This past weekend, I played my debut show with my new heavy/speed metal band, Secönd Wind. While reviewing any soon to be released music would be a blatant conflict of interest, feel free to follow us on Facebook here if you feel so compelled to do so. The reason I mention this latest venture is because, as with all gigs I play, the days leading up to it follow a steadfast regiment consisting of hot showers, hot tea, an ever-running humidifier, and intense full body workouts. And of course, such intense workouts call for intense music. Leave it to the good folks at Dying Victims Productions (Still not on your mailing list, but still love ya!) to hook me up.
Unlike the better part of DVP’s largely euro-centric roster, Deceptor are an up and coming death/thrash power trio from Raleigh, North Carolina, here in the good ol’ US of A. That’s right, these brutes come from the same home state as Ric “Nature Boy” Flair. Can I get a WOOOOO?! Now that we’ve got that out of our systems, let’s give a little background on these boys, shall we? Deceptor formed in 2022 and have kept extremely busy ever since. In the 4 years since their formation, they’ve released a demo (2022’s Bound by Ritual) and an EP (2023’s Bathed in Blood), both of which set the stage for their debut full length, Reign of Terror.
Despite the generally no frills nature of death/thrash, Reign of Terror is largely a tale of two albums. The front half consists largely of brutal mosh thrash in the vein of Demolition Hammer and Slayer. Cuts like “Human Cavity”, “Firing Squad”, and “Whammer” boast those ignorant, hard-stomping, braindead riffs tailormade for getting the pit to spiral out of control. There are, however, moments in which the band crosses the threshold into first wave death metal territory. These maneuvers are first hinted on the breakneck “Join or Die” (Blink and you’ll miss it!), before going full throttle on the Sepultura meets Obituary thuggery of “Street General” and “Fog of War”.
Death-thrashing aggro-fests aside, there is an elephant in the room when it comes to Reign of Terror, and that is its over-reliance on instrumentals. With “Red Dawn”, “GI Joe Headstomp”, “Combat Patrol”, and “Firing Squad”, nearly half of this album is vocal-free. Worse yet, an otherwise muscular cut like “Whammer” is weighed down by lengthy instrumental passages. It’s a shame, because while these moments don’t ruin the album, they certainly don’t add to it either, and it makes this debut album feel more or less like a glorified EP in the long run.
With a little more fine-tuning in the songwriting department, Deceptor can certainly march forward into death-thrash victory. They’ve got the riffs, rhythms, production, and full scale brutality down to a science. If they can take it and mold it into a Reign in Blood-esque recipe of short sharp shock on steroids, cutting the fat, or perhaps even coming up with more things to say (Steve Reynolds-fashioned barks would’ve fit over “GI Joe Headstomp”), there’s no telling what heights Deceptor will reach. Until then, Reign of Terror serves its purpose, and makes for a more than appropriate lifting soundtrack.
7 out of 10
Label: Dying Victims Productions
Genre: Death/Thrash Metal
For fans of: Demolition Hammer, Slayer, Sepultura
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