This could be considered an anniversary release for Paradox, as the German band (well, German-Greek at the moment!) celebrates 30 years of existence in the metal scene. Their 7th album “Pangea” follows “Tales of the weird” (2012), once more a concept of their mastermind Charly Steinhauer, this time with the contribution of two Greeks, Gus Drax (Sunburst) on guitars and drummer Kostas Milonas (Outloud, Sunburst), joining bassist Tilen Hudrap.
The trademark power/thrash sound of Paradox is still present in this new release, but with a much more modern production, especially on guitars, even though we didn’t enjoy the vocal lines as much as in the past. The band pays a tribute to their classic German thrash metal sound from the very first chord of “Apophis”. A very critical approach would claim that tunes like “Raptor”and “Ballot or Bullet” could have been released 2-3 decades ago, but a slightly more modern approach is also present in “The Raging Planet”, “Manhunt” και “El Muerte”. The endless hammering is accompanied at times by worthy melodic parts like in “Vale of tears” και “Cheat and Pretend” that provide the necessary acoustic “breathing”. Overall, an honest release that targets fans of traditional power/thrash metal (like we’re used to refer to circumspect thrash metal) from a band that celebrates 30 years with its most modern production.
Last but not least, we could not ignore the fact that the original line-up of 1987’s “Product Of Imagination” provides the backing vocals on “Pangea”, in a genuinely emotional moment.
