### Tyranex: Extermination has begun

#### 12/12/11 || gk

Sweden’s Tyranex formed in 2005 and after a series of demos got round to releasing their debut album earlier this year. This 3 piece from Stockholm led by vocalist and guitarist Linnea Landstedt brings together the feel of 80s speed and thrash metal with the occasional modern touch and is held together by Landstedt’s guitar playing and a surprisingly effective rhythm section.

Right from album opener “The Weak Strike Back” and it’s opening riff that screams of classic German thrash. Stand out tracks include “The Curse” with its speed metal riff that reminds me of Juan Garcia’s guitar playing from bands like Evildead and Abattoir but there’s a point at the song with Landstedt’s vocals going high enough to shatter windows that is just pure heavy fucking metal and renders comparisons a bit superfluous. “Dreamland” is another raging beast of a song that alternates between really fast and not so fast tempos as the song brings to mind early Destruction. “None So Cruel” sounds like Megadeth worship and slows things down a little with a very “Youthanasia” feel to the song but its still quite good. “Tormentor” brings back the speed with Landstedt once again screaming her heart out to superb effect and is the catchiest song on this album.

Its apparent that the band hold the 80’s very close to their hearts and a lot of the riffs on “Extermination Has Begun” bring about a sense of deja vu but there’s a couple of surprises here and they both come from Landstedt. Firstly, her vocals are a high pitched shriek that occasionally threaten to go out of control but more often than not, work quite well with the music. The second aspect that surprised me was her relatively refined lead guitar playing in comparison to the rough and raw music and production but again it works well in the context of the music on offer. The rhythm section is solid as well with Stefan Thylander on bass contributing some nice fills and maintaining a steady beat with drummer Johannes Lindström which allows Landstedt to go on an all out attack with the riffs and solos.

I’m not a big fan of this trend of bands slavishly copying the 80s and trying to sound like the past masters of a genre but Tyranex somehow manage to combine catchy songs, great solos and a very real sense of fun and over the last couple of months this album’s been on constant rotation in the car and there are enough songs on “Extermination Has Begun” that make me want to bang my head and sing along. Not many bands do that these days.

- Information
- Released: 2011
- Label: Inferno Records
- Website: Tyranex MySpace
- Band
- Linnea Landstedt: vocals, guitars
- Stefan Thylander: bass
- Johannes Lindström: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. The Weak Strike Back
- 02. The Curse
- 03. As the Cross Crumbles
- 04. Dreamland
- 05. None So Cruel
- 06. Tormentor
- 07. Awakening the Dead
- 08. Road to Damnation
- 09. Extermination has Begun