Having gotten my ass absolutely walloped last week by Lead Injector’s incredible debut album, Witching Attack, it only feels right that this week I review yet another up and coming euro blackened thrash trio consisting of kids younger than me (27 really IS unc, isn’t it?). Formed in 2021, Venthiax hail from Sweden and have kept quite busy during their half decade of existence, releasing a demo, an eponymous EP, and two live albums, on which they showcase covers from their biggest influences (i.e. Sodom, Kreator, Exciter, etc.) Their latest EP, Rites of Ra, comes ripping onto our stereo courtesy of Dying Victims Productions, so you already have a good idea where this is headed.
Following a rather standard ’80s speed-thrash instrumental intro in “Warfare”, Venthiax goes for the throat with 5 slabs of ripping, old school, black thrash mania. The thrash riffing in question is extremely influenced by classic speed tactics, sounding straight out of ’83, ’84 at the latest. Listen to the guitars on their own. It’s easy to say to yourself, “This could be Exciter. It could also be Sentence of Death era Destruction.” Whereas Lead Injector sneaks in the occasional mosh riff and skank beat, Venthiax largely keeps the pedal to the metal, yet in a manner that is more aggressive than your run of the mill “pure” speed metal act (i.e. Agent Steel), hence placing them in the black/thrash camp.
Ah yes, the blackened aspect of Venthiax’s sound: Glad you asked! Admittedly, a large factor are the harsh vocals of drummer/shouter Emil Borg. The young kit-crusher rasps, snarls, and barks in a manner that’s more Quorthon or Tom Angelripper than Paul Baloff or Bobby Blitz. This, and the songs in general are executed in that old school evil manner. As I mentioned before, the riffs bear a striking resemblance to Sentence of Death, and so does the rest of this EP for that matter, from the soloing and song structures, to the vocal delivery and drumming. As a result, some tunes tend to sound more original than others.
While I appreciate the anthemic spirit of “Speed Metal Mayhem”, and would no doubt be slamming to it at a gig, it’s arrangement is quite by the numbers, especially when you consider every other similarly natured act who’s done a song in the same musical and topical vein over the past 40 years. The exotic title track is far more exciting by comparison, nailing the Sentence of Death formula while luring us in with some middle eastern flavored guitarwork. Blackmore goes thrash, anyone?! Also of note are the utterly frantic “Infernal Demise”, which pits early Destruction damnation against Metal Blade era Slayer worship at its most bestial, as well as the closing “The Omen’s Arrival” with its militant delivery and hard-nosed demeanor.
Though I don’t find myself doing cartwheels over even the finest moments of Rites of Ra, I do appreciate Venthiax’s vision, and will gladly take youngsters doing the first wave black metal thing for the two zillionth time over whatever the hell is clogging up the TikTok algorithm these days. In all fairness, I’ll also have to backtrack and explore Venthiax’s past releases, to hear how they’ve progressed up until this point. Who knows? Perhaps their debut will be their Infernal Overkill or To Mega Therion? If DVP has a say, I’m sure we’ll find out come 2027.
6 out of 10
Label: Dying Victims Productions
Genre: Black/Thrash Metal
For fans of: Destruction, Kreator, Phantom
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