Colorado-based thrashers Havok are back! After a whirlwind yet rewarding cycle for 2017’s Conformicide effort, the high-octane outfit have emerged from the studio victorious with their new album, V. Engineered, mixed, mastered by Mark Lewis (Cannibal Corpse, The Black Dahlia Murder, etc.) and showcasing stunning artwork by Eliran Kantor (Testament, Hatebreed, etc.), V will be released worldwide on May 1, 2020 via Century Media Records.
Opening with signature Havok stuff in the form of “Post-Truth Era“, Havok come out guns blazing in fashionable thrash style. The fast paced groove sinks in just right as the band proceed to lace your ears with modern meets old school pure metal.
Following on from that is “Fear Campaign“, bringing more old school touches to the beautifully tight modern production. Galloping kick drums and some scorching guitar work from frontman David Sanchez and fellow axeman Reece Scruggs can be heard as they drive the hammer right into the nail perfectly, sizing up to a break two thirds through.
Foot stomping mid-tempo grooves come in the form of tracks like “Betrayed By Technology” and “Ritual Of The Mind” and they do it so well, another showcase of the band not needing to go a 100 miles an hour at every turn thanks in large to the flexing power of drummer Pete Webber who has really become one of best in the business. The 1-2 punch hits you in the face hard which also brings another element of heaviness like in the track “Interface With The Infinite” which levels up to immense power.
A short interlude in “Dab Tsog” leads into another highlight of the album in “Phantom Force” as once again Havok slip effortlessly into their own trademark style which has remained on every album since their brilliant second album “Time Is Up”. For something a little different though, the next two tracks “Cosmetic Surgery” and “Panpsychism” offer the listener some unique ingredients in the Havok bowl of thrash metal as the band deviate into jagged edges and rolling stock of morphing weirdness and off-kilter rhythms but matched equally with spurts of the good old straight edged grooves.
Continuing the fun in more simplistic manners, “Merchants Of Death” takes us back to easy listening – albeit in a way only metal can before we see things end with the epic 8 plus minute juggernaut “Don’t Do It” which starts out slow, atmospheric and on a seemingly long winding road before things get unleashed into an attack that belittles everything before it. Those last few minutes alone are a highlight of the album and leave the listener very satisfied with an album that once again proves Havok to be one of the best in todays thrash metal world. Long time fans will love “V” and newbies will relish in it’s unadulterated thrash metal mantra.
9/10
TRACKLIST
Post-Truth Era
Fear Campaign
Betrayed By Technology
Ritual Of The Mind
Interface With The Infinite
Dab Tsog
Phantom Force
Cosmetic Surgery
Panpsychism
Merchants Of Death
Don’t Do It
