Metal Blade Records<\/a>. Marching over to Metal-Archives.com<\/a>, it also appears to be the newest material since 1993\u2019s \u201cNothing To Gain\u201d<\/strong>. You can say it\u2019s been awhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thrash Legends Mark Their Return<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I have a confession to make: I have never listened to Vio-Lence<\/strong> before today. I have known their debut \u201cEternal Nightmare\u201d<\/strong> is among the greatest of thrash albums, sitting at a happy 93% on Metal Archives<\/a>. Well, my metal journey began in 1993-94 with Black Sabbath and Metallica. I quickly fell down the rabbit hole with death metal when I heard Morbid Angel’s “Blessed Are The Sick”, you could say my interests lie in something darker and heavier, so I ended up missing out on thrash almost entirely. Recently I have been going back listening to key releases and hidden gems of thrash, but Vio-Lence<\/strong> rarely came up. Maybe this was due to \u201cEternal Nightmare\u201d<\/strong> being long out of print and finding an affordable copy was not easy1<\/sup>. Anyways, on with the review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impale The Fucking World<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

“Let The World Burn”<\/strong> is 5-track EP sitting at just under 25 minutes long, starting off with the track “Flesh From Bone”<\/strong>. This is nice, a catchy bass intro that builds up to the track’s main riff; you caught my attention. The lyrics convey the image seen on the cover art and in the band’s namesake, bodies impaled upon stakes and unfettered violence. We continue with the next track “Screaming Always”<\/strong>, this is standard, traditional thrash affair but not as memorable as the previous track. Not much to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Upon Their Cross”<\/strong> is a slow chug, breaking the pace from the first two tracks; and the riff isn’t interesting at all. This is where I started to get worried that this EP was losing it’s steam. I enjoyed the guitar solo at the 3 minute mark, but lost me when they return to the slow and boring “chugg-a-lugga. “Gato Negro”<\/strong> picks up the pace again with a nice, mid-paced groove, building up to a short but sweet guitar solo. A mid-break spoken word in the title track \u201cLet The World Burn\u201d<\/strong>, reminds of the movie phone guy. It made me giggle, but I’m sure that was not their intention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On first listen, I liked what I heard; wanting to hear more. However the more listened to it, the 5th time as I write this, that initial impression is beginning to change. There are a few glowing moments, but overall the EP is 25 minutes of average, by-the-numbers, thrash with a hint of groove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Let The World Burn” <\/strong>is not breaking any speed records; Dark Angel’s “Darkness Descends”<\/a> is not a fair comparison, instead this EP falls in line along with Annihilator and modern era-Death Angel. It’s not melting your face with speed, their band of violence comes in their lyrical content, a strong rhythm section. As a whole, this EP falls a little flat for me. I may return to this once I hear more of Vio-Lence’s<\/strong> earlier releases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS- NOVEMBER 6,2021: Violence photographed at Reggies in Chicago, Illnois on November 2021.\n\u00a9 Gene Ambo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When Sdmetal guru Brian Parker<\/a> asked me what I was going to review next, he listed off a few ideas, Vio-Lence<\/strong> being one of them. Having never listened to Vio-Lence<\/strong> before I decided to take this review as a “band introduction”. I got excited, I was going head first into brand new territory. My normal method to band introductions is to start at the beginning – or as close to the bands’ beginning as possible. This is so I can get a sense of the band’s chronological progression through their career. The downside to this is that it can influence perceptions of later releases due to biases developed from earlier favorites. “Eternal Nightmare”<\/strong> is highly regarded and it’s their full-length debut, it would be hard not to compare. Never having actually listened to this record, I therefore do not have a bias; I can go into “Let The World Burn”<\/strong> clean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Let The World Burn”<\/strong> acts as a way to test the waters; releasing this as an EP is a smart choice. If it succeeds, it serves as a warm-up to the next full length. Or if it fails, Vio-Lence<\/strong> will fade back to has-beens, never matching the success of their debut. In my opinion, “Let The World Burn”<\/strong> sits right in the middle, it’s ok. It’s not terrible or overly offensive to my taste, but it is not a significant achievement when comparing it to the rest of the thrash realm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Let The World Burn”<\/strong> being the first new material in almost 30 years, I can imagine expectations are high. My take-away is this: regardless of what I thought of \u201cLet The World Burn\u201d<\/strong>, I definitely need to check out \u201cEternal Nightmare\u201d<\/strong> and discover why many hold this band in such high regard. Off to Discogs I go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1<\/sup>I do not use streaming services and only download when I absolutely have to, the physical format (CDs or vinyl) is my priority. Recently have I been going to Bandcamp, but will do a digital download only when I have to. Even rarer is YouTube, so don\u2019t tell me \u201cjust go to YouTube, you can listen to anything there\u201d. Stop. The sound quality is terrible and does more to harm the sound than my uncle\u2019s 40-year-old vinyl of Rush\u2019s \u201cMoving Pictures\u201d that he listened to 3 times a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n