A couple of months ago I saw German thrash metal band Perzonal War perform at the Rock Inc Festival. I was quit impressed with their performance, even though I’m not a big thrash metal fan. Now the fourth album of the band, their second on the AFM Record label, is released. The title of the album is “Faces, a well chosen title since the lack of a characteristic sound on their previous albums (which are in the vain of Metallica) has made place for a distinctive style which Perzonal War can call their own. The album cover is literally filled with faces and is in the same style as the previous album “Different But The Same”, which features two faces that appear to be identical but are not. It’s nice to see that the concept of a band is also expressed in the album cover (there are too many lousy album covers at the moment). The artwork and the layout are by singer Matthias Zimmer, a job well done.

The thrash metal music on “Faces” is in comparison to the previous albums more orientated on melody. The music of Perzonal War used to be pure thrash metal and the vocals were melodic. On “Faces” the music seems to be more in harmony with the vocals. The music therefore sounds a little bit more commercial, which isn’t a bad thing in my opinion, and will probably enlarge the chance of success in the charts. I’m most impressed by songs like “Devil In My Neck” and the title track. Both are powerful tracks with a very strong drive and are absolute live killers. The track “My Secret” is just screaming to be released as a single. Perzonal War made a big step forward with “Faces” and although there are a few steps more to make, I foresee a bright future for these Germans.