Martyr-Circle of 8

Metal Blade
2011

Hailing from the Netherlands Martyr's first run was during the the 80's and the band knocked out several demos and two albums "For the universe" and "Darkness at time's end". Both were fairly solid metal releases with a NWOBHM inspired sound. Fast forward a few decades and the band resurrected with several original members. Their first release back was the "Fear the universe" EP in 2009 and now they have out a new full length effort. The Martyr of today sound a bit different than the Martyr of twenty some years ago. There is somewhat of a classic metal sound at the core of their music even today, but they are far heavier and faster today. However the new sound is just as effective and even more powerful in some ways.They incorporate thrash parts in with their steady barrage of metal. The first time I played this album I found the new sound startling and wasn't so sure about it. Repeated plays had me enjoying it more and setting aside my 1986 standard of what this band should sound like. It's an updated sound, but given the amount of time between albums and all that has gone in metal since then it's not an outlandish transition. They even toss in a re-recorded version of "Speed of Samurai" which was originally done on their "For the Universe album". A number of old order metal bands have comeback albums this year, but Martyr is definitely one of the better ones.