Trends often start off with a good idea or at least a respectable inspiration. However, through imitation and copying, that original idea becomes a trend and the trend gets boring, overdone and ultimately becomes a joke. The retro 80’s power metal trend is in full bloom and many would say the 80’s retro thrash movement has been overdone for years already. As someone who grew up in the 80’s metal era, I may possess more tolerance for this whole “retro” thing since it does this old heart good to hear a quality metal album that truly captures the sound, energy and spirit of a time long gone. Therefore, my review of The Empires of Inhumanity, the new release by German thrashers Fatal Embrace will be more charitable than what it would have received from other angry metal guys. In all fairness, these Teutonic shredders have been around since 1993 so they could rightfully be considered part of the original thrash movement rather than a retro band. Either way though, over four albums Fatal Embrace have demonstrated an unwavering dedication to the 80’s thrash style of Slayer and Sodom while foregoing all modern styles and current trends completely.
