Has it really been eight years since the stunning ‘Return to Babylon’ emerged from Chile’s underground to worship at the altar of old-school thrash? I must be getting old. Nonetheless, Nimrod B.C. are back and sounding bigger than ever with a new full-length album, destined to bang heads everywhere around the world. Produced by founding member Chris Ira, mixed by Darren Carikas and mastered by the legendary Bill Metoyer (Slayer, Dark Angel, WASP), ‘God of war and chaos’ has a crisp, powerful sound that fondly recalls the golden era of thrash whilst adding a couple of up-to-date sonic twists that keep things satisfyingly heavy throughout.
Boasting ten tracks in just thirty-six minutes, ‘God of war and chaos’ harks back to the days when bands such as Slayer would surprise themselves at their own ferocious velocity. The furious pace means that no track outstays its welcome, and the album hits hard, fast and often, leaving the listener bloodied and bewildered at its conclusion, but more than willing to go another round. A short intro, ‘introduction to revolution’ serves as a call to arms (and will undoubtedly play as the band take to the stage), before Nimrod B.C. unleash hell with the churning maelstrom of ‘Revolution Evilution’. Make no mistake, this is pure, denim-clad heavy metal delivered with fire and fury by a band who care not a jot for fads and fashions. It may not reinvent the wheel but, like the band’s peers, it thrashes away with such malevolent glee, that it’s impossible not to be carried away by it all. Emerging from a phased guitar intro, ‘Catastrophic prophecies’ has the sort of adrenalin-surge riff that made ‘reign in blood’ one of the greatest thrash albums ever committed to tape, whilst the vocals recall Steve ‘Zetro’ Souza as they veer between high-pitch wails and metallic snarls with a punkish edge. Absolutely refusing to let up the pace, ‘god of war and chaos’ has a churning riff, blistering solos and a palpable sense of rage, the track leaping from the speakers with a feral urgency that is somewhat unnerving. The first half of the record concludes with the punk-infused fury of ‘frontal assault’, the band digging into the dirty sound that Exodus spent much of the eighties honing.
The first sign of anything approaching a mellowing of approach comes with the elegiac beauty of ‘Winds’, a short, instrumental piece that serves both as a showcase for the exceptional guitar skills present in the band and for a moment of respite before the band surge back into action with the mid-tempo might of ‘they shall not pass’. At heart, it’s an old school mosher, but the potent percussive assault shows that these old dogs have learnt some new tricks and the track sounds satisfyingly massive. Astonishingly, ‘Fukushima 666’ actually ups the ante, an impressive feat as the album nears its end and, despite using the somewhat cliched device of an air raid siren as its intro, the track itself is so savage that it earns the eerie, warning howl that preceded it. With the album careering toward its end like a train with the brakes off, ‘at the borders of the mind’ initially appears to be a fairly predictable thrash track, only to head off at unexpected tangents, its taut riffing keeping listeners hooked until the utterly deranged ‘metal masters’ arrives. A gloriously fast-paced, full-blooded thrash assault that is pretty much a perfect summation of the thrash formula delivered over the course of just five breath-taking minutes. It is the perfect closer to an album that is delivered throughout with irresistible gusto.
‘God of War and chaos’ eschews innovation and, instead, writes a love letter to the genre of thrash. Nimrod B.C. draw on the masters of the genre, lifting the virtuosity of Dave Mustaine, the relentless savagery of Slayer and the punk spirit of Exodus to craft a thrash masterpiece so thrillingly visceral, its fans will need neck braces before the year is out. Welcome back Nimrod B.C., it’s been too damn long, but it’s been worth the wait! 9
