ARMORTURA is a melodic thrash metal band that was started in 2016 from North East England. After signing with Mighty Music, the band released their self-titled album. Even though they are a new band ARMOTURA pull from old school thrash. They also put their own spin on the songs to make them fresh.

"Zodiac" is the first track off the album. It comes out fast and furious. The riffs and beats are straight up thrash, with vocals that keep a steady pace with the music. The vocals find a good place between heavy but melodic. Unfortunately for this to be the opening song it doesn't blow me away. It's a good song but nothing makes it stand out from the rest of thrash you hear out there today.

With a cool bass solo "Hellbound" starts out the gate. The deep strum of the bass is quickly met with a harsh guitar riff that bleeds into the fast pace vocals. The band knows how to keep the song heavy but not overly complicated. "Hellbound" is a descent thrash song to listen to. "Shadow Underworld" slows it down for a slow burn riff that builds to a crescendo. That crescendo is an amazing guitar solo that starts our tame and then ramps itself into a frenzy. From there the song gets going and the band is back to their home. I enjoyed this song because of they attempted to experiment with their sound to give the listener something different.

The "11^th Hour" track is actually on this album twice. The second time is featuring Jeff Waters of ANNIHILATOR. I enjoyed the second iteration of the song more than the first. The one that featured Waters was harder and had a thicker guitar sound to it. The whole song seemed to have more energy than the first. Both songs are good thrash songs but if you only listen to one, listen to the one featuring Jeff Waters.

Another song that I really enjoyed on this album was "The Keep". It had a very interesting guitar riff throughout that made this song shine above the others. The vocals on this song tried new things that were not in other songs. I commend the experimentation the band tried in this song. The guitar riff is one that will be stuck with you for days. "Requiem for the Damned" is another song that I like because it broke the traditional thrash mold. The song starts out very soft, before kicking in to a sick guitar riff. The whole song doesn't fall back into the mundane thrash sound. I would still say it's a thrash song, but they definitely push the boundaries of that definition in this song.

Overall, I enjoyed this album from ARMORTURA. It's a new thrash metal album that is harkening back to the old school thrash, but also doing things that make it stand out from the pact. If there was a negative it would be I don't think the band experimented with the thrash sound enough. Many songs became the repetitive rhythm, so I couldn't tell one from another. The ones where they tried something new I will remember those songs and go back to them. I look forward to seeing what this band does on their next album.