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TYRANTS
Baptized In Blood

Self-released (2025)
Rating: 7.5/10

Here’s a dose of Colombian thrash for those who require a wake up jab. This is the third full-length album in four years from Tyrants, who only formed in 2021, and it’s quite the face melter.

Clearly influenced by the raw South American underground scene alongside boasting a primitive Teutonic savagery, Baptized In Blood really is a tour de force of thrash. Vocalist Juan Yepes has a snappy spiteful tone, spending much of his time spitting spite at the audience as well as slaying them with his axe.

Tyrants also aren’t strangers to Slayer-esque riffs, especially with the hasty ‘Nameless’, but there’s room for variety too. ‘Blood On My Hands’ has a gritty Celtic Frost-styled riff, although the rasping vocals again channel a Teutonic style. You’ll hear lots of Sodom, Kreator and Destruction throughout, alongside some Venom as well.

All the songs are direct and most certainly appeal to the teenager within me. On ‘Rise Your Fist’ we get the lines: “The scream of thunder in the sky, The force of metal burning bright, a whirlwind takes the stage tonight, let chaos reign ignite the night”. Although rather oddly and correctly the chorus says “raise your fist”. However, the band isn’t as naive as one might initially think. On ‘New World Order’ they spout some interesting lyrics: “Binary whispers in the neon night, Digital dreams in the pixelated light, Codes and algorithms, a silent riddle, in this wired world”.

Tyrants are adept at crafting catchy hooks over riffs not too far removed from some of Slayer’s latter-day creations. Sure, it’s all formulaic, but when you hear the menacing opening riff to ‘Toxic Harvest’ and the crisp melodic chugs of ‘Sacred Lies’ you begin to understand the serious nature of this gang. I’m not sure what sort of impact Baptized In Blood will make on the thrash circuit, but if you do call yourself a thrasher then you should be jumping all over this.

Neil Arnold

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