The German Thrash Metal School has as its deeper feature a more aggressive appeal than the presented by USA Thrash Metal acts that has a preference for a more worked technical care (again: SLAYER is a very particular case). It’s clear that acts as SODOM, KREATOR, DESTRUCTION, TANKARD, ASSASSIN and others depicted melodies on their work, but the aggressive insight is evident. And the German quintet VULTURE keeps such feature on their music, as depicted on “Sentinels”, their fourth album. The quintet worked with Marco Brinkmann (recording, mixing) Patrick W. Engel (mastering) to give the album a better workmanship on the songs of the album. It means that everything sounds clean and defined, but heavy as well, even with such Old School Metal outfit.

The graphic is a combination of good works of Mario López (cover art), Dark Dungeons Atelier (design) and S. Castevet (layout). As guests, here are Andreas Reissnauer on backing vocals, and Yvonne Kalff on female vocals on “Where There’s a Whip (There is a Way)”. It’s obvious that after four albums, the band is recognized for working into an Old Scholl Thrash Metal way, or a combination between Speed Metal and Thrash Metal traits. It means that they play a form of music influenced heavily by the First Wave of North American Thrash Metal, or in other words, by the early works of METALLICA, ANTHRAX, MEGADETH and EXODUS (from where the violence of their music comes, and even the vocals have a clear influence from Steve “Zetro” Souza). It’s really a very good work, indeed, and Thrash Metal fans will love it.

All the songs are excellent, with the due sample for presentations being given by “Screams from the Abattoir” (a fast and technical song, with insane screams and sharp guitar riffs), “Unhallowed & Forgotten” (again a set of fast tempos can be heard, but now with a thunderous rhythmic artillery fire by bass guitar and drums), “Realm of the Impaler” (where the melodic side of their music becomes evident on the excellent guitars arrangements), “Where There’s a Whip (There is a Way)” (furious backing vocals and the female voices gives a temper to the nasty aggressiveness of the band), “Death Row” (an insane song able to cause moshpits and slamdaning easily), “Oathbreaker” (wow, what lovely melodies), and “Sentinels (Heavier than Time)”.

No one can foresee if “Sentinels” is going to be a classic, but it’s clear that VULTURE is here to stay and destroy ears and necks!