Album Review: The Troops of Doom - Antichrist Reborn
Reviewed by Daniel Phipps
Named after the classic track by Sepultura, Troops of Doom features guitar player Jairo Guedz who was a member of Sepultura between 1985 and 1987 and appeared on the Bestial Devastation and Morbid Visions releases by the Brazilian band. Troops of Doom who were founded in 2020 and released music in both 2020 and 2021 have continued to write and their first full length effort see’s light of day in April.
Now I can be cynical when I hear of a band that will come out and lead with features ex members of… but I will be honest Troops of Doom back up that remark with a huge savage offering. Antichrist Reborn is an absolute ripper right from the start, when compared to the bands first two E.P.’s Troops of Doom have gone back to a more primitive sound, it’s almost as if the 80’s are reborn in 2022. Vicious attacking guitars are the prime focus on Antichrist Reborn and take centre stage as the band unleash a relentless barrage of those furious guitars combined alongside hellish vocals and huge powerful drums to create a thrash/death metal attack which is crafted to showcase a peak performance from the four members.
Joining Jairo Guedz on guitar is Marcelo Vasco and between the two of them they whip up a storm of break neck thrashing riffs and precision lead work, drummer Alexandre Oliveira offering a solid well rounded drumming performance which is very much in line with classic death metal drummers and not how death metal drumming has progressed into a marathon of relentless blasting but is very much suited to the style that Troops of Doom play. The vocals from bass player and vocalist Alex Kafer are aggressive and rip through each track with sheer force.
The featuring ex member of tag isn’t really needed as Antichrist Reborn is a stand alone piece of work which should not need that kind of tag to it. It is savage and has an utterly visceral thrashy sound topped with sheer aggression and brought together with a very solid production and cool song writing is enough to keep you hooked right from the very second you push play.
