It seems that no matter where their path will lead them, the Brazilian VIOLATOR will forever be true to the old school Thrash heritage. Ever since their ascendance in 2002, they have been roughly speeding and thrashing like wild animals. Coming for a Thrash, and extreme, Metal country as Brazil, bearing legendary bands as SARCOFAGO and SEPULTURA, it is hard not to be caught in the web of what is true.
As I see them, VIOLATOR is a Metal chunk of a set of examples of how to keep on the same track without letting go. Their music is merciless, kind of what was very common back when old school Thrash was obsolete, and their rawness is rather persuasive. Feeding from the meat of great classics as the "Beneath The Remains" era of SEPULTURA, old era of KREATOR, SLAYER, DARK ANGEL and other good names of both American and German Thrash scenes, there is something good to expect from their releases.
"Annihilation Process" comes as the band's new EP and their second presentation for 2010 after releasing a split album with the mighty US thrashers, HIRAX."Annihilation Process" is as if nothing was ever finished after the band's debut full-length, "Chemical Assault". Almost every aspect of this release is practically the same as it was on the album with one exception; VIOLATOR armed themselves with an additional guitar player as to provide a filler for their undying thrashy riffs of the old guard.
The material on "Annihilation Process" is somewhat a typical to old school Speed/Thrash as the old Metal book made it. There are tons of "as if there is no tomorrow" speedy beats, high-octane rolling guitars chopping with a crispy sound and the usual grouchy screeching vocals of the band's Poney. Overall, this is a nice addition to the Thrash world as it keeps the standards of what was almost twenty years ago and not giving up to the modern trends of both production and writing. VIOLATOR wanted to maintain the basics, and so they did.
In the end, I see "Annihilation Process" as something good to hang on to and something to mosh someone's face with. Other than that, this is just a regular evil old school piece of work. It has lots of energy, yet it kind of rolls over back and forth with the same stuff on display. I think that a running band like VIOLATOR, and boy they do run, should try and mix their old school admiration without something new but a little different so it will not stray from the path they chose.
Being old school nowadays is important because this is a show of force beyond history; this is where everything the Metal holds dear came from. Bands like VIOLATOR are the teachers of the younger generation and they should stay in their post. Bomb like tracks as "Poisoned By Ignorance", "Futurephobia", "Deadly Sadistic Experiments" and "Uniformity Is Conformity" are all fun and games, but beyond that, the same motifs are there. I think that something has to be done about that in order to not lose the magic that once was while making it too much overdone.
