Band:	Patriarch
Album:	Mankind = The Virus
Style:	Thrash metal
Release date:	November 2008
A review by:	Thryce

01. The Visitors
02. Mankind - The Virus
03. How Far
04. Drowning In Madness
05. No One Wins
06. Broken White
07. Rise Of A Nation
08. Enemy
09. Inside
10. Legion

Patriarch are quite possibly one of the oldest active bands around in the Belgian metal scene these days. Still alive and kicking after 25 years and not planning to chuck it in, the band released a new album last year, cynically called "Mankind - The Virus". And this band sure has a lot of character. "Mankind - The Virus" not only marks the first full-length release in fifteen years (after releasing a limited amount of demos and EP's), the album is also a completely self-financed and self-produced record as the band wasn't able to get hold of a record deal despite the numerous positive reviews their latest demo release brought in.

Patriarch make it to the scene with quite a heavy arrangement of mid-tempo Thrash metal including some remarkable dark edges and progressive hooks. I call Patriarch's music heavy in the sense that this is not the easiest band to get into and the music is not as easy-digestible as it may look on first sight. The songwriting is pretty complex even though varying, and the song structure subsumes plenty of rhythm changes and groove paces. Also, the songs are pretty lengthy which makes it even harder (or even more challenging) to get into this record straight away. Indeed, don't be turned down by this band if none of the songs get stuck in your head instantly.

The gloominess of the music suits the main theme on this album very well. Not only is the murky beautiful cover art dark yet simply mesmerizing, also the lyrics are full of dismal and despairing stories. This is dark and aggressive (from the progressive/groove point of view) music, that may interest most of the Nevermore fans - although Ortwin Lietaert's vocals are powerful in a completely other way than Warrel Dane's, so on that point you can't really compare Patriarch to Nevermore with each other.

By any means "Mankind - The Virus" is at the same time a strong release and an admirable comeback of this pleasurable band. Though, you can take my word for it, getting through this record in one time is something granted for the hardened metalhead.