Review by Carl on August 4, 2021.

Six Weeks Records used to be among my favorite labels back in the day. Burning their name in my brain with releases by mostly stupid-fast hardcore punk bands like Charles Bronson, The Neighbors, Capitalist Casualties and Voorhees. So, when they released a full length by Crucial Unit, who I already knew from their split with Municipal Waste, you better reckon I was sitting straight up and paying attention.

If I'm going to be completely honest, I liked them better on the aforementioned split. The reason for this is that on this cd the songs got a bit longer (mind you, it's still not prog rock though) and they have incorporated more metal and hard rock into their sound, scaling down the demented thrashcore of before somewhat, which is a bit of a letdown for me. This kind of music needs to be high in the intensity stakes, without any unnecessary padding, and that is not the case here. At least not on the first part of the album, but later on more about that.

Before this release, you could compare them to acts like Attitude Adjustment, Infest (US), old D.R.I., Negative Gain and Septic Death. The usual characteristics such as the screamed vocals (alternated with hoarse barked vocals in the best powerviolence tradition), simple fast picked riffing underpinned by rapid polka beat percussion, poured into short energetic bursts of noise, it was all there. The band more or less holds on to this formula on this album (tracks 1 to 12 at least), but expanded on it with some more subdued parts, creating some longer songs in the process. Take 'Crucial United Forces', where the band nods at a more punk metal style, having me think more of bands like Inepsy or Toxic Holocaust, but they even go as far as injecting a hefty dose of Iron Maiden/Judas Priest styled guitar melodies throughout. Musically, it's not that bad, but I want to hear Crucial Unit just flying of the handle with raging, bat-shit crazy thrashing hardcore hysterics, and that's not what I get from this stuff unfortunately. It had me thinking more of Sum 41 who drank too much coffee. Hell, I heard them even deliver a not-so-subtle nod to Quiet Riot somewhere in there. Yeah, thanks but no thanks on that one. What I did appreciate on the first half of the album is the track 'Crucial Unit's Friendship Picnic', that one gave me a good Dayglo Abortions vibe, and some old school hardcore punk vibes to boot.

From track 12 on, we get (on the cd) the songs from the split with Municipal Waste, and these I like better, because here we get the band in all their unhinged glory. Fast raging punk thrash, with a lot of blasting drums and a total lack of nuance. Short songs, barely held together by the insane screams of singer Justin, its hardcore heaven, this is. It's these songs that save the album in my opinion, even if they are old recordings. That, and the hilarious song titles, of course.

Even if the music isn't bad, it left me with a light feeling of disappointment, making me miss their old bonkers sound. Still, I think the party thrash crowd will be able to appreciate it better than I do, probably. It's not a horrible album in any way, and with the whole "let's get back to the 80's" vibe going on in metal right now, it deserves to be heard.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Carl on August 4, 2021.

Six Weeks Records used to be among my favorite labels back in the day. Burning their name in my brain with releases by mostly stupid-fast hardcore punk bands like Charles Bronson, The Neighbors, Capitalist Casualties and Voorhees. So, when they released a full length by Crucial Unit, who I already knew from their split with Municipal Waste, you better reckon I was sitting straight up and paying attention.

If I'm going to be completely honest, I liked them better on the aforementioned split. The reason for this is that on this cd the songs got a bit longer (mind you, it's still not prog rock though) and they have incorporated more metal and hard rock into their sound, scaling down the demented thrashcore of before somewhat, which is a bit of a letdown for me. This kind of music needs to be high in the intensity stakes, without any unnecessary padding, and that is not the case here. At least not on the first part of the album, but later on more about that.

Before this release, you could compare them to acts like Attitude Adjustment, Infest (US), old D.R.I., Negative Gain and Septic Death. The usual characteristics such as the screamed vocals (alternated with hoarse barked vocals in the best powerviolence tradition), simple fast picked riffing underpinned by rapid polka beat percussion, poured into short energetic bursts of noise, it was all there. The band more or less holds on to this formula on this album (tracks 1 to 12 at least), but expanded on it with some more subdued parts, creating some longer songs in the process. Take 'Crucial United Forces', where the band nods at a more punk metal style, having me think more of bands like Inepsy or Toxic Holocaust, but they even go as far as injecting a hefty dose of Iron Maiden/Judas Priest styled guitar melodies throughout. Musically, it's not that bad, but I want to hear Crucial Unit just flying of the handle with raging, bat-shit crazy thrashing hardcore hysterics, and that's not what I get from this stuff unfortunately. It had me thinking more of Sum 41 who drank too much coffee. Hell, I heard them even deliver a not-so-subtle nod to Quiet Riot somewhere in there. Yeah, thanks but no thanks on that one. What I did appreciate on the first half of the album is the track 'Crucial Unit's Friendship Picnic', that one gave me a good Dayglo Abortions vibe, and some old school hardcore punk vibes to boot.

From track 12 on, we get (on the cd) the songs from the split with Municipal Waste, and these I like better, because here we get the band in all their unhinged glory. Fast raging punk thrash, with a lot of blasting drums and a total lack of nuance. Short songs, barely held together by the insane screams of singer Justin, its hardcore heaven, this is. It's these songs that save the album in my opinion, even if they are old recordings. That, and the hilarious song titles, of course.

Even if the music isn't bad, it left me with a light feeling of disappointment, making me miss their old bonkers sound. Still, I think the party thrash crowd will be able to appreciate it better than I do, probably. It's not a horrible album in any way, and with the whole "let's get back to the 80's" vibe going on in metal right now, it deserves to be heard.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Felix on December 26, 2023.

Thankfully, the times are changing. Back in 1987, Neat Records did not want to print the real names of the members of Artillery on the back cover of their phenomenal second album "Terror Squad". The company thought seriously that these "unusual" Danish names could endanger the commercial success of the record. Only the initials of the Scandinavian thrash pioneers were printed. Bullshit. However, the ambitious thrashers of Battery can read their full names in the booklet. This is how things should be.

I did not know the band until I bought their debut. If you also do not know its music yet, let me assure you that they play extremely wild thrash metal and that "Armed with Rage" is a very suitable name for this album. Admittedly, "Sharp Riffs from Insane Danish Ruffians" or "Violent Lunacy Combined with Hellish Guitars" would have been less catchy titles for the record. But nevertheless, they would also have described its content in an appropriate manner. Battery is bursting with energy and their raging approach mirrors this fact impressively. High velocity thrash is their highest priority and blast beats appear occasionally in order to increase the dynamic of the songs. To verify this, just lend an ear to the fascinating opener "Narcotic Mirage". Every track is equipped with an overdose of high speed rhythms and that´s almost too much of a good thing. Generally spoken, I highly appreciate songs that are swift as an arrow. Nonetheless, one of my personal favourites on this album is "Vermin of Fukushima", not at least because of its creepy mid-tempo parts. It is the only piece where the powerful guitars gain the upper hand against the untameable yet highly competent drummer. The result is the most catchy song of "Armed with Rage". It is surely no coincidence that this tune is placed in the middle of the album in order to interrupt the constant high speed assault, albeit only for five minutes.

The band members wear shirts of Razor, Kreator ("Flag of Hate") and Morbid Angel so that everybody can imagine the level of Battery´s musical intensity. The old school rules. But its vehement songwriting approach is combined with a massive and very vigorous production. It has the strength to blow you away without jeopardizing the tradition-conscious flair of the music. Every instrument benefits from the mix. Even the pumping bass is well audible. And this is, as you all know, unfortunately not a matter of course. The hectic lead vocals impress, too. They add the necessary amount of hysteria without getting completely out of control.

With ferocious newcomers such as Battery, there is no need to be concerned about the future of thrash metal. The band has released a flawless debut. While walking the thin line between controlled attacks and pure chaos, each and every band member proves its technical skills as well as its credible attitude. Forget all these lukewarm neo thrash competitors and the ridiculous metalcore clowns. "Armed with Rage" is the real thing, although the cover artwork leaves room for improvement. If you want to know the highlights of the album, just read each and every song title.

Rating: 8.9 out of 10

Review by Felix on December 26, 2023.

Thankfully, the times are changing. Back in 1987, Neat Records did not want to print the real names of the members of Artillery on the back cover of their phenomenal second album "Terror Squad". The company thought seriously that these "unusual" Danish names could endanger the commercial success of the record. Only the initials of the Scandinavian thrash pioneers were printed. Bullshit. However, the ambitious thrashers of Battery can read their full names in the booklet. This is how things should be.

I did not know the band until I bought their debut. If you also do not know its music yet, let me assure you that they play extremely wild thrash metal and that "Armed with Rage" is a very suitable name for this album. Admittedly, "Sharp Riffs from Insane Danish Ruffians" or "Violent Lunacy Combined with Hellish Guitars" would have been less catchy titles for the record. But nevertheless, they would also have described its content in an appropriate manner. Battery is bursting with energy and their raging approach mirrors this fact impressively. High velocity thrash is their highest priority and blast beats appear occasionally in order to increase the dynamic of the songs. To verify this, just lend an ear to the fascinating opener "Narcotic Mirage". Every track is equipped with an overdose of high speed rhythms and that´s almost too much of a good thing. Generally spoken, I highly appreciate songs that are swift as an arrow. Nonetheless, one of my personal favourites on this album is "Vermin of Fukushima", not at least because of its creepy mid-tempo parts. It is the only piece where the powerful guitars gain the upper hand against the untameable yet highly competent drummer. The result is the most catchy song of "Armed with Rage". It is surely no coincidence that this tune is placed in the middle of the album in order to interrupt the constant high speed assault, albeit only for five minutes.

The band members wear shirts of Razor, Kreator ("Flag of Hate") and Morbid Angel so that everybody can imagine the level of Battery´s musical intensity. The old school rules. But its vehement songwriting approach is combined with a massive and very vigorous production. It has the strength to blow you away without jeopardizing the tradition-conscious flair of the music. Every instrument benefits from the mix. Even the pumping bass is well audible. And this is, as you all know, unfortunately not a matter of course. The hectic lead vocals impress, too. They add the necessary amount of hysteria without getting completely out of control.

With ferocious newcomers such as Battery, there is no need to be concerned about the future of thrash metal. The band has released a flawless debut. While walking the thin line between controlled attacks and pure chaos, each and every band member proves its technical skills as well as its credible attitude. Forget all these lukewarm neo thrash competitors and the ridiculous metalcore clowns. "Armed with Rage" is the real thing, although the cover artwork leaves room for improvement. If you want to know the highlights of the album, just read each and every song title.

Rating: 8.9 out of 10