CRUEL FORCE - Haneda (Review)

Written by: Blackie Skulless

It’s no secret that a couple years ago, Cruel Force rose from the ashes of their former selves and crafted something that truly resonated with many listeners. By tightening up the songwriting and breaking the typical mold of the black/speed predictability, these Germans allowed themselves to stand out far above their peers. This year, Haneda sees a continuation of this evolution, not only on the songwriting front but also in a stylistic way. 

In many ways, Cruel Force is going the exact direction that they had hinted at with Dawn Of The Axe. A notable feature was that the “blackened” aspect of the last record almost felt like it was being lifted from time to time, matching the injection of melody that didn’t exist as much prior. We see a similar vibe under the misty, echo-tinted production that allows the drums to pop really hard without feeling too raw. In other words, the blackmosphere lingers while other facets that made this fall in that camp fall away. This pairs nicely with the evolved vocals that now avoid anything harsh or raspy so one can more easily call this a full realization of a modern speed or thrash metal record that dodges any generic production nonsense.

---

Nobody should be surprised then that several parts of this sharpen melody and add layers of accessibility. “Sword Of Iron” is an instant favorite, baking in chops in a NWOBHM vein, complete with a gang chant chorus and a strong solo in its slower center; yet everything surrounding this is still full of speed metal fervor and crushing leads. Right after that, “Crystal Skull” steps in as a steadier but equally fitting instrumental track that does a tremendous job of replacing vocals with some of the nicest fret melodies on the record. The main elephant in the room, however, is the closing title track, touching the nine minute mark and nailing an epic thrash banger wonderfully without meandering at any point. “Black Talon” almost hints at this too, blending its calmer sections wonderfully with explosive riff energy.

But make no mistake, Haneda doesn’t see the band simply step away from the aggressive front that’s crucial to their makeup. “Whips A Swinging” is a true indicator of that early on, shedding this new evolution under fierce light beside its album intro “The Cross” (which gave me some serious “The Hellion” to “Electric Eye” vibes). “Warlords” is a fun one, as its longer length hints at something more experimental, but the grandiose trudges simply act as suspense, before ripping into another thrash fumer. Tunes like “Titan’s Awakening” or “Savage Gods” maintain this the whole way between more intricate songs, keeping the flow at a solid pace; I may even detect the former feeling like a response to Slayer’s “Die By The Sword” sheerly due to its riff progressions.

Frankly, I was not ready for what Cruel Force was offering here. For the impact that landed with the last record, I thought for sure they would take the “don’t fix what aint broken” philosophy and give us another helping of what worked, but I’m glad they didn’t. The roots of Haneda are very clear, but equally are clearly evolved into something entirely unique. More than that, it’s concise, consistent, and compelling; three C’s that I’ll never complain about. If you adore Show No Mercy as much as I do, this may be one of the closest records I’ve ever heard to it in style and execution, but reverse engineered. Slayer crafted that album around a NWOBHM foundation and boosted it with an extreme metal finish, while Cruel Force took an extreme metal finish and worked backwards to a thrashmospheric landing beside NWOBHM influence. For the 2026 thrash hunters, skip Exodus, and go here instead.

Cruel Force - Haneda was released March 27th, 2026 via Shadow Kingdom. Find it here.​

---

Cruel Force can be found at Bandcamp and Instagram
Cover art by m.lemay.art