I’d like to take a second, if I may, to shoutout the record labels who hound me over any one specific release, fully aware of my metallic tastes and leanings, like the good folks at Napalm Records. Word must’ve gotten back to the stable that yours truly is the biggest Sodom fan this side of the Mason-Dixon line, hence why they so relentlessly urged me to check out the supposed heirs to their bullet-encrusted throne, Warfield. Now I know what you’re thinking. Aren’t Sodom still going strong? You bet your ass they are. Over 40 years on and they still live their peers in the dust. That said, time waits for no man, and if recent interviews with Tom Angelripper are any indication, things will be winding down for the Teutonic thrashers sooner than later. This leaves a band like Warfield ideal to take the reins.
Formed in 2012, Warfield too hail from Germany, and have apparently caused quite the stir in their native country for sounding like the second coming of those persecution maniacs. Granted, many acts in recent years will stake this claim, yet whereas most of those bands draw heavily from the blackened devilry of releases like In the Sign of Evil (1985) and Obsessed by Cruelty (1986), Warfield (as their name suggests) exclusively expands upon the blood, guts, and war of classics like Agent Orange (1989) and M-16 (2001). It’s pure unadulterated thrash at its absolute most brutal. Their latest album, With the Old Breed, an unrelenting affair from beginning to end, plays like the soundtrack to Armageddon.
To my ear, With the Old Breed is split between two types of tracks: The breakneck onslaughts and the midtempo maniac thrashers. Falling into the former are cuts like “Melting Mass”, “Soul Conqueror”, “Lament of the White Realm”, and “Inhibition Atrophy”. Each boast old school riffs played at punishing speed, skull-crushing drumming, and utterly scorching guitar solos, topped off by the throat-shredding vocals of Johannes Clemens. Seriously, I found myself popping a cough drop or two just from being subjected to this maniac’s vocal stylings: Perhaps the most memorable in extreme metal today alongside Hellripper’s James McBain.
Contrasting these are nasty ragers like the hard-nosed “Appetitive Aggression” and crazed “Fragmentation”, the latter giving me the urge to do some full blown lunatic thrashing like I’m 13 again. Outliers like “Tie the Rope” and “GASP” add some depth to the mix, the latter channeling the more ambitious moments of Agent Orange with its lengthy runtime (7 minutes and 17 seconds) and grandiose qualities (doomy riffs, symphonic undertones, plodding tempos). Rounding it all out is the blistering title track, which can best be described as a high speed deathmatch between Persecution Mania era Sodom and Pleasure to Kill era Kreator, the winner of such a matchup being us, the listener, of course.
As far as flat-out thrash goes (not black/thrash or death/thrash), save for maybe the output from Chilean horde Critical Defiance, I’m struggling to think of a modern band who has impressed me as much as Warfield. With the Old Breed is anything but a sophomore slump, channeling all the best traits of yesteryear, while still managing to sound new and exciting. If you consider yourself a thrasher in the slightest, you ought to grab this one right now and thank me later. Combat has never sounded more crushing.
9 out of 10
Label: Napalm Records
Genre: Thrash Metal
For fans of: Sodom, Kreator, Warbringer
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