Band:	Artillery
Album:	The Face Of Fear
Style:	Thrash metal
Release date:	November 16, 2018
A review by:	ScreamingSteelUS

01. The Face Of Fear
02. Crossroads To Conspiracy
03. New Rage
04. Sworn Utopia
05. Through The Ages Of Atrocity
06. Thirst For The Worst
07. Pain
08. Under Water [instumental]
09. Preaching To The Converted
10. Mind Of No Return [bonus]
11. Doctor Evil [bonus]

Artillery showed us a new face with 2013's Legions, a clean, traditional heavy metal sound rather different from what the band had been known for. 2016's Penalty By Perception undertook a harsher course correction, driving back into thrash. The Face Of Fear splits the difference.

The Face Of Fear has a rougher sound than Penalty By Perception; this album has a fuzzier, more garage-like feel that complements full-fledged thrashers like the title track, "Crossroads To Conspiracy," and "Preaching To The Converted." The heavy distortion of the last few albums is now matched by appropriate production that makes it sound more natural. Super grungy guitars and drums that sound noticeably unstrangled this time also give a massive energy boost to the hard rock-aligned pieces, including the raw, explosive "Pain," perhaps the album's most outstanding track. The Eastern scales that have come to characterize Artillery's style return in scattered riffs and solos.

Michael Bastholm Dahl is sounding a little more like Flemming Ronsdorf with each album; though I liked the much friendlier and more melodic heavy metal sound that Artillery aimed for on their first outing with Dahl, 2013's Legions, this band really lives in the grit and grime of thrash, so the crescendoing rasp in Dahl's voice fits the heavier material resurfacing. He still doesn't have enough edge to make the stomping, brutish "New Rage" sound like the invitation to fisticuffs it really is (imagine someone like Phil Anselmo taking that one on), but he has just the right tone of delivery for most of these tunes. Even dipping into heavier thrash again, there are still a lot of flighty, melodic choruses a la speed metal where he feels at home.

The Face Of Fear features two tracks from Artillery's history that have been rerecorded. The first is "Doctor Evil," originally featured on Legions. This might raise a few eyebrows - why revisit something that's only five years old and had the same lineup? - but this version does sound improved. This album has much looser production than Legions, so the song breathes better, and the harder-edged sound of The Face Of Fear makes "Doctor Evil" sound more like classic Artillery. Still, it's a curious inclusion; of greater interest is the second rerecorded track, "Mind Of No Return," which was the first track on Artillery's first demo, We Are The Dead, from 1982. The song itself sounds like a snapshot from thrash's infancy and it isn't particularly interesting on its own merits, but it does make for a curious memento for diehard fans.

The Face Of Fear, despite its title, presents to us a very comfortable Artillery. There aren't any surprises; if you've heard the last two albums and can put two and two together, you'll have an accurate picture of what this album sounds like.