Year of release: 2020
Label: Wings of Destruction / Global Thrash Attack
Rating: 8,2 / 10
The metal scene has been offering a lot of good releases lately, and I'm really sorry that at the moment I'm not mentally and physically ready to review them. But when a disk arrives by mail, you need to put all other things aside and roll up your sleeves, so let's meet a new work of these young men from Ural. The debut album of CYANIDE GRENADE, released 3 years ago on Metal Race, was cool, although I felt that the band could still improve a lot. I even gave some recommendations. And - lo and behold - the group really got better. Firstly, CYANIDE GRENADE began to develop its own style, which no longer resembles a hodgepodge of all thrash metal. There are only two main components, and they complement each other in an interesting way. The first component is called "poison"... I mean, VENOM, and it is expressed in a deliberately uneven rhythm, which for me, by the way, has long become a stumbling block when trying to listen to the Brits. That is, it happens here that the drums are playing slayer beats, and the guitars are working at a medium tempo, or vice versa. In addition, from time to time lively, a little punky, motifs slip through.
However, the theme and message of the album leave no room for optimism, so any glimpses of positiveness are ruthlessly suppressed by the second main component: cold thrash death from the second half of the 80s. It is delivered through clanking, technical riffs and angry vocals. It's curious that on the last album I didn't like the vocals, and now it has changed little. But whether it is mixed differently, or the renewed basis of the music is working - the impression became absolutely positive. Maybe because the accent is gone ...? In several places the collaboration of guitars and vocals even reminded me of early DEATH. Heavy, abrupt, unfriendly.
The debut of CYANIDE GRENADE was already quite pessimistic in spirit, but the second album goes further. It is the lyrical, not the musical part that is closest to the golden years of thrash. Remember how the USA and the USSR threatened each other with missile strikes, and thrashers actively wrote albums on the "nuclear" theme? I don't remember, because I was born in 1990, but I listened to “Persecution Mania” a hundred times. CYANIDE GRENADE almost word for word repeat the key texts of that era. Humanity is obsessed with murder, any disagreement leads to genocide, the world will burn in a nuclear fire, and so on. They didn't even forget about the obligatory anti-religious song! It is commendable that the texts of Yekaterinburg residents do not slip into a dull political and social bullshit about greedy corporations and inhumane leaders. In my memory, this is the first group with members in white sneakers, which did not feed the listener with this worthless crap. In the lyrics of CYANIDE GRENADE, there is generally little specificity, but more than enough of the feeling of hopelessness and inevitable death.
The physical edition of the album was released by Wings of Destruction and Global Thrash Attack. t turned out to be a standard Jewel with an 8-page booklet on good glossy paper. The artwork was done by Askold, and the author is immediately recognizable by the figure in the hood located in the middle of the cover at the top: this is probably the half-brother of the character from the cover of MEGALITH LEVITATION “Acid Doom Rites”. Along the way, I note that Askold's old black-and-white goats looked more advantageous, and in color images, a certain unevenness of lines and jagged edges are noticeable, or something. But the release is generally pretty, with all the lyrics and photos included. Considering the traditionally low cost of the CD, it's a shame to complain. Details on a video.
English (UK) 
Крыўская