Danish Thrash metal eh? Besides Artillery there's not really much to sink your teeth into from that corner of the metal universe. Not until now at least. Essence are a young and surprisingly fresh thrash act out of that shallow country. Their first release was an EP back in 2007 called Art in Imperfection which got fairly good reviews when it came out, and was heavily influenced by newer era Kreator and Slayer to some extent. Lost in Violence however puts Artillery, Sodom and a wee bit of progressive metal in a blender, and churns out a big nice bowl of vicious new school thrash metal that is actually worth your time. Some might say that this would've been even better with an old school approach production- and sound-wise, however, I think Essence then would have been lumped into the shitpile of retro-thrash acts that will not get anywhere ever. These guys pour their own hatred and anger into each and every song here, the riffs vary from mid-paced stomping, to edgy and fierce, fast and lethal. Add some progressive stylings to that as well as a vocalist whose style is hard to pinpoint and you've got yourself a fairly interesting thrash metal band.

Even if this is damn good, and even slightly original, one can't avoid the fact that most of the stuff on here has been done a hundred times before, which makes me dock them a chunk of points. This sort of thrash metal can never be perfected by new bands. That does however not mean that young guns can't pack a solid effort though, and that's exactly what these guys manage to do. This is, at some levels, incredibly exciting, and the average thrash metal fan, and regular metal-head should absolutely give this a spin or seven. The guns are blazing from the opening moment of first proper song Unlimited Chaos all the way through to Aggressive Attack. On the ride you'll pick up references from Artillery, Kreator and Sodom in particular as a good pinch of melody is mixed with lovely aggression.

This isn't mindblowing in any shape or form, but that doesn't keep it for being a damn good if not fucking great listen. Go get it. Recommended.