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Punished By The System

    
       
       
       
     
             
Damage S.F.P. are a thrash/death/speed metal band from Finland, originally forming in 1989, releasing four demos throughout the nineties, and their debut album 'Damage S.F.P.' in 2019. The bands sophomore album 'Punished By The System' was released in 2023.    
             
And four years on since the savage barrage of their debut, Damage S.F.P. have returned a much maturer and more experienced outfit, expanding their sound into the realms of traditional heavy metal, all the while keeping one foot firmly rooted in thrash metal territory! The bands new album features nine songs in a little over thirty minutes - exploding into life with the full on thrasher 'Betrayal In Your Eyes'. Hurtling straight at you from the thrash metal genre, 'Betrayal In Your Eyes' is a searing rampage of savagery melded with the melodious intent of traditional heavy metal - the band stretching their musical boundaries, attracting a far wider audience than ever before.    
             
Remaining on the thrash metal highway, Damage S.F.P. hit the gas and power on with the blistering 'Exiled From Paradise' - all frantic, frenetic and fierce! The band are in full flight here, banging heads hard with an aggression fuelled tsunami of thrash. A sensational opening one-two, the album roars on with 'Face Your Demons', keeping the intensity at incredibly high levels. Yet Damage S.F.P. deliver a melodic sing a long-able chorus that'd be a better fit on an Iron Maiden album! Simply amazing stuff from the Finns. The title song 'Punished By The System' is a rampaging punk powered fury, the band weaving more and more melodious intent into every song that passes by. 'Punished By The System' (the album) is one of those genre hopping, boundary breaking albums that's gonna be loved equally by both thrashers and metallers.    
             
And with no let up in the unrelenting pace and aggression, 'Track, Load, Charge' marches in and strides on majestically, featuring the gruffest vocal performance heard so far! Which just adds rawness to the bands sound, 'Track, Load, Charge' incorporating the mid tempo foot stomping style of thrash - think the thrash inspired physique of legendary German power metallers Rage, and you'll get some idea of the sound of 'Track, Load, Charge'. And pushing boundaries even further, 'The Greedy And Selfish' portrays a heavy raucous punk edge, melded with a hard rock chorus punctuated with short bursts of scorching speed - where will Damage S.F.P. go next? Pop! Opera! I fucking hope not - and thankfully the band don't, landing firmly and squarely on the border between thrash and heavy metal, 'Fallen Star' featuring the iconic "foot on the monitor" gallop of old school metal.    
             
And as 'Punished By The System' (the album) heads towards its six minute finale, the band deliver a barnstorming cover version of 'Iron Fist' - the classic Motorhead song taken from the bands 1982 album of the same name - Damage S.F.P. retaining Motorhead's punkish attitude, but turning the raucous level way up high! And the speed too, 'Iron Fist' the original was fast, but by crikey this version is even faster! And to the finale, 'Unfreeze Me', chiming in at double the length of most of the songs on offer - and a further widening of the bands soundscape! Genres such as grunge, progressive and alternative metal are put on show here, Damage S.F.P. ending their second album with a quirky, no, that's too strong a word! How about unexpected? Yea, that's better - ending their second album with an unexpected twist.    
             
Overall, a fast paced and full on album of thrash come traditional heavy metal, 'Punished By The System' is an intense burst of energy.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Vlad Promotion    
             
             
Other Reviews    
             

           
           
Damage S.F.P.      
           
"a savage barrage of brutality, a severe beating, a senses pounding and blood pumping forty minutes of full force aggressive thrash" Read Review      
     
     
     
           
             
             
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