Amsterdamn, Hellsinki 2011

"History has shown us that good thrash metal kicks ass.

This is thrash metal.

It is good.

And it kicks ass.

We are dealing with powerful and energetic thrash metal along the lines of Forbidden and Artillery with a hint of Exodus-influence, which means a blend of uptempo semi-technical thrash metal with loads of moshing-friendly midtempo passages, so you can really thrash out in your living room.

I really like how Tornado manage to successfully draw on a lot of the best things that the thrash metal genres has had to offer since its birth in the mid 80s. And a lot of this success obviously owes to them being very skilled musicians who executed every single guitar stroke and drum beat with impeccable precision.

Like Forbidden, Death Angel, Anthrax and post-"B.A.C.K.", Tornado make use of clean and more rock-ish vocals rather than the gruff, yelled and harsh vocals that are popular within the genre, and, just as with the above-mentioned bands, the combination of sung rock vocals and aggressive thrash music works brilliantly.

The lyrics deal with relevant serious socio-political issues such as the revolution in North Arfica, pedophilia in the Calothic church, racism, oppression, social injustice, the climate crisis and man's strife for freedom - and, lyrically, Tornado may be compared to the likes of Nuclear Assault and Sacred Reich. However, there is a general tongue-in-cheek feel to the way that Tornado approach things, and there is also a good dose of Anthrax-like humor in tracks like 'Diva' and 'A Bold Statement', as well as the album title itself.

Now, I've made a lot of references and comparisons to legendary thrash metal bands. Does that mean that I think that Tornado are just a bunch of rip-offs? No. I bring up these bands, because Tornado are at the same level of greatness as these legends; yes, "Amsterdamn, Hellsinki" is that good.

(review originally posted on metalmusicarchives.com)"