Album Reviews : Blackened – The Sense In Violence

There are a lot of terrible, bland thrash bands going around these days. A lot. It has almost become a chore sifting through them all to find the gems. But, like every genre, there’ll come a band every now and then that stands out that bit above the rest. Melbourne’s In Malice’s Wake are one, and Blackened are proving to be another.

“Burning of Time” is your average thrash song; it’s fast, aggressive, straightforward and has more than one guitar solo, but the difference is that it’s just done well. It’s catchy and anthemic, and brings on some serious beer cravings. “Hellish Intensity” mixes things up, and is easily the pick of the three. There’s almost a black metal vibe to some of the guitar work, while the rest has a good dose of Testament to it (never a bad thing). And closer “The Sense In Violence”, featuring some of the fastest and slowest material to be found here, is certainly no disappointing ending.

There is still a way to go for the Melbourne-based band, but The Sense In Violence is a mighty fine start. There are a few sections where the whole sound is a bit clumsy (such as the transition into the solo in “Hellish Intensity”) but in the grand scheme of things, those hiccups are worth ignoring. Plus, this is only a demo after all. The guitar work is fantastic, with a good dose of variety, and James Rose’s vocals are superb, being able to handle both the faster thrash yells and the more melodic Chuck Billy-esque ones.

The Sense In Violence is simply a great little release. But the question with teasers this short always is: can they step it up and create a full-length release that’s just as consistent? Fingers crossed. 7.5/10

Band: Blackened
Album: The Sense In Violence (demo)
Year: 2011
Genre: Thrash
Origin: Melbourne, Australia
Label: Independent
https://www.facebook.com/blackenedmusic

Track list:
1. Burning of Time
2. Hellish Intensity
3. The Sense in Violence