Bonded – Into Blackness
Release Date: 12th November 2021
Label: Century Media Records
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Genre: Thrash
FFO: Exodus, Slayer, Mastodon.
Review By: Jordan Burton-Morris
Formed in 2018 by former long-time Sodom members Bernd “Bernemann” Kost (Guitars) and Markus “Makka” Freiwald (Drums), Bonded made an immediate and devastating impact with their crushing debut album, Rest In Violence.
Explosive, murderous, noticeably faster and heavier than its predecessor, the second Bonded album is exactly the violent wake-up call we need. Entitled Into Blackness, it lives up to its ominous title with venomous abandon. It is set to release on the 12th November 2021 via Century Media Records.
The album starts off strong on opener ‘The Holy Whore‘. These guys waste no time in providing heavy chugging and fast-paced drumming. The vocals remind me of Mastodon, yet the riffs are more like an Exodus/Slayer style. The tempo changes here are unexpected but work very well.
Division Of The Damned starts off more slow and melodic, with some very good guitar work from Ex-Sodom guitarist Bernd Kost and guitarist Chris Tsitsis. Eventually, it blends into a good thrash piece, with a slower tempo but faster drums!
Into The Blackness Of A Wartime Night has to be my favourite. The riffs sound so crisp, the use of low vocals as well as Ingo Bajonczak’s usual register, and of course the amazing, face-melting solo! This track has all the ingredients to a thrash classic!
Destroy The Things I Love features a 90s Metallica-esque riff, but with more brutal vocals on top of it, whilst The Arsonist Intro is like tamed Reign In Blood era Slayer, and it sounds great.
Lilith (Queen Of Blood) starts with some sort of speech, and then descends into being one of the fastest tracks here, featuring a stunning, thunderous bassline from Marc Hauschild! Another insane solo is also on tap!
Penultimate track Way Of The Knife features some great guitar harmonies throughout, then descends into an onslaught. The drums are quite prominent here, too. The solo shows off some serious skills, including a noteworthy tapping section.
Last, but by no means least, the closer that is The Eyes Of Madness. There is quite a dramatic, harmonized intro, which really sets the tone for the track. There are some very tight riffs here, supported by a great bassline. Not such a fan of the chorus, feels like an anticlimax almost after the large thrashy build up.
Overall, this is a great album. There are a few tracks that sound a bit repetitive, but for the most part, they thrash hard. From last year’s debut, they have expanded and embellished their sound with multiple new gleaming weapons of war! Definitely ones to watch.
(3.5 / 5)
