Demolition Hammer - Epidemic Of Violence review
| Band: | Demolition Hammer |
| Album: | Epidemic Of Violence |
| Style: | Thrash metal |
| Release date: | March 1992 |
| Guest review by: | Cynic Metalhead |
01. Skull Fracturing Nightmare
02. Human Dissection
03. Pyroclastic Annihilation
04. Envenomed
05. Carnivorous Obsession
06. Orgy Of Destruction
07. Epidemic Of Violence
08. Omnivore
09. Aborticide
Found on another lost page from the history of the glorious years of thrash metal (from the early 80s to late 90s) is a band from New York, Demolition Hammer, who built their foundation in 1990 and brought flavors of thrash metal to their zenith, creating a perfect concoction of death and thrash metal on a record that annihilates the senses from the first note. We are talking about Epidemic Of Violence, the band's sophomore release that followed 1990's debut record Tortured Existence.
The opener "Skull Fracturing Nightmare" provides a palette test of poems about death and agony with a backdrop of torture. The solos are blistering and malignant, piercing your skull just like the spikes of an iron maiden. What a fucking brilliant start to the album.
The next four tracks provide a noxious combo of death and thrash metal: scorching solos causing necrosis in your ear canals, brutal riffs that'll leave black and discharging pustules in your lungs, and spine-shattering basslines underlying vocals that sound like Jeff Becerra possessed by demons. The songs feature a continuation of pathological and scientific themes, as the band goes into clinical detail of every possible way a person can be mutilated, tortured and extirpated.
There's one track that blazed me with barrages of riffs, leaving my face maimed and grosteque, and that's "Epidemic Of Violence". The speed and extremity of this AK-47-style riffage is so fucking alluring that it gives you auditory whiplash before a genocidal solo wails through the air. The production is bit underwhelming, but it's enough to deliver the full impact of metallic fury. The guitars are incredibly thick and juicy, dominating the mix; drums match their intensity with relentless power, allowing the tank to fire continuously.
If Tortured Existence was your starter, then Epidemic Of Violence is the main course. It pummels you from beginning to end and does so without mercy; just don’t let the riffs eviscerate you.
Highlights: "Epidemic Of Violence", "Pyroclastic Annihilation" and "Omnivore"
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 7 |
Written by Cynic Metalhead | 02.09.2024
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
Comments: 9
Visited by: 32 users
| Blackcrowe Posts: 568  |
This is one of my favorite metal records of all time… great review
---- Invisible To telescopic eye, Infinity. The star that would not die. Slayer vs. Slayer: 1,000 MPH or Death
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| Cynic Metalhead Ambrish Saxena Posts: 7595  |
Written by Blackcrowe on 03.09.2024 at 01:55 One of the heavily rotated album in my playlist, especially "Epidemic Violence" being one of the most played track of this year. Brilliant album.
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| Redel Moderator Posts: 2271  |
....aaaand you picked another one of the classics in thrash metal from the old school. I love this one. 
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| Cynic Metalhead Ambrish Saxena Posts: 7595 |
Written by Redel on 03.09.2024 at 07:21 I'm having a huge list that I covered mostly in my reviews. It's very remisceint to Guib's Thrash Playlist, but not that enormous with very sharp picks. I picked my choices on the research done for years and put in my wishlist while some of my choices are revisited and the best goes for reviews here. Thanks for checking out, Redel.
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| nikarg Staff Posts: 7398  |
This great album desperately needed a review, and I quite like the mental image you create. One question, though: I have the album, where did you find a song called "Tortured Existence"?
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| Cynic Metalhead Ambrish Saxena Posts: 7595 |
Written by nikarg on 03.09.2024 at 09:36 That's what happens if you review album while listening to this lethal record. I messed up. It's a song "Epidemic Of Violence" instead of "Tortured Existence". Thanks for a catch. I'll edit it and let approve by one of the staffers.
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| AndyMetalFreak A Nice Guy Contributor Posts: 5363  |
Great review, so much enthusiasm in how you describe this album, it's such a fantastic thrash record that I can't believe has passed me by all this time, it's so criminally overlooked! So much pure aggression and phenomenal riffs, at times it even reminds me a lot of Sodom Agent Orange 
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| A Real Mönkey Posts: 1209  |
This is a great album. Nice to hear a thrash metal album with some actual meat on its bones.
---- Need a break from headbanging? Restore your street cred by visiting my hip-hop list! Tha Swagnum Opus: A Selection Of Hip-Hop For The Curious Metalhead
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| Cynic Metalhead Ambrish Saxena Posts: 7595 |
Written by AndyMetalFreak on 03.09.2024 at 20:15 It's replicated in their last record "Time Bomb" as well, but couldn't match the level of aggression of first two phenemonal albums. Thanks for checking out, Andy. I knew you going to have fun with it.
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