Barbarian: To No God Shall I Kneel (2019)

First, props to the awesome album title.  I kind of love it.  Now that that is over, at one point it seemed like blackened thrash metal was kind of a rare thing.  I am not really sure what has happened over the last decade, but suddenly there are tons of these bands out there.  And from all over the world.  There are groups in Asia, South America, North America, and many countries in Europe.  It has kind of become THE underground sound.

Of course, Barbarian is another one of these.  The Italian band has been around for a little more than a decade now and I do own their 2016 album Cult of the Empty Grave.  All of the hallmarks of the genre are here: filthy and dirty riffs, belligerent attitude, and snarled vocals.  But far more than just going through the motions, Barbarian is sincere in their approach.  Sort of odd for a band who penned a song called "Obtuse Metal", which I just find hilarious.

The songs are all catchy as hell, particularly tracks like "Sheep Shall Obey" and the title track.  And that is the best part of the album, just how easy it is to get caught up in the riff and start banging your head. 

You would think I would be getting tired of this genre, but when bands keep putting out stuff that is this insanely infectious, I will keep getting the stuff.  And Barbarian definitely does this style well.