Eufobia is a melodic thrash/death metal band from Bulgaria formed in 2003, releasing four albums to date – ‘Insemination’ (2010), ‘Cup Of Mud’ (2011), ‘Eufobia’ (2016), and ‘Madness’ released in 2022. The band has toured all across Europe, played at numerous festivals, and shared a stage with many, many bands; bands such as Arch Enemy, Kreator, Onslaught, and DragonForce.
Six years after the band’s savagely brutal self-titled album, Eufobia returns with a new slice of thrash/death metal – ten songs across thirty-six sinister fuelled minutes! The band sounds angry, aggressive, and more in your face than ever before – bringing the new album to life with the title song ‘Madness’…a bone-crushing crescendo of anger. The band is an amalgamation of “the big 4” and the “Teutonic Four” overlaid with the scowling howling vocals of death metal. The raucous, sometimes chaotic style of thrash/death metal is very much misunderstood by many, but with their fourth album, the Bulgarian outfit is speaking clearly – very clearly! Coming at you more from the standpoint of thrash, ‘Facing The Firing Squad’ will batter you senseless, and then bludgeon you further just for fun. One of the pioneering bands of extreme metal, Brazil’s legendary Sepultura, is a major influence on the band’s sound – from Max Cavalera-style vocals to some serious razor-sharp riffing that’ll tear you to shreds.
Eufobia incorporates styles outside of their root thrash/death metal sound, ‘Wolf Among The Sheep’ featuring a little hint of traditional heavy metal, and its famous galloping rhythm. Listen closely and you’ll find it among all the fire and brimstone that’s cascading out the album like lava escaping from an erupting volcano! Ramping up the pace and aggression, ‘Messiah’ is an anger-fuelled rampage of heavy-hitting thrash that’ll have the mosh pits dividing into frenzied circles and eventually walls of death – the local A&E departments on full alert to deal with cases of severe bruising! And a little piece of free advice – don’t get in the pit if you suffer from a nervous disposition. It’s definitely not the place for you! ‘Those Who Believe’ is a thundering gallop of ferocity, the barrage of savagery unrelenting in its forceful attack – an attack that has raged since the album began. If your ears begin to bleed, consider it a salute to the band for their brutal bone-breaking bish bash bosh! ‘Burning Streets’ is the shortest song on offer, but in no way short on head-crushing heaviness! Eufobia swinging one of the biggest baseball bats you’ve ever seen – or felt – with an aggression level higher than the Crocodylus niloticus…more commonly known as the Nile crocodile. Native to Africa and one of the most dangerous species in the world, the Nile crocodile is an apex predator capable of taking almost any animal in its range – including humans! So be warned, Eufobia is out for blood, and likely to devour you with just one big bite!
The album in your face intensity is incredible, the band slowing the pace for the blunt ‘Use Your Head’, yet increasing the blood-curdling gut-wrenching vocals – capable I’m sure of demolishing walls and shuddering the ground! The wake of devastation that follows Eufobia is desolate and eerie, a wasteland devoid of any life, incapable of any regeneration and growth. And immediately, the band resumes the pace, this time for the lively ‘Liberation’, changing through the gears, screaming its way across the land, delivering one of the most raucous rampages the album has to offer. I tell ya – Eufobia just doesn’t let up! ‘The Establishment’ the next savage thumping of thrash comes death come heavy metal – featuring the most mellow intro you’re ever likely to hear from the band! Building the anticipation, you patiently wait for ‘The Establishment’ to explode into a furious frenzy…but it doesn’t. Instead the band show exploration and a progressive side to their nature – a definite departure from their root sound. Which the band maintains for the final song ‘Animal Farm’, but with a much more scowling vocal performance – ending the album in a much different vein from how it began.
Overall, a howling, scowling, aggression-fuelled rampage of thrash comes death metal savagery.
TRACKLIST
Madness
Facing The Firing Squad
Wolf Among The Sheep
Messiah
Those Who Believe
Burning Streets
Use Your Head
Liberation
The Establishment
Animal Farm
Eufobia: Facebook
Release Year: 2022
Label: self-released
Category: Album
Country: Bulgaria
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire, and Metal-Roos.
