### Truth Corroded: Worship the bled

#### 20/02/12 || revenant

I love it when hard work comes to fruition. Call me old fashioned or whatever, but I’d much prefer to hear a story of hard work reaping rewards than some wunderkind band coming along and scoring a major deal straight away. We got that wunderkind story in 2011: Diamond Plate. The next big thing in thrash we’re told. Signed to Earache for their debut. What happened? The produced a fucken shit generic bland modern thrash album is what. We also got a hard work story comes to fruition story in 2011: Truth Corroded. And the results? Far more appetizing.

But first, the hard work story. Truth Corroded formed in the late 90’s and, finding that metal wasn’t supported by local labels, formed their own record label “Truth Inc Records” from which to release and promote not only their own records, but other Australian bands as well. Gotta love that attitude… can’t get a label, then make your own. Says a lot about the band’s attitude and desire. Having made the means to distribute their music, Truth Corroded next had to work on the more important part of the package: the music. I missed their debut, but their second album, “Our Enemy is the Weapon” was junk. A lot of noise and very little memorability, it’s an album I’d rather forget. Which is what made their third release, “Upon the Warlords Crawl” such a giant leap forward. In the gap between the two albums Truth Corroded refined their sound, improved their songwriting and backed it up with a much improved production. “Worship the Bled” is the band’s fourth full length release, and again the continual improvement the band has shown is evident. It’s also the one with the rewards, as they now break into Europe for the first time thanks to a recently signed deal with Ultimhate Records and tour with Krisiun, Malevolent Creation and Vital Remains.

By their own description, Truth Corroded play “extreme thrash”. Which is about right, they deliver a thrash base that has been dialed up in brutality and aggression. Drums pummeling constantly, guitars with a big, sharp edge and growled vocals roaring above the cacophony. That’s the Truth Corroded sound, and it’s big. Apocalypse big. The production plays a big part in this, with the guitars in particular sounding bombastic. The slow build of the songs also play a part, as songs start slow and brooding, building up into intense and aggressive music. The incorporation of of violins later in the album also enhance the apocalypse feel.

The main area Truth Corroded have improved on, though, is the song writing. Songs are not just ballsier, but they are far more memorable. The riffing is much catchier, and the choruses are majorly improved. Shit, there isn’t a chorus on this disc that I don’t feel like scream my lungs out to. Another area that’s improved is the drumming, largely thanks to a guest performance on this record from Kevin Talley. This is not to say the incumbent drummer was no good, quite the contrary, it’s just that Talley has that little extra bit of class. Just listen to his work on this album, aggressive pounding where he needs to be extreme, but also incredibly groovy in places as well. An all round class act is what Talley is, and his performance does raise the bar for the band.

As impressed as I am with the band’s continual improvement, they’re not there yet for me. Sure the sound is big, raw and aggressive, but I just feel there’s another level these guys need to move to before I’ll be spraying cum to their music. The use of violins I mentioned earlier certainly impressed me, and if they progressed down that road and nailed it they’ll really be something. As it is, “Worship the Bled” is a solid piece of work, and the band definitely does deserve the attention it’s now getting.

- Information
- Released: 2011
- Label: Truth Inc/Ultimhate
- Website: www.truthcorroded.com
- Band
- Jason North: vocals
- Darren McLennan: guitars
- Mark Leonard: guitars
- Greg Shaw: bass
- Kevin Talley: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Knives of the Betrayed
- 02. Hunt All Heroes
- 03. Pride of Demise
- 04. Nothing Left Alive
- 05. The Great Waste of Flesh
- 06. Scavengers
- 07. Dragged Beneath
- 08. Remnants
- 09. Tear Out the Eyes of God
- 10. Summon Abyss