Rating: 3.9

Country: Sweden

Release Date: 2008

Record Label: Pulverised Records

Track list:
1. Slowly We Frost 01:26
2. World's End 03:19
3. Annihilation And Chaos 03:35
4. Destruction Invocation 02:54
5. Chaos Rising 02:36
6. Ballade Of Death 02:34
7. Death To All 03:59
8. Unevitable Doom 03:00
9. Freddy Flesheater 03:13
10. Thanatophobia 03:42
11. Born To Hate 03:41

Total playing time 33:59

Band Website: Suicidal Winds

Suicidal Winds - Chaos Rising

Emil Johansson - lead/acoustic guitar
Mathias Johansson - vocals
Thomas Hedgren - drums
Peter Haglund - rhythm guitar
Fredrik Andersson - bass

If it's one thing that Sweden's Suicidal Winds manages to accomplish here would be usurping Dark Funeral's throne in the kingdom of mediocrity. Basically, try to imagine if you will Bestial Mockery after its collective members were institutionalized and stripped of their dignities by succumbing to lobotomies. Thus leaving them a shadow of their former selves. For a band that attempts to combine the blasphemous edge of Black Metal and the rebellious angst of traditional Thrash you would at least expect an unrelenting pummeling assault like a wave of mortar cannons going off but sadly this is not the case. No, instead the end result is akin to the dull sounding pop of a firecracker.

Part of the problem here has to do with the squeaky clean production values. A European band hellbent on destruction should then not have to sound like a third tier Bay Area thrash band from the 80's out to recruit disgruntled Motley Crue fans. If your sole intent is to simply rock the fuck out then the very least you can do is scuzz it up a bit. A little filth and sleaze never hurt anyone! If it's one thing that bands like Anal Vomit, Beherit, Bestial Mockery, and early Sodom have taught us is that sometimes an earthy, organic lo fi production can indeed add balls and much needed weight to a band's arsenal. Unfortunately here we have a delicately polished NWOSDM clone performing Kreator covers.

Performance wise, it's all very repetitive and predictable like a Ramones record. You know, the sort of album where you don't seem to know where the last song ended and the next one began. Just a mindless blur that easily goes in one ear and out the other. The tempo never goes beyond or below your average 4/4 thrash beat with an overabundance of pointless guitar wankery that somehow seems so out of place and feels like it rightfully belongs on an AC/DC record. Furthermore the overall presentation, not to mention song titles ("Freddy Flesheater," "Death to All," "Unevitable Doom," etc.) all come across as cliched as the recent old school Cali Thrash renaissance that seems to be on the rise. At some point I even wondered if both the bassist and drummer occasionally nodded off while laying down the same monotonous thumping beats throughout this entire recording. To give an example, "World's End" begins and already Marduk syndrome has taken effect which then steers the song down the usual predictable path for three straight minutes with the exception of one slow midpaced part to allow a pointless solo and for the musicians to briefly catch their breath until they're able to pick up the pace again. Before you know it, "Annihilation and Chaos" bursts through the door before you're even able to comprehend things and suddenly I begin to feel as if I'm stumbling my way through an assembly line with the conveyor belt speed set to hyperdrive. Basically you get the idea.

As far as the vocals are concerned, I honestly couldn't hold a straight face throughout my entire listening process for frontman Mathias Johansson does his best Beavis and Butthead impression. Or to put it a bit more seriously here, at times he sounds like Tomas Lindberg, that is if he was a cat mercilessly tossed into a blender.

Though admittedly this is my first introduction to this Swedish act, I was amazed to discover that they had released 2 or 3 other prior albums to this which makes me scratch my head and wonder just what the hell were these guys thinking when they sat down while writing and recording this one. I mean, shouldn't any serious dedicated band's aim entail progression, that is if longevity seems to be the main goal? The only positive thing I can say here is that had this been 1997 instead of 2008 then chances are all the Osmose roster fanboys might have devoured this up like it was cheap Pabst beer. Otherwise steer clear at all costs.

March 11th, 2007