This Swedish thrash metal band named Maze Of Torment (do I sense a Napalm Death song title here?) has been around since the early nineties and has released five albums. This is their sixth effort entitled Hidden Cruelty, and according to the bio with this release they have truly developed their sound.

The world of thrash metal, it’s a huge scene with almost no room for variety and originality. Therefore Maze Of Torment doesn’t offer any of this either. But the difference between a crappy thrash metal band and a kick ass one is not that hard to see, and luckily this band belongs to the second category. On Hidden Cruelty the band gives you some great thrashing action. Fast aggressive riffs, brutal drumming, shredding solo’s, a great overall groove and good strong vocals (that don’t immediately remind me of some other vocalist) that suit the music perfectly.

 

Influences from Slayer are surely in abundance here, right when the first track ‘Breach The Wall’ kicks in you already hear this. And this doesn’t stop until the end of the record. Also it must be mentioned that a small dose of death metal lingers in certain songs, just to make it all a bit more aggressive and faster. The album maintains a high tempo groove that surely should give some people severe neck injuries, and honestly if I ever saw them live and I was drunk (good chance on that), I would probably join in the headbanging.

 

For the rest there isn’t much to say. If you’re a fan of the genre and/or the band this is a great addition to your collection. Sweden has once again provided the metal scene with a worthy release!