Apostasy "Death Return"

    Sadistic Chilean thrashers, Apostasy, have proven over the years to be an extremely fearsome force. The band’s third full-length album, “Death Return,” is yet another example of how this band continues to offer listeners utterly sinister thrash riffs, while also capturing that pure evil sounding 80s thrash sound. 

    “Death Return,” is actually the band’s first new full-length album in 35 years, which is why this album perfectly conveys that old school style of raw and merciless sounding thrash metal. If you are a thrash fanatic who desires some bone crushing riffs that conjure up hellish sounding atmospheres, then this album is going to hook you right away. Working with Sentient Ruin on the vinyl release of this album, Apostasy will once again inspire thrash fans across the globe to crank up the volume and begin ritualistically moshing to the band’s wicked sounding tracks. 

    From the ominous sounding introduction, to the face ripping guitar riffs, to the hellish vocals, this album is a true thrash metal beast. The opening song, “Death Return,” has that intense and aggressive sound which reminded me of Slayer, Kreator, Morbid Saint and early Sepultura. Apostasy really unleashes a flurry of adrenaline pumping rhythms and each composition delivers that relentless thrash metal attitude. Songs such as, “Son of Hate”  and “Deceased in Funeral,” contain some monstrous palm muted galloping riffs that sound like horses thunderously charging into battle.

    I think the band’s raw and very straightforward old school thrash sound is extremely well captured on this release. They do not go off course by trying to mess around with complex time signatures, nor do they incorporate jazz influences into their arrangements. For example, “The Great Apostasy - The Night,” is a brutal onslaught where the drums and guitar come bursting through the musical landscape unleashing unholy devastation. There is definitely no shortage when pertaining to the amount of headbanging riffs on this album, and thrash fans will be constantly moshing around when listening to these songs. Put on a song like, “Praise Darkness,” which is not a very long track, but the overall tone is truly diabolical sounding and perfectly sets up anticipation for the final song, “Obey the Antichrist.” Out of all the tracks off of the album, “Obey the Antichrist,” is my favorite with its menacing thrash metal energy as well as the song’s insidious chord progressions. 

    “Death Return,” is one agonizing assault of old school thrash metal worship and Apostasy is definitely a band that I would highly recommend checking out. With this album you know what you are getting, so do not worry about any experimental surprises coming from these musicians. Their passion for extreme music is undeniable along with their respect for the genre. Over the years some metal bands have fallen victim to horrible trends that have led to some extremely dismal sounding albums. Fortunately Apostasy has not been influenced by any of that nonsense, which is why I highly recommend giving this album a listen. 

Check out the full album below: 

Sentient Ruin Bandcamp:

https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/album/death-return

Apostasty Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/apostasych/

Apostasy "The Unknown Path"

   Sentient Ruin is on a role with new releases this year, and I am not complaining at all. Recently the band has put out a handful of cassette tapes and this EP from Apostasy is one of those new releases. Apostasy first released, “The Unknown Path,” back in 2020 and is teaming up with Sentient Ruin to put out the EP on a physical format for fans to purchase. Apostasy is a very talented extreme metal band that combines merciless sounding thrash metal with raw and primate black metal elements. 

   These Chilean thrash metal maniacs have been around since the late 80s, but eventually ended up taking a rather long break and did not put out new music until about 2018. Ever since their return the band looks to have been delivering some blistering releases, and I can tell you that, “The Unknown Path,” is one decimating release. If you are fan of ruthless thrash similar to that of Destruction, Morbid Saint and early Slayer, then this album is going to hook you in right away. 

   The tracks featured on the EP are extremely raw sounding and come roaring at you like fiendish hell hounds looking tear something apart limb from limb. “Defeating the Speed,” is a scorching piece of music that does not mess around and wastes little time conjuring up a chaotic sounding musical landscape. The vocals are what really caught my attention when I started listening to the track, especially how the vocalist is able to deliver the lyrics with such sinister aggression. 

   One can tell that this band does not look to break away from the old school thrash blueprint, which to some might seem a bit repetitive. However, I felt as though that even though the riffs on this album are not the most technically innovative sounding at times, the band did a really solid job creating songs that convey a fearsome old school extreme metal attitude. “Sign of Saturnus,” is one track that I found to be very haunting in terms of how the band went about crafting these haunting arrangements which ended up making for one evil sounding piece of music. The final song, “The Shining Light,” is another solid track and keeps the blasphemous energy flowing with more savage guitar work and ear shattering drum parts. Again, the music is nothing new to the world of metal, although the execution is a lot better than some of the new metal releases I have had sent to me. 

   Apostasy is a band that I highly recommend checking out if you are into old school sounding extreme thrash/black metal. “The Unknown Path,” is a great introduction if you have not heard of this band before, and the music will be sure to scare the people in the car next to you when driving around your city blasting this at full volume. I swear that there are enough sacrilegious chord progressions on this release to wake up the dead and start of demonic zombie uprising! 

Check out the full EP below : 

Sentient Ruin Bandcamp: 

https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/album/the-unknown-path