I must admit, one of my “less desirable” personal traits is constantly mentioning first wave black metal bands that nobody else seems to acknowledge, like Flames. “Who?” Ah, sit down lad. Let me tell you a tale of the first Hellenic black metal band…that is unless one of you know-it-alls can one up me with a band who came even earlier. Interestingly enough, Flames began in the mid ’80s as a raw speed metal band in the vein of Exciter and early Metallica. Come the late ’80s, their music would grow significantly darker and more extreme, resembling the black/death/thrash amalgamation of Persecution Mania era Sodom and Pleasure to Kill era Kreator, and by the ’90s, they’d go full blown death metal.
Yes, Flames just about did it all during their ’80s and ’90s heyday. And while they never officially broke up, continuing as a live act in the festival and club circuit of their native Greece, they also stopped making new music altogether, up until the release of 2022’s aptly titled, Resurgence. It could be argued they’re one of the last of their era to pull a “We’re back!”, but again, they never fully went away to begin with. Eager to prove that Resurgence wasn’t a one-off, and that we wouldn’t have to wait another damn near 30 years for a new album, Flames are keeping the fire burning (pun fully intended) with the release of their latest affair, Frequency of Illusion.
Full disclosure: I haven’t listened to Resurgence, so I’m measuring Frequency in comparison to the band’s ’80s and ’90s back catalog, but I was quite surprised to learn that these guys have toned it down A LOT. I mean, OK, they’re not making Trixter records here, but for the most part, this is a straightforward thrash album not far removed from what acts like Testament and Sodom have been doing this century. Admittedly, I could do without some of these songs. “The Arsonist” and “Ornea” comes off as Metallica lite, and the brainless “Thrashin’ Beer” sounds more characteristic of Tankard than Flames, but I guess we can chalk it up as a sequel to 1988’s “Alcoholic and Beer”. That said, no frills thrashers like “Hunter”, “Illusion”, and “Break the Chains” prove the band have as great a grip on the style as they have any other in their career.
Being the old schooler at heart that I am, the songs I gravitate towards the most on this album are the ones that do channel the band’s late ’80s black/death/thrash heyday. While it isn’t often Flames cross that threshold on Frequency, when they do, they’re a force to be reckoned with. The battering blitz of “Lightbringer”, complete with its crashing drums and hornets nest riffing, had me lamenting early, “Why can’t the whole album sound like this?” “The Great Deceiver” is yet another unholy slab of ’80s black metal, complete with blasting drums, devilish riffing, and just the right amount of classic thrash attitude to even out, and the closing “Epic” channels the insanity of first gen death/thrash, emerging from the grave riddled with maggots and vengeance.
A small handful of sleepers and eye-rollers aside, Frequency of Illusion is a freakishly strong album for a band who’s been away from the scene for as long as they have. Flames can still scorch, unleashing hellfire and damnation upon the ears, skulls, and souls of both longtime fans and the uninitiated alike. Again, if they were to pursue an entire album in the ’80s black/death/thrash vein, there’s no telling what dominion they’d still be capable of, but until then, I’m more than content with the thrashing mad stylings of Frequency of Illusion.
7 out of 10
Label: Sleaszy Rider Records
Genre: Thrash Metal
For fans of: Testament, Kreator, Destruction