After a solid self released debut, Bedlam, back in 2015, North Carolina’s war mongering blackened thrash act Suppressive Fire under went some line up changes and shuffling and got themselves signed to Virginia’s Lost Apparition Records. And now they have released album number 2 and it is yet another solid offering of black/thrash metal with a war based theme.

The new members don’t appear to have affected the band’s sound as the sound is still a Germanic thrash vibe with just a dash of black metal. The emphasis is far more on the thrash, with the raspy vocals and a few blasts being the black metal link. For the most part, you get a biting clean guitar tone delivering some nice. solid thrash riffs such as opener “Violent Enlightenment”, “Depraved”, “No Man’s Land” and “Earthripper”. It’s all solid, though nothing really jumps out and grabs me or makes me really wanna hit play again.

That said, the band appear to dip their toe into a more mature and developed delivery with the 8 minute “Dreaded Bastards” where you get a delicate acoustic intro, some expanded solos and a slower more rangy and more expansive, varied song writing. It’s a solid development and breaks up the album fairly generic, if energetic black/thrash pace and structure. The almost 6 minute “Vesicant” has the same sort of impressive development, showing a growing maturing band, before closer “Nuclear Dismemberment” ends the album with a more typical snarling black/thrash salvo.

Suppressive Fire isn’t changing American metal or the war/black/thrash scene, but they seem like hard working, dedicated dudes and they appear willing to take changes and develop somewhat within a pretty restrictive genre/scene. So I hope they keep at it and keep growing.

[Visit the band's website]

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