Maze of the Mind

Compared with the never ending flood of black metal releases, thrash outputs are surely underrepresented. I do not really understand this, because thrash is still the most energetic style and energy has been one of the initial building blocks of metal in general, right? However, there are still some upright bands that bring thrash metal on the daily agenda from time to time and Battlecreek from Bavaria is one of them. “Maze of the Mind” is their third full-length and a kind of comeback album, because its predecessor was already released in 2015. But a German proverb says that the clocks run differently in Bavaria, so maybe that’s just a normal frequency of publication for the guys.

The release consists of ten songs and two intros and Battlecreek are able to give “Maze of the Mind” a lively appearance. The energy level of the music is pretty good, the band does not hide its joy of playing and the fact that Gama Bomb’s Philly contributes some lines in “Granvilles Hammer” is a nice gimmick. Naturally, the riffs dominate the scenario, but the drums take care for a high degree of musical pressure as well. The vocalist is not too far away from Philly’s normal voice, neither extremely high-pitched nor growling. So my interim conclusion is that the basic ingredients of this album give no reason to grumble.

Let’s get to the single tracks. The good thing is: there is no stinker. The bad thing is: there is no real highlight as well. All songs commute between solid and pretty good (only “Pleasures of the Hangman” houses an annoying “modern” melody line, yet its impulsive mid-part sounds fine), but a few catchy choruses or some outstanding riffs would have pushed the album on the next level. This doesn’t mean that the album fails to present some promising moments, for instance the straight, sharp and fast beginning of the title track. The similarly configured opening of the casually titled “Knockout in the First Round” marks another example. More explosive moments can be found, but unfortunately, some good, Exodus-like approaches fall more or less flat as the songs progress. The album is hard to describe, because it does not disappoint (by far not!), but it is not able to take possession of the listener as well. The songs are light years away from sterility, but they also do not trigger strong emotions. Anyway, the positive aspects of the composition are doubtlessly more numerous than their less strong sides.

“Maze of the Mind” can trust in its clean, well-defined production that lacks neither pressure nor force. One can have a good time with the album, although the old classics (Forbidden and Exodus can be mentioned as influential formations for Battlecreek) remain unrivalled. So what, I don’t want to set the bar too high – there exist myriads of bands who also haven’t written something comparable to “Bonded by Blood” so far (and probably they never will). So take a beer, bang your head and play “Maze of the Mind” loud. If your neighbours don’t like the sound that comes from your apartment, then explain them that you are on a mission and that you want to help thrash to be no longer underrepresented. I am sure they will understand your intention.