Playing at Bloodstock 2012 and appearing from behind the sort of artwork destined to appeal to veteran metal fans who still delight in the covers of Megadeth and Iron Maiden, Reign Of Fury play the sort of turbo-charged, hook laden thrash metal that sets off spontaneous mosh pits whenever it is played and on new album ‘World Detonation’ the band have crafted the sort of brilliantly memorable, heavy, impassioned music that will make it a must for classic thrash fans everywhere.
Taking their cues from the very best (Testament, Metallica, Megadeth), Reign of fury first and foremost are clearly very talented individuals. Jon Priestly and Ed Westlake are a formidable team on the guitars, their harmonised solos ringing out clearly through the mix whilst Bison is possessed of a voice that has both grit and melody in equal measure meaning that he can hit those high notes with ease, but his voice is equally imbued with a power that means he can carry over the more violent riffs with ease – it is a devastating combination that never fails to hit home with genuine force.
…And so to the album. ‘World Detonation’ comprises eight tracks, the first of which (‘goodbye mother earth’) is a scene-setting intro leading into the blistering ‘infernal conflict’ which mixes up scything thrash riffs with fret-bothering solos and a solid vocal performance to grand effect. Reign of fury clearly subscribe to the idea that maximum riffs and volume are the way forward and they have dispensed of three before the vocals even land, keeping things both energetic and exciting throughout and making each song feel far shorter than it actually is. ‘Envy the dead’ has an awesome opening riff – filled with power and aggression – and then the vocals come crashing in with a hook so solid it’ll carry you with it not to mention a blinding solo over the bridge that is jaw-dropping in its brilliance. Passionate, heavy, exciting: this is everything you could want from a modern thrash act with an old-school twist, and it’s safe to say that Reign of fury more than do justice to their influences whilst putting their own spin on the genre with their more classically orientated vocals which veer between an almost deathly growl and the soaring operatics of Bruce Dickinson.
Having thoroughly set the pulse racing, ‘Heaven waits, Hell takes’ breaks out the acoustic guitars for a moment of beautiful calm on the intro to the epic (over eight minute) track before the guitars come crashing back in to unleash the pain once more on a track that turns out to be one of the heaviest and most ambitious, both vocally and musically, tracks on the album. ‘Born to die (dying to live)’ follows up such an immense track by being a furious blast of sweat-soaked riffs and gang-chant vocals on the chorus destined to be heard screamed back at the band by all those lucky enough to attend their live shows. The title track is another bruising epic, as befitting the track that bears the album’s name, and it opens with Heavy Matt Earl’s throbbing bass and Magic Dave’s pile-driving rhythms to the fore providing a suitably solid bass for the guitarists to unleash yet another bristling riff from, whilst Boson’s vocal is delivered with a fire and fury that aptly sums up the devastated images of the cover art. ‘Vile submission’ has some of the best guitar work on the album leading into a stunning riff and a chorus that will superglue itself to your brain and refuse to be dislodged without the aid of caustic soda. Finally we have the drum-led blast of ‘the hound’, a super-long, super-heavy closer that neatly summarises everything that is brilliant about Reign of fury.
‘World Detonation’ is one of those albums that gets the heart pumping and the blood flowing. More remarkably the band have done it all on their own terms – Reign of fury are a DIY outfit who have crafted this brutally majestic beast without a label – and thus this admirably raw, yet powerfully produced album is truly the result of impassioned, determined musicians who more than deserve your time. Emblazoned with awesome, comic-book artwork and with not a bad song in sight, this is genuine, beautiful, brutal thrash written by long-time fans of the genre who have the talent, the song-writing skills and the burning desire to take the metal world by the balls with this stunningly strong set of eight songs. Don’t miss out on Reign of fury – they’re destined to go far.
See the awesome Reign Of Fury at BOA 2012 but meanwhile check out the band here...
Or watch this awesome video here:
Great review – I shall definitely get in front of this lot at BOA and hope they have the album on their merch stand there (Hint Hint!!). Thanks !!