Essence
Lost in Violence

And here we are, Essence, these unknown but talented Danish artists who debut with their first album "Lost In Violence" after the already promising EP "Art In Imperfection", in my opinion one of the best thrash records released in recent years.

The lineup consists of Lasse Skov, guitar and vocals; Mark Drastrup, guitar and backing vocals; Martin Haumann, drums; Benjamin Atlas, bass. 

One of the strengths of this band is definitely the talented bassist, who demonstrates his technical and compositional skills especially in the highlight of the album: "Blood Culture". The band as a whole somewhat reminds me of Kreator, especially for the vocal lines and guitar effects, but now let's analyze the album itself.

The album opens with "Allegiance", a 1:21 intro, capable of making it clear from the start who we are dealing with. This track is a mix of roaring guitars, relentless drums, and typical oriental sounds. Then comes "Unlimited Chaos", which follows the same line as the opening track, with oriental sounds, fast riffs, and a typically thrash voice. The listener is already stunned after this song, but Essence doesn't give them time to recover, and "Pestilence" begins, one of the nastiest and fastest tracks on the album, composed of razor-sharp guitar riffs, an ever-persistent bass, and unrelenting drums. The next track is the album's main course, the single "Blood Culture", which begins with a bass solo that may seem relatively calm, and may appear almost melodic, but at a certain point... BAM! It explodes in all its anger and power, and the Essence of the first two tracks returns. After "Blood Culture", another even faster and more devastating track awaits: "Night's Destruction", and here too, the listener feels the urge to mosh and headbang.

After "Night's Destruction" we have 1:15 of respite with "Oblivion", a calm track, which serves as a prelude to one of the "calmest" songs on the album: "Shades Of Black"; this track starts as usual fast, but a bit more melodic, almost power metal, and maintains this line, it is very pleasant and catchy. And after a somewhat calm track with power metal sounds, we return to pure and mean thrash with "Trace Of Terror", a track that is easy to listen to, knows how to be fast and mean, but at times also melodic. And now we reach the title track: "Lost In Violence"! This track amazes right from the start with its solos, its rhythms, and its truly fresh, fast, and mean riffs, as a respectable thrash song should be. And now we come to the conclusion of this fantastic album with the fast and frenetic "Aggresive Attack", which triggers in the listener the urge to break everything.

In conclusion, this truly is a well-done album, and if we really want to find a flaw, we can say that the solos are a bit repetitive, but otherwise, it is fantastic, it is pure thrash, recommended especially to those who, like me, are fans of thrash in the Kreator style: fast, mean, but also melodic and catchy.