Smorrah – Welcome To Your Nightmare
Origin: Germany
Release: 23.02.2024
Label: Sick Taste Records
Duration: 45:40
Genre: Death Metal / Thrash Metal
Photo Credit: Anna-Lena Hickmann
If you think about how long ago the times were when bands like Creator, Sodom or Darkness slowly emerged from the depths of the Ruhr region, you really realize how long good German old-school thrash metal has actually been around. But this fact doesn’t stop us all from continuing to look for bands that want to keep the thrash flame of the Ruhr area alive. And even less does it stop these same bands from continuing to produce heavy music.
Quite the opposite: one of the greatest hopes from this direction is called Smorrahare now bringing their new album onto the market and are letting themselves be driven wildly by the traces of past decades.
The opener of their newcomer Welcome To Your Nightmarewhich goes by the same name, starts off mystically, but quickly climbs onto the roaring thrash bandwagon that one is familiar with Smorrah is used to. Massive riffs with brutal vocals form an entertaining song that just invites you to headbang and mosh.
Always successful changes
The Ruhrpott thrashers always manage to incorporate welcome changes into their songs. So come on Age Of Decay For example, slower and more melodic guitar playing is also used, which also includes the singer’s singing Marius Wegener correspondingly softer and fits surprisingly perfectly with the music. But here too, of course, good, tough thrash comes out again in between. Also When The Tide Comes In shows the slightly gentler side again.
The band always remains extremely likeable. So you can at the beginning of Hope Dies Last listening to the men drinking beer before the song continues to be thrashed in a classic, great way.
Musical extraordinaire from the pot
What is particularly striking is the musical class with which the quartet always performs. Because not just the voice of Wegener can be heard, but also the qualities of the remaining musicians on their instruments. So one perfectly written riff chases the next and the solos are also played uniquely. Here you get top-notch thrash songwriting! Buried Underneath is another example of this.
Smorrah, who emerged from the depths of Gelsenkirchen in 2017, tell stories from the depths of human psychology on their debut album. That’s fitting, since they named themselves after the legend of Smorra named after the demon who sits on people’s chests at night and wants to suffocate them. This was brilliantly reflected on the cover and of course in the music. One thing is clear: their music will let them play higher than their home club Schalke 04 currently doing.
Conclusion
Smorrah succeeds Welcome To Your Nightmare a very good debut that impresses with great musical work and brilliant songwriting. Their Ruhrpott thrash never gets boring for a second, it makes you want more and makes you look forward to finally being able to hear the new songs live soon! 9 / 10
Line Up
Marius Wegener – Life
Daniel Pumper Hartmann – guitar
Christian Regions Krajewski – Bass
Raphael Swierczynski – drums
Tracklist
01. Welcome To Your Nightmare
02. Dead Snake Eyes
03. Age Of Decay
04. Killing Spree
05. Hope Dies Last
06. Buried Underneath
07. Death Awaits
08. Evil Betrayal
09. When The Tide Comes In
Links
Instagram Smorrah
Facebook Smorrah
Also on Soundmagnet.eu
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