German Thrash Metal is a beast of it's own, I like to refer to it as Teutonic Thrash. It is normally rough, raw and so intense it bursts through your living room window and tombstones the cat. Continuing on in this tradition are old hands PARADOX following up their 1990 release "Hersey" with 2021's "Hersey II: End Of A Legend". The artwork for this is dark and moody and I'll be intrigued to see whether the music follows in that style.

Opening the record is "Escape From The Burning" and that introduction is just truly mesmerising. As the rolling clean guitars break into a wonderful melodic run before that window is kicked in and the cat's made a run for it. The vocals are absolutely spot on, the right combination of brutality and melody it hits all the right notes and what a solo!!! It is just superb. "Children Of A Virgin" really ups that intensity a little bit more and hammers the listener with some sublime Old School Thrash; hammering breathless riffs and rhythms, but still interspersed with delicacy and finesse that just shows PARADOX's utter class. "A Meeting Of Minds" has one of the most entrancing introductions and that's not where it ends. It shows a different side to the band, more intimate and exposed with this stripped back track. A lot of people will look at Thrash bands and struggle to see this delicate side, but there are some amazing softer tracks out there, like "Phoenix Rising" from ANNIHIALATOR or even the plethora of METALLICA's softer track listings. But I would put "A Meeting Of Minds" up there in the halls with those. Simply superb.

I wanted to hone in on "Unholy Conspiracy" solely because I wanted it to be reminisce of KREATOR's "Impossible Brutality"... I'm not sure why, but my head and gut just took me there. And well, it isn't. But that is because it is entirely its own entity. It could have been plucked straight from the Thrash Metal heyday and it would have been, for lack of a better term, an absolute banger then! "A Man Of Sorrow" comes in two parts, with the prologue being a bit of a mood setter and more for the atmospherics before launching into another assault on your ears. Solid thumping rhythms, dense and strong riffs accompanied with delicate back tracking sets the scene for another instant classic. Closing out the album is "End Of A Legend" and it is a short outro, but it is awash with a sense of epicness and just one final foray to quench ones thirst for downright fantastic music.

Overall, I really enjoyed this album. It is everything that is good about Thrash Metal and then some more. The little delicacies and intricacies punctuate the main body of music. It is both massively melodic and just there in your face. In summary, you need to hear it.