Nocturnal Fear is a thrash band from Detroit, Michigan. The four piece formed back in 2000 and have been consistently mangling metalheads since. Excessive Cruelty is the band's fifth full-length and they still show no signs of fatigue. One glimpse at the song titles alone should give those who aren't familiar with the band a good idea of what they are all about. This is high class wartorn thrash of the highest degree that is sure to make every head in the area bang forcefully.
The guitar playing on the album is fairly memorable. There are many riffs here that will linger in your head long after the listening experience is over. There is also plenty of variation to go around, the slow epic section in "I Am War" is one of the first moments that comes to mind. The interesting songs structures and riffs manage to make this near 50 minute album fully engaging from start to finish. The bass is also audible for the most part, while it does do it's part beefing up the sound the majority of the time it just follows along with the guitar.
The drummer, Witchhammer, is a force to be reckoned with to say the least. The powerhouse of blasting showcased here without a doubt proves that the man has the stamina of a machine. The drumming here gives the album that extra push into excellence, it is certain that many other people behind the kit wouldn't fit quite as well. The vocals featured on this album are nothing to write home about. That being said, they do fit the harsh brand of thrash Nocturnal Fear plays perfectly. The lack of variation in this aspect of the album doesn't effect the overall experience much, Devastator delivers his nasty snarls with more than enough power and confidence to make them much more than adequate.
Overall Nocturnal Fear prove that they still reign supreme against most of the competition when it comes to the "thrash revival" trend. When one thinks about this album it is almost hard to consider this "thrash revival". Excessive Cruelty ups the ante in terms of brutality and is just a straight up, ass kicking thrash album, plain and simple. As usual it is very clear where the group draws influence from, but it is still an extremely solid onslaught of vicious thrash metal that will not disappoint. Fans of old school German thrash should have a good time with this release and fans of previous Nocturnal Fear albums will certainly not be letdown. The album finishes the way it starts, with all cylinders firing and still showing off that "pounce and kill" attitude. Give this one a look, it is worth many listens.
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