Persecutor are a thrash metal band from Denmark, releasing their debut album ‘Rebirth’ in 2019, and sophomore album ‘Vendetta’ in 2023.
Formed by guitarist Benjamin Stage, the band was completed by drummer Christopher Hejgaard, guitarist Stefan Sorensen and bassist/vocalist Christian Almanza, Persecutor plays speed-of-light thrash metal, delivering ferocity and aggression in abundance! The band’s new album offers immense head bang ability, with all nine songs on offer scorching the Earth as they hurtle by in just thirty-five fast and furious minutes!
Album opener ‘The Reaper’ is quickly into its stride, storming forth at incredible speed! The band are in full flight here, devastating the airways with a brutal hostility fully loaded with aggression and menace – this ain’t gonna be a melodic metal march! It’s gonna be a terrifying tsunami of thrash! The album roars on with the even faster-paced ‘Narcissus’, hammering the senses with a barrage of savagery that’s gonna leave you dazed and bruised. And whoa just a minute – is that a little melodious intent through the chorus I hear? It most certainly is, Persecutor serving up an unexpected treat for every listener, fan and follower – the seven minutes plus ‘Nothing Remains’ maintaining the album’s blistering speed. The Danish four-piece are rawer and more brutal than Artillery, one of Denmark’s first-ever thrash metal bands, Persecutor an unforgiving avalanche of all-out ferocity.
And with no let up in sight, ‘Vendetta’ marches on with ‘One Final Victim’, a fierce and fairly frenetic neckbreaker that’ll sort out the men from the boys! And by “men and boys” I actually mean thrashers and rockers! For if you spend all your time head nodding to the likes of Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Kiss, and Whitesnake, you ain’t got the power or prowess to vigorously head bang to this – the barrage of brutality on show strong enough to rip neck muscles to shreds! The rabid nature of ‘Vendetta’ is unforgiving, Persecutor steaming ahead with frightening menace courtesy of the slower tempo, almost doom-laden ‘Veil Of Despair’, complete with howling, scowling, gut-wrenching vocals! The band are terrifying here, scaring many listeners to run for cover, either behind the sofa or in the toilet! As ‘Veil Of Despair’ progresses, the band presses down hard on the accelerator, restoring blistering speed to the fore.
The menace remains for ‘Sand Of Sahara’, along with the emergence of a more “heavy metal” feel and the iconic traditional metal gallop – for the first minute or so anyway! And then ‘Sand Of Sahara’ adopts the gruff, rough and tough nature of everything heard so far, Persecutor resuming their relentless thrash metal attack! There’s just no escaping the band’s overwhelming onslaught – an onslaught that takes a more fierce direction with the fiery ‘Feast!’ devouring everything and everyone in sight! What an album ‘Vendetta’ has been, absolutely breathless with a phenomenally insane level of savagery – ‘Legacy’ still not offering listeners any kind of a breather, powering on with immense power and intent. ‘Legacy’ also offers a highly melodious chorus break, similar to ‘Narcissus’ heard earlier. The album is brought to a close with the one and a half minute outro ‘Vendetta’, offering serenity and mellowness in abundance, acting as a “warm down” from the vigorous neck work-out of the last half hour.
Overall, a blistering array of thrash metal delivered at incredible speed with phenomenal head-bang ability.
TRACKLIST
The Reaper
Narcissus
Nothing Remains
One Final Victim
Veil Of Despair
Sand Of Sahara
Feast!
Legacy
Vendetta (outro)
Persecutor: Facebook
Release Year: 2023
Label: self-released
Category: Album
Country: Denmark
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
