Germany’s Queen of Thrash bows out in style

Holy Moses helped lay the foundations for thrash

Invisible Queen

FIREFLASH

WHEN IT COMES to pioneering women in heavy music, Sabina Classen is unquestionably near the top of the list. Holy Moses formed in 1980, and their frontwoman broke new ground the minute she first opened her mouth and let rip with one of her trademark screams. Alongside the more widely celebrated Kreator, Destruction, Sodom and Tankard, the Germans were an integral part of thrash metal’s genesis and subsequent evolution in their native country.

It remains a crying shame that Holy Moses aren’t a much bigger deal. Few bands from any era of thrash have released records as righteously berserk as 1986’s Finished With The Dogs and 1989’s The New Machine Of Liechtenstein and, to this day, Sabina’s vocals are among the most thrillingly hostile in metal. Very firmly announced as the final Holy Moses album, Invisible Queen aims to bring the band’s legacy to an end with all the subtlety of a wrecking ball smashing through your living room window.

As ever, the band’s riffs are jagged, perverse and often closer to the techthrash of Mekong Delta than any of Germany’s Big 4. Opener Downfall Of Mankind is particularly grand and extravagant, and showcases both a crushing, ultra-modern production and Sabina’s ageless rasp. In contrast, Cult Of The Machine takes a serratededge swipe at technology’s grip on humanity over some of the most chaotic and deranged riffs Holy Moses have written since the late 80s. The title track nails its spitefully melodic chorus to a skeleton of marauding grooves; Alternative Reality warps trad thrash tropes into a dissonant, blackened assault; and Visions In Red is unrelenting, evil thrash with Sabina in beast mode.