There are a couple of things apparent as the deliberate build-up of Holy War opener Absolute Genocide explodes into an all-out assault of pounding aggression.
As the band channel their ire at the injustices of world religions on the title track, not only are these Aussie exports still very pissed off, but this follow-up to 2013 winner Hate has found the five-piece adding some new weapons to their sonic arsenal, too.
The band that fans have come to know and love is still here in spades, but not just with everything turned up a few notches; they’re also noticeably more focused and ferocious in their attack than we’ve heard from them before. Faster when speed is what’s called for, yet more deliberate in overall approach, there’s also an increased technical bent to Holy War that shows itself not only in the guitar textures sitting behind the monstrous drum work, and rasping growls of frontman CJ McMahon, but even more so in the song structures themselves. The end result is unquestionably Thy Art Is Murder’s best release to date – one that undoubtedly cements their name among the best death metal bands out there today.
