Bonded – Rest In Violence: Album Review

By Dominic Walsh on 15th January 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Released: 17th January 2020

Formats: CD / LP / DD / DSP

Germany is a hive of wondrous heavy metal. Formed from members with a lineage that includes Kreator and Sodom, Bonded show again why thrash is one of the countries best exports.

Guitarist Bernd “Bernemann” Kost, and drummer Markus “Makka” Freiwald continue the thread of being consistent and authentic. With over thirty years in the game, the pair, along with Chris Tsitsis (ex-Suicidal Angels, Destroy Them) as second guitarist, Marc Hauschild on Bass and Ingo Bajonczak of Assassin (ex-New Damage, ex-Supersoma, ex-Lord of Giant) on vocals whose striking voice and vocal versatility has become one of Bonded’s trademarks – there is a brutal honesty in the snarling vocals.

Rest In Violence wastes no time in gong for the jugular. Godgiven starts the album in ripping fashion and Suit Murderer evokes a little of that Swedish buzzsaw guitar sound lurking in its undergrowth. There is also one of many breathtaking breakneck guitar solos that add to the identity of the band and the players here.

The title track features Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth of Overkill on guest vocals as well as former Kreator bass-player Christian “Speesy” Giesler. They add more meat to the already flesh laden bones. It’s a truly intense trip as the drums pummel and the guitars grab the song by the throat.

Where Silence Reverberates has a less breakneck pace but it is equally crushing. Solid double kick drum action and more imperious soloing make for another thrilling turn on this wild ride.

Lyrically, there are the usual motifs that you would find within this style of metal. Galaxy M87 gives the science fiction nod and Je Suis Charlie (the free speech phrase adopted after the 2015 Charlie Hebdo shootings) speaks for itself.

The Outer Rim closes out the album with wailing guitars atop an acoustic accompaniment that shows a more serene side to the bands musical tendencies. And whilst there is a little more serenity, the band still raise the temperature towards the end of the track with another thrashy throwdown.

Rest In Violence was produced and engineered by Cornelius Rambadt (Sodom, Disbelief, Onkel Tom) at the Rambado Recording Studio in Essen, Germany and artwork from Björn Gooßes / Killustrations adorns the cover.

The whole package here is excellent. The music is exemplary, the imagery is dark, the tone is heavy and the production is flawless. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel by any stretch, but if you want a slab of thrash delivered in classic fashion by veterans of the scene…look no further.