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FLAMES
Resurgence

No Remorse (2022)
Rating: 7/10

These Greek thrashers were responsible for releasing some incredible records in the 80s, my favourite being Summon The Dead (1988). But like a lot of bands, 1992 onwards seemed to affect their journey and 1991 saw the last of their top-notch outings with Nomen Illi Mors, although that album remains more of a curio than an essential purchase.

In 1996 Flames issued In Agony Rise but that was all she wrote, as they say, as the band disappeared. However, here we are, seemingly aeons later, with Resurgence, which thankfully leaves a lot of the gloss of In Agony Rise behind as the band instead embarks on a sort of Teutonic assault.

Resurgence is a flat-out thrash opus – fast, aggressive and confrontational. My only issue is that like a lot of old school veterans, i.e. Destruction and Sodom, this outing does become a tad generic at times, but with original members Chris “R. B. Lee” Kirk (guitar) and Andy Kirk (bass) at the helm this was always going to be a raging experience.

Tempos spasmodically shift throughout this rampant offering and I’m often finding myself rewinding time and time again to take it all in. There’s nothing technical about the Flames experience, but the speed generated by the quartet can only be admired as solos rip through the metallic-tasting fog and the percussion just leaves a trail of bloody bones in its wake. This is epitomized in the hurtling fury of ‘Crawl Beyond’ and the pulverising ‘Mercy Denied’.

The downside, however, is that Flames are now in a scene where a lot of band’s sound like this, and for the last 20 years it’s not been easy for anyone to rise above the hordes of sound-a-likes. With Flames there are strong Slayer dynamics to revel in, but it’s the sort of foaming aggression that the likes of Evile has made its own, and by the time the more subtle strains of ‘Yourself Known’ come chugging along I’m kind of forgetful of what went before.

If you put this alongside Destruction’s glut of more recent efforts there’s not a lot to differentiate them, so while I appreciate the energy and speed of Flames circa 2022 I can’t see myself dipping into this return too often.

Neil Arnold

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