Martyr – You Are Next (album review) ★★★★☆

The Dutch heavy metal band Martyr was founded in 1982 and the band released three full length albums till 2011. In the early years, Martyr appeared on compilation albums from Roadrunner, toured with international acts and appeared on Sky Channels ‘Monsters Of Rock’. Through the years they had some line-up changes and sabbaticals, but the came always back with new material. So also in 2016 Martyr is back! On March 31 their fourth full length album ‘You Are Next’ is a fact! Let’s find out if they still have it.

The album starts off with the song ‘Into The Darkest Of All Realms’ (video) and immediately they show me what Martyr is all about: true heavy metal mixed with thrash metal brutality. Just perfect riffs, great solo’s and bridges, traditional heavy metal vocals and drums that’s moshing along with the guitars. But is that all there is? No, of course not. Another strong thing to mention is the diversification of the songs on the album. ‘Unborn Evil’ is for example a slow doom-ish song with brutal vocals and ‘Souls Breathe’ is a fast thrash metal song. A nice balance between different styles and elements, whereby the songs are not to long, but just good!

I think the most important thing on this album is the guitar work. Besides the fact that the riffs are very strong, I’m constantly suprised by the original guitar parts, fills, licks and bridges during the album. Especially the hauling and melodic guitar solos are just there at the right moment in every song. Also the cooperation between the drums and the guitars is something I would like to mention. The drums is fitting perfectly into the guitar riffs and plays a important roll in the heavy and pumping thrash sound they bring to you.

But now I hear you think “is there not one negative point to share”? Well, maybe there is a little one. A small one! I like the typical heavy metal vocals on the album, but at some moments it’s a little to forced and labored. This is actually no big deal for me, because on the other hand they masquerade that problem perfectly with the use of beautiful twin vocals and an aggressive sound, which I like very much! My conclusion is that this is just a damn good record! A very nice mix of traditional heavy metal and modern thrash metal, brought to you by a bunch of old school guys!

Score: 8.8/10 ★★★★☆

Tracklist:
1. Into the Darkest of All Realms
2. Infinity
3. Inch by Inch
4. Souls Breathe
5. Unborn Evil
6. Mnster
7. Crawl
8. Mother’s Tear
9. In the End
10.Don’t Need Your Money

More information:
www.facebook.com/MARTYRONLINE
www.martyronline.nl