Invincible War

Why did the band even bother getting cover art made for this release? The word 'thrash' in all capital letters, bolded, 200-point Times New Roman would really suffice. I guess if it was really necessary they could put 'Teutonic style' in a slightly smaller font just above 'thrash', but the first incarnation of the cover really suffices at telling you every detail of this release.

Bywar play thrash metal in the vein of Destruction or Kreator, and they do it quite well. There are no moments which are insistently like any one band in particular, and Bywar have just enough personality of their own in the form of a slightly thin and flat yet aggressive production job and particularly sneering vocal performance (with laughably bizarre lyrics) to make them stand out from the pack. Oh, and they can write good songs, too, something that so many thrash bands seem to ignore entirely in favor of injecting more open E strumming patterns. Bywar's music is intensely riff-based, and while the riffs are strictly conventional thrash tremolo arrangements, one can't deny how effective they are at communicating the aggression that seeps from this band.

Bywar lacks outstanding speed or technicality, and has to make up for it by writing particularly oldschool and traditional songs, and in this regard they succeed. There's never a dull moment on this release (though at half an hour long, there's not much of a chance for there to be one) and every track (barring the rather pointless intro and outro) stays thrilling and intense throughout. The production reminds me of some early-'90s death metal with a smothered tonal death forcing you to pay attention to the music as a whole; this is actually really good for this release, allowing you to appreciate some of the more deft songwriting moments more fully. While Bywar certainly emphasizes fast and short songs, they can write more complex number when they feel like it; 'Killing The Pharisee' is a near epic at six minutes long and manages to pack a great number of solid riffs into its running time.

The music of this band is strictly conventional, but it's full of soul and appreciably devoid of thrash, enough so that I can recommend this above most other unknown thrash albums. There is nothing here that will surprise anyone, but it's solid and enjoyable throughout and worth the time of the dedicated thrash fan. It's even fun to me, someone who HATES FUN.