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HOLY MOSES
Invisible Queen

Fireflash (2023)
Rating: 9/10

With a list of special guests as long as your arm, veteran German thrashers Holy Moses returns from the debris of its last opus, 2014’s Redefined Mayhem, and slams into our chest like a belligerent bulldozer. It’s a shame then that this will be the last opus by this pounding machine, but wow, what a way to exit.

Boiling with aggressive riffs, snarling with raucous bass lines, pummelling with its ferocious percussion and fiendishly soul scraping with the terrifying vocals of Sabina Classen, the latest outing from this band doesn’t hold back. This is a violent record boasting quite rough production values. A majority of the tracks are quite short at under four minutes but each one leaves its mark.

What is really interesting about Invisible Queen are the amount of groove based thrash cuts; ‘Depersonalized’ (featuring Headshot’s Daniela Karrer) and ‘Alternative Reality’ (featuring Sodom’s Tom Angelripper) being just two examples. But there is a great deal of diversity here too; the pounding ‘Visions In Red’ sways towards death metal, while finale ‘Through The Veils Of Sleep’ (featuring Ryker’s) has no time for sentimentality and absolutely obliterates with its potent riffs.

As always, Sabina showcases her versatility, especially on ‘Forces Great And Hidden’ (featuring Tankard’s Gerre), while opener ‘Downfall Of Mankind’ (featuring Haliphron’s Marloes Voskuil) and ‘Cult Of The Machine’ (featuring Overkill’s Bobby Elsworth) are utterly destructive thrash workouts.

This is a final lethal dose from a band that has consistently delivered within its violent thrash framework and this farewell opus is certainly a fitting end to an incredible and fiery career.

Neil Arnold

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