Entranced by the encroaching darkness as power games and rotten decay spiral downward in mind Medellin, Colombia-based thrashing death metal quartet WARTHRASH‘s long in development sophomore full-length album does well to illustrate the blackening skies and impending doom which surrounds. Intending a classic underground death metal record in ‘old school’ inflected style ‘No Light Shall Remain‘ generally succeeds in its classicism, birthing a few inventive pieces as they expand otherwise strict vernacular within increasingly detailed pieces. Though they are less of a heavy metal embossed death/thrash metal offender twelve years beyond their debut all old tendencies remain embedded within points of nuance, allowing more room for the occasional semi-melodic voicing or resonant bassline to spark through.

Warthrash formed as a trio circa 2005 taking the bulk of their inspiration from classic thrash metal of the late 80’s and the death metal of early 90’s as the original line-up eventually produced a debut EP (‘Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum‘, 2011) some years later. The early stuff from these guys always reminded me of early-to-mid 90’s Transmetal and primarily for the sake of the thrash influenced use of triplets and chunking, double-bass kicked trample they skitter and grind around with, often deploying heavily palm-muted scraping for transitional movement. The best example of this was their debut LP (‘Descending to Exile‘, 2014) where the pacing was kind of off, prone to modern speed/heavy metal riffcraft in bouts, but the album was all the more interesting for it, scribbling through blasted and mid-paced thrashing with modest confidence. At some point drummer/vocalist Caronte brought in a new line-up with folks from Dirges and King and their sound seemed to take a more expressly death metal temperament (‘Echoes of Pain‘, 2020) from there.

Priding themselves on directness and classicism Warthrash approach album number two with greater patience, precision and a well-modulated, mostly refined sound. They’ve not left behind the general idea they’d started with in thrashing ‘old school’ informed death metal but the vocals are a bit different, their attack leans into brutality more often, and the addition of second/lead guitarist Merciless (Enemy, Iron Command) generally livens and adds complexity their sometimes heavy metal stoked death-craft. Their stated goal here was to arrive upon new material without having rushed through the songwriting process, pushing beyond the temperament of their 2020 EP.

Sticking to ~3-4 minute death metal songs for the majority of its first half ‘No Light Shall Remain‘ resembles swinging loose ‘old school’ death metal with a modest riff count to start. The speedier rip through “Sombras del Poder” and its dual vocal approach soon becomes characteristic of the new Warthrash experience beyond a few glimpses of melody in its second half. The main vocal effects sound artificial to some degree, layered or slightly pitched down to a certain register, but the dynamic of the piece yet entertains via variously trampling and briefly blasted sections. This mode repeats for the next couple of songs with “Crucifixion” being the most solidly conceived throttle, I wouldn’t blame the average death metal listener if they’d found the first five pieces on this album samey, almost interchangeable in effect and direct-shot action.

“Wounds” offers the gateway to more interesting fare or at least some of the full listen’s more ambitiously constructed pieces. With tremolo picked melodies rooted in its semi-melodic progression we get some light hint of the more heavy/speed metal entranced side of Warthrash‘s work on ‘Descending to Exile‘ there, marking some of the best material on the album for my own taste. The dual rhythmic thread sewn through certain parts of follow-up “Undefeated” offer a the most reasonable argument for progress in this configuration as they become more ambitious beyond 2020. They overstretch the dual soloing in the second half of the song into a mess, and I didn’t like how they’d ridden the end of the song out as if they were closing a concert, but the melodic death-adjacent pump beyond ~2:23 minutes in was probably one of the more promising features/movements on the full listen. “Ruins” stands out for similar reasons and techniques wherein heavy metal informed melodic ideas contrast well with kicking and blasting movement.

‘No Light Shall Remain‘ is moreso a collection of related pieces written within the same sessions than it is a feat crafted with the effect of the full listen in mind, at least in the sense that it doesn’t read as all that intentioned in its presentation. Despite this, closer “Hollow Existence” makes great sense as its endpoint where some newer melodic ideas are explored, some rock solos are let loose for dramatic effect, and a few of their more apt basslines thread themselves through chunkier mid-paced movements en finale; Taking a closer ear to Warthrash‘s latest merits some admiration for their sustained underground death metal traits, avoiding perfect takes and hinging on relatively simple movement for the sake of ‘old school’ impact speaks to the real thing, though I’m not sure this overwrites the uneven quality of the songcraft and the fairly dry set of songs which open the album.

The impressive perspective of cover artwork from Felipe Mora went a long way toward stoking my initial interest here and the production values on offer here are well-suited to a thrashing death metal band’s raw ‘old school’ sound. Despite these boons I’d left Warthrash‘s efforts with only two or three memorable pieces in mind, a repeatable but largely flavor-void experience. If the goal was to create a solid, at least slightly above average death metal record then the material here is successful and should captivate the average listener without blowing any ‘ready well-indoctrinated minds. A moderately high recommendation.

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