CRUEL FORCE (Speed Metal – Germany) – New album “Dawn of the Axe” gets release date, 2 previous albums to be re-issued #CruelForce
SHADOW KINGDOM RECORDS is proud to present CRUEL FORCE’s long-awaited third album, Dawn of the Axe, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.
Truest of the true, Germany’s CRUEL FORCE burst onto the scene in 2008 with the Into the Crypts… demo. While many have tried to emulate the ancient German (black)thrash sound, CRUEL FORCE brimmed with an authenticity that could not be denied, as well as songwriting that added to that noble tradition rather than lazily picking at its corpse. Their two successive albums, 2010’s The Rise of Satanic Might and 2011’s Under the Sign of the Moon, made CRUEL FORCE a certifiably CULT name in the international metal underground. Sadly, the band fell into a hiatus following that second album, but returned reinvigorated with the comeback 7″ EP Across the Styx in 2022 and are ready to make up for lost time with their imminent third album for new label home SHADOW KINGDOM.
Titled Dawn of the Axe, CRUEL FORCE’s long-awaited new album is, in many ways, a new chapter for the band. As presaged by that short-length, Dawn of the Axe harkens to dustier, more archaic times – ones where subgenre delineations weren’t so strict and all was mostly HEAVY METAL. For sure, CRUEL FORCE can still thrash with the best of them – regular thrash, “blackthrash,” whatever – but their sound carries a strong old-style speed metal edge reminiscent of ’80s Kreator, Iron Angel, and Germany’s Deathrow, sharp as an axe and just as lethal. And while the blackened elements of the first two albums have been dialed back some here, the overall speed of LP#3 is, in fact, faster. But as Dawn of the Axe slices onward, it soon becomes apparent that that the quartet are subtly integrating a more rarefied field of influences, with the mysticism of ’70s Rainbow and especially Scorpions most prominent as well as the blue-collar thrust of early US metal – again, all before the development of speed metal or thrash. Thus, the nine songs comprising the 39-minute album exude a wider variety of moods and dynamics, and also sees CRUEL FORCE exploring their more epic side, with three of those songs topping six minutes. No matter the mood or dynamic, though, energy bristles from every second of Dawn of the Axe – riff, rhythm, lead, vocal, EVERYTHING – and with the slightly-more-atmospheric recording style (or a more “mysterious” production, perhaps), it all gels together to create the band’s strongest and most complete statement to date. No matter how you (axe)slice it, there’s no wimping out whatsoever!
It’s rare for a band to be away a full decade and then come back with their best work, but such is the case with CRUEL FORCE and Dawn of the Axe. There’s some strange magick brewing in the Devil’s Dungeon, and they’ve crossed the Styx to bring you that Power Surge! To celebrate this momentous occasion, SHADOW KINGDOM will also be reissuing on a worldwide scale the band’s first two albums: the time of CRUEL FORCE is NOW!
*** PRE-ORDER August 4, 2023*** – No release dates for re-issues. When the records come in, we’ll ship (should be in 1-2 months).
To celebrate the arrival of CRUEL FORCE’s long-awaited third album, Dawn of the Axe, SHADOW KINGDOM RECORDS is proud to present a worldwide reissue of the band’s cult debut album, The Rise of Satanic Might, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.
Truest of the true, Germany’s CRUEL FORCE burst onto the scene in 2008 with the Into the Crypts… demo. While many have tried to emulate the ancient German (black)thrash sound, CRUEL FORCE brimmed with an authenticity that could not be denied, as well as songwriting that added to that noble tradition rather than lazily picking at its corpse. Their two successive albums, 2010’s The Rise of Satanic Might and 2011’s Under the Sign of the Moon, made CRUEL FORCE a certifiably CULT name in the international metal underground. Sadly, the band fell into a hiatus following that second album, but returned reinvigorated with the comeback 7″ EP Across the Styx in 2022 and are ready to make up for lost time with their imminent third album, Dawn of the Axe, for new label home SHADOW KINGDOM.
Originally released in early 2010 on vinyl and tape initially, CRUEL FORCE’s The Rise of Satanic Might debut was very aptly titled. Totaling nine songs across 33 minutes and including a well-chosen cover of Bathory’s “Necromansy,” The Rise of Satanic Might swiftly introduced CRUEL FORCE to the wider metal underground with total and utter diabolic force. Back then, the band bled black and surely emphasized that part of the BLACKthrash equation; the other part of the equation was fierce and frenzied, with exceptionally muscular production backing up those songs instead of the usual cavernous rawness. But linger under no assumption that CRUEL FORCE kept it clean: this was – and still is – 666% evil German thrash steeped in the ancient gods of not just Sodom, Kreator, and Destruction but also Deathrow, Assassin, Exumer, Darkness, and Necronomicon. In other words, MANDATORY listening now and forever for thrash diehards, and at long last reissued on a worldwide scale!
*** PRE-ORDER August 4, 2023*** – No release dates for re-issues. When the records come in, we’ll ship (should be in 1-2 months).
To celebrate the arrival of CRUEL FORCE’s long-awaited third album, Dawn of the Axe, SHADOW KINGDOM RECORDS is proud to present a worldwide reissue of the band’s cult second album, Under the Sign of the Moon, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.
Truest of the true, Germany’s CRUEL FORCE burst onto the scene in 2008 with the Into the Crypts… demo. While many have tried to emulate the ancient German (black)thrash sound, CRUEL FORCE brimmed with an authenticity that could not be denied, as well as songwriting that added to that noble tradition rather than lazily picking at its corpse. Their two successive albums, 2010’s The Rise of Satanic Might and 2011’s Under the Sign of the Moon, made CRUEL FORCE a certifiably CULT name in the international metal underground. Sadly, the band fell into a hiatus following that second album, but returned reinvigorated with the comeback 7″ EP Across the Styx in 2022 and are ready to make up for lost time with their imminent third album, Dawn of the Axe, for new label home SHADOW KINGDOM.
Originally released during the summer of 2011, CRUEL FORCE’s Under the Sign of the Moon was as sweltering as the weather. Whilst keeping the same sound as their debut album, The Rise of Satanic Might, just a year prior – fierce and frenzied blackthrash in the old German tradition, with the emphasis on BLACK – here on CRUEL FORCE’s second LP did the quartet get even dirtier, digging back to equally early Venom and Motörhead at times. The gallop was insistent and ominous, and sounded like the proverbial Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse…if they knelt before the ancient gods of Sodom, Kreator, and Destruction! And whereas that no-less-considerable debut featured isolated leads (in other words: no backing rhythm guitar), guitarist Slaughter filled out the sound, which, alongside vocalist Carnivore’s gruffer delivery here, made everything more thundering. In other words, MANDATORY listening now and forever for thrash diehards, and at long last reissued on a worldwide scale!
CRUEL FORCE is:
CARNIVORE – Vocals
SLAUGHTER – Guitars
SPIDER – Bass
GG ALEX – Drums
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