Onslaught - Killing Peace (2007)^{Release ID: 6508}

There is a perhaps negligible amount of Onslaught in my thrash music catalogue given my penchant for this sub-genre. I have not made this a conscious effort by any means but I can only surmise that nothing has grabbed me all that well during the various outings I have given the band over the years. Needless to say that Killing Peace is not what I expected, it is marginally more groove metal than it is thrash which does not make it a bad record, just an unexpected outcome I guess.

As a result, the album lacks a sense of rhythm overall. It is not devoid of rhythm by any means but lacks the requisite level of consistent chug and chop that you would expect of an established thrash act like Onslaught. It is still an album that is stacked full of riffs however and has a big sound behind the production job that compliments the vocals, guitars and drums superbly.

The delirious energy of Sy Keeler’s vocals (a la Blitz's style in Overkill) is endearing enough on its own to carry the album but the guitars of Jordan and Rockett fire out flares of monstrous Machine Head-like riffs. When the record does revert to a more thrashy format it is with a distinctly modern edge that resembles very little of the old-school thrash metal blueprint. Whilst the power and aggression is there this is an album that is consciously seeking catchiness from more 90’s groove references than anything the band put out themselves in the 80’s. There are a lot of Slayer riffs hiding in here though from around the South of Heaven and Seasons in the Abyss era that you do not have to search all that hard to find.

However, this was a comeback album after more than fifteen years after they parted ways and they certainly came back with a bang. They proved they could match the younger crop of bands in the energy stakes without sounding contrived or indeed having to try all that hard. For an old-school thrasher like me, Killing Peace is not an album I will be revisiting any time soon but it is still a very solid groove metal album for fans of the sub-genre.

Good god!!!! This might just be the most potent and visceral return to form from any reunited thrash act I've ever heard. Tight, vicious, raw and relentless...Killing Peace is easily the best thing this band has ever laid to tape. Perfectly marrying the primal brutality of their early albums with the tight punch of their last album, Killing Peace is sure to make naysayers eat their shorts. Sye sounds better than EVER and the rhythm section has seemingly not aged in the last 18yrs.

This is mindblowing stuff here, folks. BRUTAL!