"Extreme" is the only fitting word to describe the brutal French black thrash metal outfit CONQUERORS. Since their inception in 2013, these sonic savages have plagued the metal world with their amalgamation of the blackest of metal and fastest of thrash, rejecting the dichotomy of the emotive black and traditions of thrash, melding the two and creating a unique fusion, entirely of their own identity. CONQUERORS was a previously unsigned outfit until last year, when they joined Music-Records, and the re-release of the band's sophomore LP, "Dawn of War", seemed to be an apt way to announce themselves and pave the way in preparation for the uncompromising outfit's newest release "Stormbringer". Let's take a look at the re-release of "Dawn of War" and see how the band fayre...

"Dawn of War" bounds straight in with absolute brutality, with no gentle prelude, no instrumental stepping-stone as what would perhaps usually be found on a traditional thrash album. CONQUERORS is far from traditional - as mentioned earlier - the band's sound is extreme as it comes in the thrash genre. There's plenty of frantic thrash moments, with all the delights of tremolo running through, although there's little variation to the formula and, structurally, each track is VERY similar. "Iron Blood" has the familiar output of the previous track and the vocals are the same indecipherable mix of guttural and screeched tones; it's not thrash and it's not black metal, it's quite hard to place your finger on what style it is, it's just, I guess, extreme. That said, tracks like "Cult of Fire" have a clearer execution in vocals and great tempo changes and "Imperator" has noticeably cleaner riffs, but the struggle is still real to try and commit to this as much as I'd like; it's verging on the cacophonous at times and the monotony of the lack of varietal tone and sporadic melodic moments aren't hitting the spot. And then in comes "Thousand Blasphemies", which brings an almost PARADISE LOST sounding lick to the intro, instilling hope that the second half of the album might recover and inject a bit of life into a relatively dismal listen thus far, but it sadly quickly descends into the same level of caterwauling previous tracks have executed.

CONQUERORS is certainly an outfit clear on wanting to push boundaries and test comfort zones. "No Rest Until Annihilation" offers a literal aural assault, again, with the familiar formulaic structure the band has conveyed in other tracks where everything is instrumentally down-tuned, whilst "Swords of Infamy" offers a similar likeness, but with more certitude and piss-boiling rage that the listener can buy into and enjoy. "Toward the Black Gate" sonically bursts at the seams, vocally splitting and drums pulsating, but the catchy riffs aren't overt, making it difficult to forge a connection with the track. Final track, "Summoning of the Doomsday Messiah", commences with a promising ominous bass line, but, strangely, there is no cohesion with the drums and guitars - perhaps this is down to the mix, or maybe this is stylistically intentional - and it oft feels that the lack of discordance between the two creates a stilted, confused piece that, again, is difficult to find your flow.

For an album alive with frantic energy, "Dawn of War" is, dare I say, a confused, mundane and torrid listen. The mix doesn't offer enough instrumental definition at times, creating a jarring, unpleasant output, and the production is a little dank and "old hat", but not endearingly so. The vocals aren't gripping, harsh (for all the wrong reasons) and, in moments, almost off-putting and do little to enhance tracks that frequently feel confused or on the stronger side of monotony; there's nothing that captivates and makes you want to dig in deeper and explore the band more. That said, I can see CONQUERORS being a belting outfit to see live, the insight I have is showing me that these guys would be absolutely nail it in the flesh, but I struggled to form a rapport with such a poorly executed, harsh-sounding musical blend that lacked synergy in this record, and the amateur feeling production certainly doesn't enhance. Does black metal and thrash go together? Sadly, not this time.