When you imagine top notch thrash metal, who do you imagine? Metallica? Slayer? Some band out of Brazil or Greece we’ve never heard of? All excellent answers! There’s so much to be heard that it’s a tragedy that so much goes unnoticed, and no band is so criminally unknown than that of Artillery. They’ve been going ever since before “Master of Puppets” was put out, so they’ve had a s**t ton of time to really get their sound to where they want it and make something f**king ridiculous out of their already great formula. And the end result this time happens to be their upcoming album “Penalty by Perception” which is unequivocally one of if not the best thrash metal album to have come out in too many years. From the capturing vocals, catchy riffs followed by mouth watering guitar solos, a bass that knows how to bring an amazing feel, and drums that sound like lightning incarnate, Artillery have created a true masterpiece of thrash metal that any fan of the genre will be jamming out to by the half way mark of the first track because this band has perfected their musical formula and have finally created an album that could be their big breakthrough as a band that to me is terribly underrated and could be a part of a Second Big Four. Eleven tracks and over 50 minutes of shredding guitar and a metal as f**k sound are all included within “Penalty by Perception” so when this record comes out you better make yourself comfortable with your favorite pair of headphones because you will be thrown into a grand experience that you will not want to end even after you’ve played the album over and over again. Artillery also show off their musicianship with incorporating other instruments such as an acoustic guitar and piano that not only sound magnificent but blend in so well with the thrash that it’s uncanny and I cannot help but applaud at how Artillery is able to do such a feat that many bands attempt and fail constantly. All in all, this is without a doubt in my mind one of the best albums that 2016 will give us by the time it drops because it is so well done and masterfully executed that no one included me can deny it’s awesomeness. A true marvel of modern metal that sounds faintly old school but packed with much of the new school, “Penalty by Perception” can easily be Artillery’s best album to date and the one that truly puts them on the map of the metal world as they’ve deserved to be for decades.
“Penalty by Perception” releases on March 25th! You can pre-order the album via iTunes here, and stream the music video for “Live by the Scythe” via YouTube below.
