February 12, 2008 | | 3

Suicidal Winds, Chaos Rising

Pummeling mixes of death, thrash and black metal are nothing new to the underground metal realms the past couple of years, yet Suicidal Winds’ latest from Pulverised Records embraces the blend in earnest and delivers 11 tracks at a break neck pace. Chaos Rising is a decent effort from this Swedish five piece, but it does have its faults. Even though the album is full of plenty of thrashing black metal comprised of double bass blasts, nasty riffing and evil screams, there isn’t enough variety or uniqueness among the tracks to make this a stand out release. I would like to have seen more from a band that’s been around as long as these guys.

That said, there are still moments on Chaos Rising that’ll definitely entertain and leave you wanting just that little bit more. For one, the standard method of deliver for these guys will leave you breathless as they tear through each track with reckless abandon. Layered vocals add much needed depth to the bands sound as do the few tempo shifts we see on this latest album.

Slowly We Frost
This minute and a half instrumental has got to be an homage to the legendary death dealers in Obituary — complete with a riff reminiscent of the souther Florida band.

World’s End
Carrying guitar squeals from the opening track, Suicidal Winds get the pace moving with “World’s End”, a blistering track with thrashy riffs and machine gun drum work. There are some decent leads in this one, but nothing truly memorable about them.

Annihilation and Chaos
“Annihilation and Chaos” keeps the pace high as the band tears through more thrash inspired death metal. If you’re not paying attention to the track listings as you listen to this one, you very well could have been mistaken and thought the last song was on repeat. They sound very much alike which is ultimately what keeps this disc from emerging as a real quality release. I’m definitely enjoying the aggression behind the music, but a little variety would be nice.

Destruction Invocation
The band slows down the pace a bit initially with a bit of Obituary inspired riffing. They pick the pace back up after about 40 seconds into a mid paced thrash attack. The band shifts things up on this one a bit.

Chaos Rising
The title track starts off with a scream and a similar riff to the previous couple of tracks. The band’s base sound doesn’t seem to change much from track to track and I’m not sure that they are adding anything else in each subsequent track that’s enough to set it apart from the rest of the disc.

Ballade of Death
Suicidal Winds makes a strong effort to mix things up a bit with “Ballade of Death.” it starts out with decent guitar work, but I’m not sure it’s enough to help the overall sound out.

Death to All
Yeah, “Ballade of Death” wasn’t enough as the band settles back into their sound with “Death To All.” I really like this track as it’s got more of a thrash feel to it and great riffs, but it still sounds so much like the rest of the album.

Unevitable Doom
Creative drumming starts off this slower track as band shifts to pick up the pace some after a few moments. There’s a nice underlying groove to this one that will have your head banging quickly.

Freddy Fleasheater
You just know by the title of this one that it’s going to have some great lyrics. Layered vocals on this one are a nice touch, as is the lead that comes in around the 1:48 mark.

Thanatophobia
“Thanatophobia” as a medical term refers to the abnormal or excessive fear of death yet, Suicidal Winds seem hell bent on sending you to yours with some evil riffs and beefy drum work. This is one of the better tracks on the album.

Born to Hate
Finally, something that helps a track stand out some. I love the opening bass work as it sets the mood for this one nicely, even if it does sound similar to most of the record. It’s that initial few seconds that makes all the difference in the listener’s mindset toward a band’s music. As a result, this one seems to have an aggressive punk aesthetic to it that works well with the band’s thrash base. Well done, Suicidal Winds.

~ ~ ~

For as much as I may have complained about this album, I really did enjoy it. It’s one of the discs that you really shouldn’t like as much as you do, but it’s balls-to-the-wall thrash fueled brand of death metal is too infectious to ignore.

Favorite Tracks:
World’s End
Destruction Invocation
Death To All
Thanatophobia
Born to Hate

Additional Notes:
N/A