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CRUEL FORCE
Haneda

Shadow Kingdom (2026)
Rating: 8/10

Now on their fourth full-length album since forming way back in 2008, German quartet Cruel Force is now more of a recognizable brand in its chosen field of thrashing metal.

As soon as ‘Whips-A-Swinging’ strikes, the listener is whipped into a frenzy that harkens back to the thorny barrages of early Kreator and Slayer. Vocalist Carnivore delivers his foaming chops as rabid snaps bristling with Teutonic aplomb, while the riffs of Slaughter are blistering torrents born from the smouldering ashes of the 80s; wicked constructions which take the flesh as if the listener is being targeted by a sniper. It’s as equally a destructive weapon when the riffs slow down, the entrance to ‘Warlords’ billowing a New Wave Of British Heavy Metal-styled trudge of creaking doom before the blitz ensues.

Cruel Force has become masters of their trade, composing tight and leathery pieces that would make the year 1986 proud! The combo is also adept at carving out great chunks of galloping traditional metal, from the golden gleam of ‘Black Talon’ to the fiery pits of ‘Savage Gods’. Entwined within the speed metal framework are those elegant strokes of vintage metal that bridge tidy gaps between Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Running Wild, and yet slap bang in the centre sits the epic instrumental ‘Crystal Skull’. This is as sublime and majestic as it gets with its Middle Eastern intro, serrated riffs and crisp lead work.

This is a band so confident in its own ability to craft fantastic heavy metal that somehow sounds fresh and invigorating in spite of its obvious influences. Further grandiosity is displayed on the bestial attack of ‘Sword Of Iron’. After the face-ripping initial onslaught there’s a surprise power metal swerve, almost as if Canadian thrashers Razor and Denmark’s Artillery have merged with Iron Maiden circa their classic 1984 Powerslave opus. The closing title track sizzles as a mixture of early Slayer and Hallows Eve but with extra guile due to the more classically trained gallops.

In its purest form, Haneda is the quintessential 80s speed metal throwback, an outing that nips at the heels and causes severe whiplash. No, it’s not original, but for a ferocious and feverish flashback into the frothing depths of the 80s metal underground, Cruel Force has well and truly tapped in.

Neil Arnold

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