‘Skin is shed, like that of snakes, but it’s not the work of mother nature’
Nige Rocket, now there’s a name from my youth, the days when I was scared of Thrash bands, now that I’m all grown up, I’ve ventured out from under the duvet to lay down the red carpet for a right Royal rumble as metal masters Onslaught are back.
After amassing an eye-watering forty years in the business, they return with a reminder as to why they are so loved and respected by their peers and their fans. Proudly sitting on the Reigning Phoenix roster, Onslaught bring the noise with a solid artillery of their own work and then proceed to entertain us further with an uproarious selection of covers. Off with a bang we have ‘Thermonuclear Devastation Of Planet Earth’ an insightful piece, I find it disheartening that the issues that are in the forefront today have always been discussed, but seemingly nothing has been done to fully address and resolve them.
The hauntingly mournful bells in ‘Power from Hell’ are unsettling yet I find them quite soothing, I quite like the Horror/Gothic ambience, the gloom, the disquiet can be as comforting as it is claustrophobic.
‘Life has no meaning in a place that has no heart to bleed’
The ‘Metal Forces’ are a divine combination of the ‘Angels of Death’ and the ‘Power from Hell’ forming an ‘Iron Fist’ to punch through your gut and exit via your backbone. All the treasured elements of Thrash are here present, the voice, the frets, the drums and the blunt force trauma.
From a ‘Holiday in Cambodia’ to Holidays In The Sun’ you’ll find something for everyone with these destinations of devastation– fun for all the family!
As your nervous system braces for impact, this record comes at you with all the grace of a stampeding rhino, but that harsh exterior does give way to songs that are meaningful, thoughtful and full of thrashy tenderness. The new video for ‘In Search Of Sanity’ is perfectly paired with urban explorer footage, the abandonment and isolation are an accurate depiction of how things are in real life. Our search for sanity leaves us exhausted, nauseous and riddled with holes that a gopher on a golf course would be proud of.
You’ll find them pillaging and plundering their way across the world in 2025, you can catch them at these shows
w/ Cryptosis
29th May DE Oldenburg – MTS
30th May DE Wittstock – Metal Power Open Air*
31st May DE Essen – Turock
1st June BE Diest – Hell
3rd June FR Dijon – La Vapeur
4th June IT Paderno Dugnano- Slaughter Club
5th June IT Bologna – Alchemica Music Club
6th June AT Vienna – Escape Metalcorner
7th June DE Hauptmannsgrün – Chronical Moshers Open Air*
8th June AT Salzburg – Rockhouse
10th June DE Stuttgart – Schwarzer Keiler
11th June DE Aschaffenburg – Colos- Saal
12th June DE Leipzig – Hellraiser
13th June PL Byczyna – Black Silesia Open Air Festival*
14 June DE Selb – Rockclub Nordbayern
w/o Cryptosis
26th July IT Bolotana – Rock and Bol Metal Fest
23rd August FR Champtoceaux – Barbeuk Metal Fest
29th August GR Rethymno – Rethymno Rocks
7th September MX León – Candelabrum Metal Fest
8th and 9th September UK Manchester – Damnation Festival
Over to our friends Down Under
14th November AU Perth – Rosemount Hotel
15th November AU Adelaide – Lion Arts Factory
19th November AU Canberra – The Baso
20th November AU Sydney – The Underground
21st November AU Brisbane – Soapbox Brewery
22nd November AU Melbourne – Corner Hotel
Looking ahead to next year,
12th March UK Great Yarmouth – Hard Rock Hell Spring Break.
For further information head over to https://www.powerfromhell.com/site/pfh-media
Combative, combustive and non-conformist, a little friendly fire for your neighbours, I’m sure they’ll appreciate a lesson in mad riffs and even madder pits!
What a classic year 2025 is shaping up to be, a grand slam summer of Thrash, raise your iron fists and let’s kick out those jams motherfuckers!
Azra Pathan
Onslaught – Origins of Aggression out now