Modern thrash metal is Leech's trade. They hail from Sweden and one can tell that by hearing their sole release, the full-length album 'Cyanide Christ', which was originally put out in 2013 by the band, and reissued four years later by Polish label Defense Records (with no extras). The project mostly consists of Carnal Forge members. So, what can one expect from them, then?

While Leech do not bring in anything new, they have some ace songs and good all-round performance here. With Carnal Forge, I hear big The Haunted and Darkane influences on this album. Streetwise, sharp riffing meets very Swedish-sounding melodiousness, which at times is melancholic, and reminds of Desultory more than anything coming from Gothenburg. Pounding yet versatile rhythms keep songs in juggernaut-ish motion (not getting slow at any point), with rather basic but bottom-laying bass guitar work. The lead guitar (Magnus Söderman of Inrage) is the most sophisticated thing on the album with some quite technical soloing, which does not happen in every song, but here and there, keeping the interest level up. Which is, however, brought down by similar tricks on most of the songs.

The vocals are varying: Screamed tautly or with rage, some low speaking, growls, grunts and shouting, resulting in Andreas Sydow meeting Peter Dolving style aggressive mixture. The lyrics are pretty much what's expected: misanthropy and human weaknesses, and not in Shakespearean way. Just do not expect a ballad...

The production job is clean, punchy enough and gives space to every element. And it is also organic enough, even though modern-sounding. The drums do not sound triggered, which is always plus. Maybe they should have changed the horrible artwork for the reissue, as there was a chance to do so.

'Cyanide Christ' is a hard album to write much other than that it sounds very Swedish modern, semi-melodic thrash metal one. It is a good one at that, and should be inspected by fans of the genre. It has been heard countless times, how bad it can go anyway. But then again, the guys are not newcomers.

Rating: 7- (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
06/20/2018 20:37