Cruel Force - Dawn of the Axe(Full Length 2023)

New logo, ancient echoing sounds, and with little more than metal mayhem and Hell’s bidding on their minds Mannheim, Germany-based speed/heavy metal quartet Cruel Force return over a decade beyond their split having perfected their own vision of the pre-extreme era of heavy metal’s rising above the tide as the legions of Satanic speed metal stormed the coast as high fantasy and evil misrule took hold. ‘Dawn of the Axe‘ is a throat-gripping swipe back to the circa 1983-1985 era of spiked and leathered v-slinging heavy metal where the roots of black and death metal first passed through gates of venomous slayers and turbo-charged executioners hands, a leap back to the roots of where this band’s initial swill-soaked spark began and away from the modern black/thrash zeitgeist they’d been a part of in the early 2010’s. Their return is swift and decisive, marked by memorable shout-along songcraft and brilliant throwback production values/aesthetics that’ll have most reasonable necks snapping forth to the beat within