optisailor2002 The surge of bands playing old-school thrash metal has also included bands that pay homage to bands of Teutonic origins, and Entrench, hailing from Sweden certainly does this well with their new album, Inevitable Decay. The colourful artwork that looks like a child's masterpiece could easily cause one to keep delaying listening to the album, but looking past that, the music that lies beneath the artwork surprisingly doesn't disappoint.

The first thing that strikes the listener is the extreme old-school production quality of the album, with opener As Dawn Breaks sees the band not providing any slow buildup that many bands tend to utilise, instead hitting the listener in the face with extremely frantic riffs and a quick tempo. Vocalist Fredrik's style is a semi-shriek, sounding like a higher pitched version of Kreator's Mille Petrozza, and this complements the aggressive music at the background. The guitar tone throughout the album is also extremely thin, bringing albums such as Slayer's earlier material to mind. Even the riffing on some of the tracks reek of the Slayer influence, such the opening riffs of Debt of Sorrow, sounding like it could fit comfortably in Reign in Blood. Other times, songs like Debt of Sorrow sees the band bringing in such influences by bands like Sodom.

But it is not all chaos throughout as the band provides some slower moments, with moments such as on tracks like Portrait of a Phobia giving listeners a small break before the madness continues full speed ahead. Guitar solos are also not a complete shred-fest, as guitarists Fredrik and Hannes incorporate some melodic moments as well, such as on Into Oblivion. The underlying rhythmic section of drummer Joel Gustafsson and bassist Joel Sundin helps to maintain the order amongst all the insanity provided by the guitar wielding duo.

The raw production quality helps make the album all the more charming, and unlike many bands that attempt the old school feel through intentionally making the production raw, Entrench manages to do so without coming across as pretentious, and instead makes the album more authentic and sincere, and a blast for fans of old-school thrash metal.

Originally written for http://www.heavymetaltribune.com/

J-Man Despite being released in 2011 by a Swedish band, the music on Inevitable Decay sounds almost exactly like what we could've expected from the late eighties American extreme thrash metal scene. Fast-paced riffs, angst-ridden vocals, and dashes of technicality all make up Entrench's debut effort, and the overall intensity of this near-forty minute album is astounding. Even if Entrench may linger a bit too much in the shadows of their ancestors, Inevitable Decay is an absolutely kick-ass album that all fans of old school thrash metal should get a hold of. Entrench is one of the more promising bands in the recent thrash revivalist movement for sure!

The first thing that's noticeable about Inevitable Decay is that it's entirely void of modern influences. Not just in musical style, but also in the sound production and even the songwriting formulas. The production is just about as raw and unpolished as it gets, and even though it's far from "sonically perfect", I think it suits Entrench's style perfectly. The songwriting also has a strong foundation in riff-heavy speed metal, filled with fast drum patterns and frantic guitar riffs. There are a lot of riff-changes within Entrench's songs, though, and none of the songs ever linger in one area for too long. This is a fast-paced journey into old school thrash metal, and a damn good one at that.

If you're looking for innovation in Inevitable Decay, odds are that you'll come out pretty disappointed. But if you're in search of an album that successfully pays homage to early death/thrash and has some of the most powerful riffs you'll hear this entire year, it's hard to consider Entrench's debut anything but a success. Fans of Slayer, Kreator, and the like should find plenty to love with Inevitable Decay - I know I did! 3.5 stars are very well-deserved for this promising young act.