Reign of Terror

Acranius' third album Reign of Terror is a monolithic slab of brutality. These slammers from Germany can be compared to the heaviest of slam death (think Cephalotripsy, Devourment). From the beginning Acranius unleashes an onslaught of relentless brutality with the first track "Born a King" The opening is extremely low and crushing slams are encased with the blazing fast double bass, which sets the mood for this whole release - catchy, and insanely brutal as well.

Acranius really has seemed to master the aspects of making slam, rhythmic brutal riffs, blazing fast and clear drums and monstrous sounding guttural vocals complement the instruments exceptionally. Paired with the crystal clear and amazing production, definitely a few steps above their early work, Acranius sounds like the actualization of a monster absolutely ravaging the world, the album doesn't overstay its welcome as well, as a lot of the songs have interesting variations on the drums, grind parts and slams. My favorite track would have to be "Outlaw". It really shows the band's hardcore influences as well as from death metal, as there are some hardcore-esque riffs in the song, a lot like their debut EP "The Echo of Her Cracking Chest". I like how Acranius is not afraid to show some signs of their uniqueness and how they began as a band.

In conclusion, I believe that this album is one of the best slam albums of 2017 so far, it's extremely heavy, very rhythmic, and each slam is bound to have you headbanging. Acranius tried to make a great slam album and they have definitely succeeded. This crushing release deserves to have the repeat button smashed repeatedly after finishing this masterpiece of brutality!