Cyrence-The Hospital

 Self-Release/Independent
 2015

Started in 2006 as a solo project of vocalist/rhythm guitarist Tim Grathwohl (ex-Gatecrusher, ex-One More Day), Cyrence is melodic thrash metal band from Munich, Germany. Just released last month, "The Hospital" is Cyrence's first EP and it follows in the footsteps of the 2011 demo "Endtime Stories". Readily available for download on the group's bandcamp page as a name-your-own price deal, "Endtime Stories" is reportedly a concept album about a 20-year-old girl named Jesse who tries to survive in a world that has devastated by nuclear war. While it is a fair enough demo, "Endtime Stories" was only the group's first step toward perfecting their sound and it pails in comparison to what this band has accomplished on their new EP! Now rounded out by lead guitarist Dominic Millett, bassist/backing vocalist Chris Hammer (ex-As Mentioned Below, ex-Know Your Foe) and drummer Thomas Goldberg (e-Deathfear, ex-Undead Funeral), Cyrence returns with a EP chock full of top-tier thrash! Musically-speaking, Cyrence seems perfectly suited for fans of Metallica, Megadeth, Testament, Exodus and Anthrax as well as all those fans who seem to transfixed by the new wave of thrash metal. To be sure, "The Hospital" owes more to the eighties Bay Area thrash scene than it does the likes of Destruction, Sodom or Kreator. All the same Cyrence is nice and lethal and that is largely due to the combination of rhythm guitarist Tim Grathwohl's wicked voice and this band's ability to whip up thrash that is familiar in nature while assuredly unique to this Munich four-piece. With a production that is next to perfect this EP is a must for thrash fanatics and I for one cannot wait to see what Cyrence does when they are given the opportunity to record a full-length album!