Invasion – Orchestrated Kill Maneuver (2010)

Quality can usually be considered a matter of perspective, and when it comes to Invasion’s “Orchestrated Kill Manuever” perspective immediately comes in to play. If you compared them to old-school European bands that play (and have played) the whole war-inspired Thrash/Death Metal band, then they are just one more in the bunch. However, if you consider what US bands have done for the genre, then we have to agree that Invasion is not that bad.

With chuggy distortion and catchy riffs, Invasion comes at us with a brutal attack of straight-forward in-your-face Thrash/Death Metal that will make it hard for anybody to deny their effectiveness. That being said, they don’t have much to offer when it comes to originality or diversity.

Having cool war samples in their songs, gives the band some coolness points, but does not make up for the lack of diversity presented in this release. Yes, we have some nice riffing and catchy songs, but they fall short to the standard created by the legendary bands of the genre. However, in this side of the ‘pond’, we can’t say we have much better than this. Some songs have nice moments and the vocals really add to the thickness of the band’s sound, since they are very fitting for the band’s sound.

Surprisingly enough, Invasion chews through 54 minutes of fast paced music in around 12 songs, something that can be considered as a feat since most releases of this kind only last at most 35 minutes. Here is where perspective kicks in again, if you like this kind of old-school Swedish DM sound, then you will love this band and this album will be your new bible. But if you don’t then this release will make up for another nice coaster in your house. So be warned before you buy.

Release: July 27th, 2010

Country: USA