There must be something in the air at WormHoleDeath HQ at the moment, because they’ve been firing out some seriously good releases of late, not least the cracking Levaithan from Evilon (reviewed here) and, now, Melancholia by Belgian thrash merchants Lethal Injury. A nine-track release, Melancholia was recorded by Pieter Nyckees and Dennis Wyffels at Shellshock studio, and the duo do a good a job of capturing the band as they unleash their ferocious assault. Buy the CD and you may find yourself having to overlook the fairly horrific album cover (although it does have a somewhat 80’s vibe to it), but trust us when we say that the blistering material on offer more than makes it worth your while.
Somewhat surprisingly, Lethal Injury opt for a short, scene-setting intro in Haima. A short, moody piece, it leaves mothman to kick off the album, and this it does in the literal sense, the band squaring up against the listener over a barrage of churning thrash riffs. Taking their cue from the unstoppable Overkill (with elements of Exodus and Testament thrown in for good measure), mothman is a violent introduction into the brutal world of Lethal Injury. The production allows plenty of room for Josha Pylyser’s incisive bass runs, but it’s the twin guitar assault of Dennis Wyffels and Jonjo Hardy (by turns monstrous and melodic) that will keep you hooked, whilst Kevin ‘Rambo’ Van Eeckhoutte’s scorched earth vocals recall Steve Souza at his most unhinged. No less impressive is the death-infused horror of melancholia,a visceral slab of primal thrash with an Auro Noir feel that will leave you breathless. Combined with the earth-shattering production, it makes for potent listening indeed. Josha once more flexes his musical muscles on denonce, the throbbing bass that introduces the track clearing the way for a riff blitzkrieg that overpowers any last-ditch resistance you may have had.
Kicking off the second half of the record, a judiciously chosen sample from Full metal jacket leads into the unhinged suicidal call, Arthur Loobuyck recalling Dave Lombardo as he fights his way around the kit like an octopus on steroids. A hardcore thrash classic in the making, suicidal call is a sure-fire mosh pit killer that pretty much defines the band’s sound. The delightfully-titled scream, burn, die sees the deathly elements appear once more, as Dennis and Jonjo grind their riffs before detailing a potent groove destined to give the listener whiplash. Even less forgiving (if that’s possible), the downward spiral sees evil dive bombs and chunky bass give way to some impressive twin lead work for another masterclass in evil-minded thrash. In stark contrast, the beautiful melancholia ‘part II’ (featuring a guest appearance from Collin Southard) goes to show that the band aren’t all about merciless riffs and throat-ripped vocals. A moment of calm, it leaves the album to come to a juddering end with veiled woman of the black, a thrilling epic that tops seven minutes in its quest to flatten the listener’s cranium. A high-octane display of extreme metal musicianship, veiled woman of the black is exactly the sort of pulse-pounding finale that the album needed and it leaves the listener bruised, sweaty and ready for the band’s live show.
Given its legacy, thrash is a hard genre to break into, and yet Lethal Injury do so with impressive ferocity. Drawing upon the hardcore-infused thrash of Exodus and adding just a touch of deathly grind, Lethal Injury make a case for themselves through sheer guts and determination and there’s no question that the album, for all its thrash tropes, feels fresh and invigorating thanks to the wild-eyed vigour of the band’s performance. Lethal Weapon may not have reinvented the wheel here, but they’ve done a pretty damn fine job of perfecting it and, anyway, most listeners will be too busy headbanging themselves silly to care. Hell yeah, Melancholia is pretty much awesome from start to finish – just be aware that neck braces are an optional extra! 9
