Review by Michael on December 2, 2025.

Here we go with the new Fear Connection album. Fear what? The connection between a catchword and the fear it creates in the mind of somebody. Like Trump and truth, Putin and love or Gothenburg melo-death scene and Fear Connection.

"Where Suffering Remains" is the second album by the North German deathers and like their debut "Progeny Of A Social Disease" from 2021 it is quite a strike.

Okay, when I said that the Gothenburg melo-death scene will fear the guys, it was a little bit exaggerated because first of all I would state that this scene is dead for many years now (even if In Flames and Dark Tranquillity are still releasing more or less mediocre albums, but the only band that held this banner up high disbanded now after the tragic passing of Tomas Lindberg I guess, R.I.P.). Second, the Germans don't play pure melo-death but a groovy mixture of that together with a lot of crust and thrash and here and there even some more blackish outbreaks like in "The Cost".

Nevertheless the guys keep comprehensibility and structure in mind the whole time and focus on the important things a good album needs: melodies en masse, a lot of catchiness and amazing riffs. Not that the riffs are too technical but they kick ass and match to this fuck-off attitude the guys show during the whole album. Especially in "The Devil's Dance" this becomes obvious. This is more punk-influenced and laden with a great atmosphere that makes you wanna grab your cold beer instantly even if it's ten in the morning. Also the lyrics are different from the rest:

"Life is not easy
When things go wrong,
The power of music
Will keep you strong"

Fuck, yeah! These are the lines I need these days to make my goddamn toothache go away. At least for some seconds. So I better not grab the beer in combination with all the painkillers I swallowed. But at least I have the music. So this is probably the party anthem on "When Suffering Remains" but also the other nine tracks are killing.

All tracks are very unique and entertaining, each one has a very special note with different influences. Some Bolt Thrower here, a little bit of At The Gates there, sometimes some cool old Death-memorial-riffs and a lot of thrash of course. This is really a very good album with some smart song-writing that keeps you interested to the last second. Only the title track is some kind of mystery to me. Why? Well, this is "just" an instrumental. Everybody who knows my reviews knows that I personally don't like them too much so it is my very personal opinion (just like the rest too, and anyone who wants to tell me that reviews are objective has a nutloose). Still it is also a good one but it might have been a better one with vocals.

And let me just have a quick talk about the sound as well. All the listeners who are in the more extreme German metal scene know producer Jörg Uken (Anvil, Slaughterday, Temple Of Dread…). If you choose that guy, you can be sure that you will get the powerful sound you want to have. No flaws, no point of criticism here.

So let me resume: if you need a dry hanseatic death/thrash metal hiding without too much sense of humor you can blindly grab "When Suffering Remains". And if you like your bloody nose after that you should check their debut also.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10