Global Purification
Thanatos
CD | MP3
Century Media Records
Release date: November 17, 2014

Thanatos is the longest-running extreme band from The Netherlands. They are currently celebrating their 30th anniversary. Despite enduring numerous lineup changes and a seven-year hiatus in the ’90s, the band’s level of ferocity remains as high as it has always been. Recently signed to a new deal with Century Media Records, this week Thanatos releases its sixth full-length studio album, Global Purification.

The album kicks off at a breakneck pace with the title track “Global Purification” (Listen to the track here, below). Thanatos has always had a healthy dose of black metal underlying their thrash/speed metal exterior and this track makes that evident. Singer/guitarist Stephan Gebédi’s voice displays more of black metal’s vitriolic growling than the typical extreme metal guttural, which lends a clarity to what is being sung while still sounding supremely evil at the core.

Thanatos blast their way through 10 tracks over the course of 39 minutes with nary a single throwaway in the bunch. The pacing is perfect with the band only slowing down for some beautifully majestic instrumental passages such as the outro of the album’s standout track “Nothing Left” and the crushing doom-like intro to “The Demonized Minority.” Other highlights include “Feeding The War Machine” and the pummeling album closer “Bastion of Blasphemy.”

If you like old-school thrash with some seriously blackened undercurrents, then you should check out this album. Thanatos is not reinventing the wheel by any stretch of the imagination, but Global Purification is so energetic and deftly executed as to be anything but a retread.

Score 8.0 out of 10

Audio

Global Purification track-listing:

1. Global Purification
2. The Murder Of Innocence
3. Infestation Of The Soul
4. Queen Of Gore
5. Nothing Left
6. World Jihad
7. The Demonized Minority
8. Feeding The War Machine
9. Blood Will Be Spilled
10. Bastion Of Blasphemy

THANATOS live:

Nov. 15, 2014–Scream Bloody Scum Fest–Scum, Katwijk (NL) (unofficial CD-release-party)
Dec. 13, 2014–Eindhoven Metal Meeting–Effenaar, Eindhoven (NL)
Jan. 10, 2015–Turock-Essen (Germany)