A lot has changed in the music/metal scene since the 80s, yet ARTILLERY remain an under appreciated gem. Since their resurrection a decade ago, these elderly Danes have already released a pair of studio albums, including the killer When Death Comes. Old school thrash remains the name of the game (can’t teach old dogs new tricks, nor should you when it’s world class!) The disc begins with ‘Mi Sangre (The Blood Song) a Middle Eastern influence (like ‘Khomaniak’) and the jangly beat sets the head a-scratching, “What happened to Artillery?” Fret not, as it’s merely an intro, the punishing riffs are just around the corner. At 7:33, it’s the longest cut, by far. The Middle Eastern theme is recurrent throughout the disc. Recall Denmark had all kinds of problems with death threats regarding their journalists repeatedly publishing cartoons of the Muslim prophet. Listen to that monster chug in the aptly entitled ‘Monster’. Heavy, yes, but also with an omnipresent hook. Something of a lost art these days! By contrast, ‘Ain’t Givin In’ is pretty pop oriented. ‘Prelude To Madness’ is a short (66-second) acoustic intro to the frenetic ‘Thrasher’. Another light-to-dark sonic start can be heard on ‘Warrior Blood’, whereas solo bass greets the beginning of ‘Concealed In The Dark’. The brothers Stutzer unplug their guitars once again, to kick off ‘End Of Eternity’. There is a two-song bonus digi-pak floating around, but the extras are updated versions of tunes off their ’85 debut (‘Show Your Hate 2011’/‘Eternal War 2011’). Even the vaunted Japanese bonus is a similarly reworked ‘The Almighty 2011’. So no need to spend the extra cash!