Battlecreek – Maze Of The Mind

01. Implosion Of The Sun
02. King Of Rats
03. Maze Of The Mind
04. Knockout In The First Round
05. The Cords Of Death
06. Thou Shalt Not Kill
07. Slaves To The Virtual God
08. Granvilles Hammer [feat. Philly Byrne]
09. ⁠…To The Gallows
10. ⁠Pleasures Of The Hangman
11. Border Patrol
12. Goliaths Revenge

It’s no secret that black and thrash metal have grown increasingly similar when it comes to pushing boundaries. Both genres continue to attract newcomers, and we see a constant flood of releases—some striving to inject fresh energy, while others merely highlight how easily they can slip into sterility and stagnation. Battlecreek from Germany emerged in 2004, purveying two solid good ol’ fashioned thrash metal full-length albums (Wake The Plague (2011) and Hate Injection (2015)) before stepping into a decade-long hiatus; now they’re back releasing another good ol’ fashioned thrash album, Maze Of The Mind, in 2024.

The album includes ten tracks and two intros. The special appearance of Gama Bomb’s Philly Byrne on “Granville’s Hammer” adds a nice touch, while the album is packed with riffs and drums providing plenty of pressure. While the vocalist’s approach is not miles apart from Philly’s, sitting somewhere between a high-pitched style and a growl, it doesn’t contribute enough to this album to warrant being so inordinately boisterous and rumbling. I fail to see standout tracks here, as everything is ranged sonically in a goldilocks zone, with the exception of “Pleasures Of The Hangman”, a song I cherish for its memorable choruses and a damn good midsection, filled with powerful punching bass and riffs almost killing with their groovy sound.

However, the album’s flow loses steam as several tracks absolutely fall flat, poorly impersonating early Exodus-style intros (especially “Maze Of The Mind”), getting lost in transition, or being hindered by bizarre mixing. The album lacks depth in terms of emotional appeal, thus making it less cohesive and impactful. Still, the likes of “Thou Shalt Not Kill” and “Border Patrol” deliver anthemic moshers, while “Slaves To The Virtual God” and “Pleasures Of The Hangman” dunk on listeners with groove restricted beyond anything.

Though Maze Of The Mind benefits from a clean and well-defined production, with a good range of guitar cranking and thunderous drumming, it falls short of building upon the influencing style of Exodus’s crafting and musicianship. So yeah, crack open a beer at your perusal, crank up Maze Of The Mind, and enjoy the missing side of modernity of thrash metal. For me, it’s a passable affair and starts to wear off after a couple of listens.

Highlights: “Granville’s Hammer”, “Pleasures Of The Hangman”