ENTROPY is a Canadian band formed in 1989. After a 13-year hiatus (1997-2010), they released their fourth album, "Force Convergence," independently on August 28, 2020. This seven-song album is a nice combination of Groove, Thrash and Speed Metal. Full of rapid-fire guitar fills and killer blast beats from the drummer, tasty bass fills and screaming vocals, this is a record that many should find appealing.

With two instrumentals on the record, "Everything Falls" and "Transmigration", we get to hear the underlying tone of the record. Mostly acoustic style guitar and little under that, I'm reminded of SAVATAGE on "Gutter Ballet". There is nothing complex about the songs, and they never try to hit you in the face or make a mark. They just hang there and lull you into a dream state before the song they lead into kicks you in the teeth.

"Everything Falls" leads into "Ripzone", a happy little ditty about war and the killing of all things while the earth is destroyed. You know, something that can take you to your happy place. What follows is "Planetary Impact Extinction", the destruction of the planet from an outside force, not from our own desire to crush the enemies we face here. That is followed by "Threshold Of Decimation", more death and destruction. Not sure about you, but I'm noticing a pattern....

"Weaponized Storm System" is more of the same. Finding a way to make mother nature kill your enemies and destroy all that lives. Then, "Force Convergence" sees the heroes try to save the day. While he appears to succeed and find a following to hail him, will the Earth not defeat him in the end? We may have to wait for the answer to that question on the next record.

There are two songs here that do not crush your soul. Those are the instrumentals mentioned above. Everything else is meant to take all your hope and banish it to some place where nothing can survive. What an uplifting message! I've said before though, this is not the kind of music you listen to for ballads and happy endings. This is what you want to make you feel like your angst is relevant and shared by others. It's what I love about Heavy Metal.

I have to say, this is a well-done record for an independent release. The production value is better than many self-releases. The mixing is really good and the sound is crisp and clear. As for the musicians, they each have a lot of talent and they work very well together. They each play fills and rhythms with equal skill.

From blast beats to understated fills, Blake is a really good drummer. He can set the pace or lead the charge. Oscar is a beast on bass. Whether plodding along under the guitars setting the tone or keeping pace with the guitar and filling up the sound space, he can do it all. On guitar, Dan can thrash or go melodic. The layers of guitar on this record are impressive. As for the vocals, Ger has a unique voice, but the thing that highlights his skill set is his ability to go almost full Eric A. K. (FLOTSAM AND JETSAM). He can hit some notes, now.

All of this leads me to think ENTROPY should hit a tour with some of the thrash underground giants. They would fit on a tour with TESTAMENT or FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, maybe OVERKILL. I don't think they would do as well with the Big Four of Thrash unless they were touring with MEGADETH on a "Rust In Peace" type show. I think they would be a lot more fun to see live in a smaller venue where you can get to the stage and really connect with their energy.