Review by Chris Pratl on March 23, 2020.

Jenner is Serbia's speedy thrash metal trio that issues its first EP and second official release aptly named The Test of Time. This is actually my first exposure to the band, despite having seen the name bandied about in various forums or social media platforms. It seems I should have paid a bit closer attention to these ladies early on it, because while I'm always a proponent of the “thrash-is-over” sector, occasionally ab and comes and kicks open a door or three. Jenner did that to a solid degree.

First, the production is very full and heavy in all the right spots, which, as a child of the 80's, is about as foreign to me as speaking Swahili in a Mexican restaurant. As production values grew stronger over the years, the true power of thrash and speed metal could be heard with all of the ferocity that it was originally supposed to be heard all along. I do enjoy the ripe, heavy-mix sound Jenner captured here; the bass is nestled nicely in the songs, the guitars are crisp without overstating their presence, and the vocals crest effortlessly over the mix. A winner there, for sure.

Now, the songs...this is thrash with speed elements abound. What I find overly tangible are the galloping riffs, a veritable necessity for thrash metal to be in any way effective. The blueprint of forming a 'wave-riff,' or main riff, to set the pace is well done in each of the songs, but particularly in the second track, 'Test of Time', a true banger if ever there was one. The speed and pacing is genuine and interesting throughout and I couldn't help but dig what I was hearing, even if I've heard the style so much over the last 35-years I'm practically able to dissect it in my sleep. The familiar sonic nuances that make up the core of thrash metal are also found scattered within, by way of riding, galloping verse riffs and chugging bridge cascades (as there's really no avoiding the need for them); but as with any genre, it takes a special band or artist to take an old dog and teach it some new tricks. Jenner manages it pretty damn well.

Guitarist Aleksandra Stamenković has taken over the vocal duties, and she manages to pull it off nicely, shifting between a turbulent growl and a clean, flowing tone so evenly that the seams never show. Her vocal style fits this type of thrash perfectly, and she never comes across like she's trying to embellish or over-compensate, which is always welcome in this house. The right amount of weighty powerhouse delivery whets the palate so well here.

My first foray into these ladies won't be my last; overall, a very palpable slab of speed / thrash that will no doubt lull the masses accordingly.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Nathan on April 18, 2020.

Despite the hokey name, Oath Div. 666 have more meat than most crunchy, war metal-type stuff. The frequent d-beats sprinkled about definitely bring Acephalix comparisons to mind. Apocalypse Division has faster drumming than the Swedish deathpunks, though, and the focus on creating an overwhelming atmosphere gives off some Revenge-y vibes at times. That being said, James Read is a drummer you can’t really recreate the feel of, so this can only sound so similar. HM-2 pedal worship stuff has already been beaten into the ground by the Swedes, but the rise of a band like Gatecreeper signals to me that more people across the pond want to hear this. Makes sense that we’d start to see smaller, unsigned bands in Canada embracing Swedeath and neocrust and that kind of shit.

Apocalypse Division is about 50 percent blasting and 50 percent punky skank beats mashed together in just enough different ways to keep it stimulating. A lot of those Swedish d-beat bands tend to just ride the beat into the ground, and they seem almost incapable of playing anything else, but Oath Div. 666 use it tastefully, even though it does serve as the focal point of the rhythm section. The bass is only there during the slow parts anyhow, otherwise it’s a buzzing riff bed with little discernible tone. I almost wanna say this is…too buzzy? I know, I know, the chainsaw guitar tone is supposed to be the entire point, but I maintain that you can still get a healthy crunch in the tone without all the rattling around. For the most part it’s tolerable, but I do feel like it causes the bouncy parts to lose a bit of their zip. The vocalist covers it up a bit with his smooth low, but not always.

As much as I appreciate the distinct atmosphere and the effort made by Oath Div. 666 to set themselves apart from the deathcrust heap, I do feel like the emphasis on creating a more “sinister” vibe on Apocalypse Division prevents it from having as much fun as it could have had. For all I know it gives the dynamics needed for a crushing live set, but on record it makes it so that most tracks have a little bit of filler in them. Not to say I don’t like it when songs start out fast n’ furious, get slow and heavy, and then kick it back up again; I just don’t like it when all of the tracks do that to one degree or another. Some of the slower sections are more effective than others ('Infinitae Tenebrae' uses them well) but sometimes it does kinda feel like they’re thrown in there because the band wasn’t sure what else to do. You can write a punchy banger under 2 minutes, guys! You have punk influence, that makes it okay, right?

I’m being nitpicky - I mean, where else but a review do I get the chance to do so? When Oath Div. 666 is going full blast, this hits hard, with a great mix of tremolo-ridden death metal, hints of black metal melody, and some real nice chonky chugs. There’s a couple of things that hold this back from throwing down at maximum capacity, but they were smart enough not to drag anything out for too long. With the non-riffy outro clocking in at 6 minutes, there’s less than a half hour of meat, so it doesn’t matter as much that the palate of ideas is limited. This is Oath Div. 666 establishing their sound, and it’s a pretty tasty mix of extreme metal that should appeal to OSDM dudes, crusties and guys that wear sunglasses and bullet belts. Definitely excited to see if they can go further with this.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10