Review written by Stijn "Metal Shredder" Daneels.

A couple of weeks ago we were personally contacted by Cobracide and they invited us to a preview of their debut single “Trails Of Destruction.” Now that the single is out for the world to hear, it’s time for us to shred & share our thoughts about this new band and their first bit of recorded material.

“Trails Of Destruction” is the debut single of the Belgian thrash/death metal band Cobracide that saw the light of day last year. The single is released independently and is available on all the usual music streaming platforms.

The single begins with the screams of bomber planes and then transitions to a machinegun firing drum solo until eventually the whole band starts jamming soaring thrash riffs in an opening section that reminds me of Slayer. The vocals kick in soon after and their natural death metal inspired rawness quickly becomes apparent to me. After a headbang inducing chorus an energetic guitar solo comes through and finally a couple more verses and the chorus returns a few times too.

Cobracide’s style is a solid blend of thrash metal’s speed and riffs with death metal’s vocals and sudden tempo changes. It’s a tightly written, intense and rhythmic tune that’s only tampered a bit by the rather muffled production. I think with a more clearer sound the pounding drums, distorted guitars and shrieking vocals can become even more impactful. Other than that, I believe Cobracide already has a solid musical foundation and I’m very curious to see this very young Belgian band evolve in the coming years.

Nothing special here. The single’s music video features Cobracide’s logo with a black-and-white picture of the band slowly spinning behind it. I do like the band logo’s combination of a pitch-black main font with gold outlining, it’s a color combo that I’ve always loved because of the stylish contrast between the two colors.

The main theme in “Trails Of Destruction” is warfare, mainly air bombardments. The song is narrated through the eyes of one of the ground victims who now witnesses the destruction he had anticipated for a long time.

7 air raids out of 10. Cobracide’s first single left a positive first impression on me. While the overall production could still be improved, this tune as a whole is a fiery and well-constructed homage to the thrash and death metal bands of old.