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Rise Of Violence

    
       
       
       
     
             
Freakings are a thrash metal band from Switzerland, forming in 2009, releasing their debut album in 2011. Freakings are a trio who deliver a brand of breath taking and brutal thrash metal. The bands second album was released three years later in 2014, and in 2017, third album 'Toxic End' emerged. Freakings deliver full throttle thrash metal, and with their fourth album, 2019's 'Rise Of Violence', the band show no signs of slowing down.    
             
The band name Freakings sounds a lot like "three kings", and as the band is a trio, and are kings of thrash, it is a fairly apt homonym - and if you don't know what a homonym is: it is "a word (or words) that sound alike, but differ in meaning and are spelled differently"... Hence the Freakings/three kings homonym...and with their fourth album, three kings, sorry Freakings, deliver eleven high velocity head bangers over a ferocious forty minutes play time, opening with the blistering high speed 'False Prophets'. Blending the brutalities of Slayer and Kreator, and adding more savagery, Freakings are a phenomenal force of nature, with 'False Prophets' a bruising barrage of thrash metal. A barrage that doesn't let up for the entire album, the title song 'Rise Of Violence' quickening the pace and flying along at break neck speed. Bone breaking and skull crushing thrash of the most savage nature, 'Rise Of Violence' (the song (and also the album)) is gonna bang heads so hard, the necks sternocleidomastoid and trapezius muscles will be stretched to breaking point. 'Enemy Attack' quickens the pace yet again, breaking land speed records as it hurtles by at high velocity, sending mosh pits into a furious frenzy. The opening triple salvo by these Swiss thrashers has been lightning quick and an aural avalanche of absolute exhilaration.    
             
The excitement this trio generates is simply outstanding, adrenaline flowing fast, blood pumping at an extreme rate and pulses throbbing hard. With no breather in sight, the album rockets on with the brutal 'Timebomb', a very eighties Slayer sounding offering. The early days of the thrash metal genre was raw, savage and full of a brutality no one had ever heard before, and Freakings have positioned themselves fairly and squarely in that brutally savage scene. Just two years since their previous album, the band have not mellowed in the slightest, 'Dictator Of Hate' a heavier mid tempo thrash stomp than anything heard so far - for the first forty seconds anyway...and then the blistering pace returns in emphatic style and 'Dictator Of Hate' is off and running at full tilt, with an aggressive and highly venomous vocal delivery. Now I can see no medical, spiritual, physical or even religious reason why you'd want to be washed in blood, but Freakings have asked to, their song 'Wash Me With Blood' displaying some cracking NWOBHM guitar riffage. 'Wash Me With Blood' is a speed metal come thrash metal rampage of buzzing guitars, all the while maintaining the albums overall savage and brutal nature.    
             
As the album hurtles into its final third, lesser mortals have had to press pause and go buy a supply of pain relief tablets to subdue the bruising assault that Freakings are dishing out. But for the hardened among us, standing tall in the face of such brutality, 'Brainwash' thunders in and stomps on with a high level of attitude. Speed and thrash combine with an underlying traditional metal feel, 'Brainwash' transcending a number of genres to appeal to a wider audience than any other song on offer. Ignite the fuse and watch the incendiary devices explode as 'Nuclear Attack' hits hard with venomous force. A fire and brimstone kind of delivery, 'Nuclear Attack' will devastate and decimate like a, well, like a nuclear attack. And the eighties Slayer influence returns with 'Psychedelic Warfare' - the title similarity with Slayer's 'Chemical Warfare' an obvious observation. 'Psychedelic Warfare' is a thundering thrash metal romp, leading the way to the albums most anthemic moment, the rabble rousing call to arms 'Time To Thrash'. Surely written as a crowd participation song, the anthemic chant style chorus "time to thrash" is gonna be screeched and screamed by fans everywhere. Bringing the album to a close is 'King Reigns', kinda weird huh, when you think back to the homonym I pointed out at the start of my review...and at just a little over two minutes in length is the shortest song on the album, and also the fucking fastest. A breath taking end to a breathless album of all out thrash, and a must have addition to any thrash metal fans collection - three kings, sorry Freakings, are back and it's time to thrash.    
             
Overall, a bruising barrage of savage thrash metal, all delivered at a phenomenal pace, Freakings have served up a freaking awesome aural assault.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metalmessage    
             
Review is also featured at Metal Gods TV    
             
             
Other Reviews    
             

           
           
Toxic End      
           
"a superb album of breath taking speed/thrash metal that is both ferocious and furious and will be a strong contender for Album of the Year 2017" Read Review      
     
     
     
           
             
             
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