Review of the Album Collapse to Come by German Thrash Metal Band Reactory

Collapse to Come is the second studio album by Berlin area thrash metal band Reactory and there is like a huge factory of thrash metal bands coming out of this huge and vitally important Central European nation. Reactory was formed in 2010 and the list of German thrash metal bands seems like it is endless and it could go on for as long as we live and even after.

The album's title may be referring to the fact that the collapse of the world is near but the world is not collapsing but changing for the better in some ways. Lyrically, Reactory is similar to other German thrash metal bands such as Ravager and Kreator. But that shouldn't be a deal breaker for those of us that can hear the brilliance of German thrash metal. At least many German thrash metal bands are of very high quality. Reactory though has some work to do to get into that elite category.

“Space Hex” is the song that starts off this album with guitar feedback that can annoy some of our ear drums and then the harsh, shouts add to this song and you might be in disbelief at how this album starts because the vocals are a little uninspiring. The riffing picks up and this can make the vocals sound like just a minor annoyance. The guitar solo sounds like something we would have heard way back in 1987 with the album Finished with the Dogs. It is perhaps no coincidence that Reactory is influenced by 1980s metal. The structure and style especially of this first song does sound like 1980s metal even if the vocals could be better.

“Graves of Concrete” is another one of those songs that just goes right ahead with speed and technicality as the song lyrically is about all the lives that have been lost in spite of the sacrifice by these brave men that gave their lives for their country. There is a section that is sort of influenced by Morbid Angel but it is of the thrash metal style. “Misantropical Island” is a song that sounds like the Florida death metal scene of the 1980s. I think some of you can remember what I'm referring to here. For those of you that don't know, I am referring to the band Death that really made its presence felt in the Florida death metal scene in the 1980s and mid-1990s.

Songs such as Born from Sorrow have the riffing style of albums such as Leprosy. It is interesting that Chuck Schuldiner was able to influence other bands even after he passed from the Earth in 2001. Born from Sorrow then gets a little more melodic as the bass can be heard as well. These melodic parts are what can help these guys compete musically in a country that is absolutely loaded with fine thrash metal bands. “Galactic Ghosts” starts with this sort of exotic, repeating riff that you normally would not hear from a thrash metal band. But then, the structure shifts to Holy Moses style thrash metal though this is more modern. The album Collapse to Come isn't some thrash metal gem such as those older classics but still near the end of the album as the melodic intensity picks up, it shows that these guys have the potential to stand out among the elites in their country in terms of thrash metal. The last three songs including the Metallica influenced song Enemy lead to a rather strong finish from these German guys.