NATIONAL NAPALM SYNDICATE

NATIONAL NAPALM SYNDICATE "The New Hell"

By Dr. Abner Mality

NATIONAL NAPALM SYNDICATE are OG's of the Finnish metal scene, having gotten their start all the way back in 1986. I don't know of too many bands outside of STONE that were from Finland at that time.. So full marks for them still releasing new product in 2022.

Sad to say, "The New Hell" doesn't leave that much of an impression on me. The band are described as thrash, but sound more like the faster CHILDREN OF BODOM. Anybody expecting rabid German-style speed out of this is in for a rude shock. Keys are fairly prominent and guitar solos are of the melodic shredding variety. The energy is fairly high and there are some bright spots, but honestly, I won't remember this in a week. Some tracks like "Depression" and "Venomous Encounters" are forgotten as soon as they are done.

Some hope flickers into existence with "God Plutonium" which has a unique choppy riffing that makes it stand out. "Werewolf" almost reaches death metal levels with unexpected intensity and "Supercharged" emerges as the best and catchiest song even though the synth is more prominent than elsewhere. But on a 13 track album, that's not enough to make "The New Hell" stand out. I can kind of understand why the SYNDICATE never really made a big impact.

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NATIONAL NAPALM SYNDICATE