Band: Fatal Embrace
Title: The Empires Of Inhumanity
Label: Metal Blade Records
Distribution: Rough Trade Benelux.
Release date: June 4th 2010
Review: CD

Fatal Embrace, the German one (there used to be a great Swedish Death Metal band with the very same name during the nineties), were originally formed as Nosferatu – it’s the unholy year of 1993. In 1994 the bend did record their first demo tape, called Death’s Embrace, which brought them at the top of the German underground scene. Yet in spite of their ‘popularity’ (the band also featured live on TV), they disbanded in 1995.
1997. The Berlin outfit reunited. Two new and highly acclaimed demos strengthened their position within the German Extreme Metal scene, and the members were able to perform live with bands as Destruction, Grave Digger, Overkill and Metal Church. In 2001, finally, Fatal Embrace recorded its debut full length studio album, called Legions Of Armageddon, which was produced by legendary producer Harris Johns, and which got released in 2002 by the small label Bruchstein Records. It got followed by live performances on huge festivals and a European tour with Desaster and Holy Moses.
Unfortunately the band didn’t ‘grow’ as much as they wanted. More touring, with bands as Dismember, Sodom or Candlemass, to name but a few, maintained their popularity in their home country, but an international breakthrough wasn’t the case (yet).
In 2008, the band started working on The Empires Of Inhumanity, yet due to technical problems as well as line-up troubles the album didn’t get finished in time. Finally, last year the band completed the whole at Berlin’s Music Lab Studio (with producer Mathias Wendt), and after they got signed to major Metal Blade, things seemed to turn out positive – at last.
The Empires Of Inhumanity lasts for 48:33 minutes and deals with the daily struggle of mankind. Very much in the vein of their 2006-full length Dark Pounding Steel, The Empires Of Inhumanity brings rather fast, pounding and up-tempo retro-Thrash with the aim to combine aggression with technicity. There is a complete lack of originality, but it doesn’t matter, because the band makes use of the interesting characteristics that made bands as Sodom, Destruction, Assassin and Tankard interesting. Besides, Fatal Embrace did find lots of inspiration within the American scene too: Slayer, Testament, Metallica, Nuclear Assault, Megadeth, Fatal Embrace do not hide their appreciation for those Thrash protagonists at all. Yet again: it doesn’t bother while doing it with craftsmanship and conviction. Yes, sometimes it’s rather predictable, but the overall qualitative elements are satisfying.
Besides, sometimes a modest Iron Maiden riff penetrates the whole too (listen for example to the metallican hymn Way To Immortality) and yes, the album does end with the Iron Maiden cover Killers, performed in a very acceptable way.

83/100

Ivan Tibos.