After many years of silence, since the third album of these Germans released in 2000, two thoughts are coming to our mind. The first is if their new opus will satisfy our needs and manage to stand aside their previous works, which is a difficult task since all their albums are just great and have written their own history in Thrash Metal, while the other is if we have to await for a long time a new release from them.
It's really not necessary to write anything about the past of this band, because they really don't need any introduction. If a younger reader don't knows them, the best thing he has to do is just to listen to Product Of Imagination and Heresy (that are easy to be found, especially nowadays with their re-release via the Polish label Metal Mind). Except these, it is absolutely necessary for your Metal needs to check the reincarnation album Collision Course that was released in 2000, which - except the fact it's a sonic dynamite - has the great honor to be one of the few instances of Metal scene with a reunion record being equal to the previous ones, justifying the bands re - existence.
Unfortunately, fate had other plans for PARADOX and mainman Charly (except suffering some tragic loses of close people) had serious health problems with a gut disease leading him to several surgeries, while sometimes he was in front death's door. So this new album brings a feel of resurrection of hope and obstinacy for creation, a feeling that is obvious in many songs.
Electrify begins with Second Over Third By Force, with an intro melody like a friend coming seeing you after many years of absence and with a riffing work that is 100% PARADOX. This song may remind you the works of AGENT STEEL in albums like Omega Conspiracy or Order Of The Illuminati. Paralyzed has a sad feel inside while Monument has some vocals close to GAMMA RAY or old HELLOWEEN. The work that Charly has done is remarkable in all album's entity, being the best one in his career, putting some nice melodies with well-worked refrains. For example, the next song Portrait In Grey is overfilled with inspiration with his Heavy tempo close enough to METALLICA's Black Album, having a refrain that will explode your mind easily. This song and Bridge To Silence, together with Cyberspace Romance, show us a different face of PARADOX, a band that wants to do something different bringing a freshness to its sound. Everything works so good with every detail being good and in the right place; look the substratum riff under the solos in Bridge To Silence.
Of course, PARADOX is a Thrash Metal band and Hyperspeed Hallucinations, Infected and the ultra-dynamite Electrify will harm your neck with endless headbanging. The main riff of Infected is pure Thrashing holocaust close to songs as Collision Course or Path Of Denial. This song could be easily in the previous album. Disconnected is also a nice song that together with the others (except the METALLICAand EXODUS references) you can easily include some FORBIDDEN, cause of the technical style giving a depth to Electrify making it more complex, demanding from the fan many auditions.
The production is in high level, while the band's playing skills are very good. The bass lines from Olly are well-worked with some nice surprises like in Second Over Third By Force and Ronald's drumming is a mix of Bostaph and Chuck Profus, coloring well the music. Kai Pasemann except his thrashing riffing has written some nice lyrics once again, making Electrify a close-to-concept album, occupying with the Internet phenomenon in our world and his consequences in human personality.
This album is very good, with songs that have their own identity, played by a band that looks very tight together. Let's hope they will continue.