Time Signature Thrash 'em all...

Genre: thrash metal

The Swedes know their metal and, no matter which genre we are dealing with, we can always expect at least one Swedish band to excel in that genre. Take for instance the thrashers in Die Hard's latest album "Conjure the Legions", which is an onslaught of old school thrash metal with a slightly modern edge.

The old school nature of Die Hard's music is evident already in the opening track 'Conjure the Legions' with its classic thrash style riffage and old school thrash drumming as well as traditional thrash and death-thrash guitar solos that go from melodic to chaotic and back again. This old school spirit characterizes the entire album, but has been generously sprinkled with more modern elements in the form of, for instance, some blastbeats and some heavier - dare I say - slightly sludgy passages every now and then. The real strength of the album is the riffage, as the Swedes really know how to write crushing riffs - and this applies to both the Slayer-esque riffs of 'Thrash Them All' and the more crust-oriented 'Cold Scythe' (which is an awesome track!) as well as the black-thrash oriented riffage that appears in 'Masters of Deceit'. In fact, every track is features a plethora of bone-crushing killer riffs.

Also, perhaps uncharacteristically of retro thrash (but then again, I would not say that Die Hard are an all out retro thrash act), the production is considerably well defined, although the drums have a nice organic sound, and there is a slight Slayer-like twang to the guitar. I think that the only aspect of this album which takes some getting used to are the vocals which sound like a Tom G. Warrior on Viking steroids - once you get used to the singing, though, it is actually pretty cool and suits the music perfectly.

Fans of thrash metal should definitely check this album out. It is Die Hard for the die hard.