Cruel Bomb - Cruel Bomb

Angry Metal Guy

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, is home to self-proclaimed ‘thrash metal titans,’ Cruel Bomb. Since forming in 2018, Cruel Bomb has released three EPs—2019’s Manhattan Mischief, 2020’s Trinity Terror, and 2022’s Man Made—while touring extensively along the East Coast. Now, wrapped in an energetically bright and nuclearly holocaustic package courtesy of artist Ed Repka, Cruel Bomb prepares to drop their eponymous, independent debut album. Crafting your debut as a nod to the Big 4, while not entirely original, does come with certain expectations, at least for this reviewer. So, I mindfully sat down to pen my missive, wondering if Cruel Bomb would be the band to put Wilkes-Barre on the thrash map, or if they’d blown their whole wad requisitioning that cool cover art.

Cruel Bomb never reaches the other side of the crossover bridge with a sound more hardcore than thrash. Kenny Barto and Brandon James lay down formulaically straightforward riffs of the speedy, chuggy, and breakdown variety. And ohh, the breakdowns. Present throughout, they keep Cruel Bomb planted primarily in Hatebreed and sometimes, Power Trip territory. I also sensed whiffs of Slayer lurking about via harmonic leads (“Hell Hounds”) and Hell Awaits-like chugging (“Night of the Hunt”). Barto’s solo work makes brief appearances, which are either noodly and short-lived (“Target Neutralized”) or comprised of fretfully executed dive bombs (“Glass House”). Nick Hennebaul’s bass lines—perkily plucked and punky—permeate Cruel Bomb’s low spaces and are audibly satisfying, a result of the production job from Novro Studios, while Kyle McKeown rounds out the rhythm section and does a decent job D-beating his way through Cruel Bomb, his performance enhanced by flourishing fills and machine-gun double kicks. Vocals are hard, core, and shouted, courtesy of Brandon James, and though effectively executed, sound so much like Jamey Jasta, it was hard for me to pick out moments that didn’t remind me of Hatebreed. Framed by formula and trope, Cruel Bomb’s thrash is just hardcore in sheep’s clothing.

Mainly a mix of homogenized moments, there were a few points during Cruel Bomb that I found more engaging. Not only due to the strange, cartoonish voice at the beginning, “Hell Hounds” stood out because of its lively bass work, mid-paced thrashery, and an interlude where everything stops long enough for Brandon to scream, ‘Retreat?! We just got here!” before launching into the tracks second half. I also took note of the stanky grooves and great chorus of “Gravemind” in addition to the speedy riffs and lengthiest solo work—a whammy-tinged fret-du-jour preceded by a nice little guitar lick—on “The End.” Beyond these flashes, however, most of what Cruel Bomb does is awash in waves of similitude cannibalizing off one central idea, riff/breakdown/riff/repeat.

As good a production job as Eric Novroski did, providing enough organic spaces for Cruel Bomb’s instrumentation to thrive, a lack of dynamic songwriting and a no-escape-from-the-vocals approach hold Cruel Bomb back the most. Obligatory intro and the aforementioned “Hell Hounds” aside, every other track on Cruel Bomb starts one of two ways, with a speed happy riff or drum and chug breakdown, adhering strictly to a too-safely written formula resulting in a narrowly conceived batch of hardcore tunes that, by the time “Glass House” rolled around, had me glancing at the clock and suffering from listeners fatigue. In addition, James’ very one-dimensional vocal attack made what should have been an easily digestible thirty-four-minute platter drag, feeling much longer. Don’t get me wrong, Brandon James is a good vocalist and the amount of chesty power he brings to his shouts works. Still, his lack of tonal variety—notwithstanding the few seconds in “World Breaker” where he manages to dip into a slightly lower register—grates after a while, especially when overpowering most of Cruel Bomb’s attempts at gang shouts, which could have served as a vocal counterpoint.

I respect Cruel Bomb’s commitment to their aesthetic and craft, even down to the logo, which I dig. Yet despite my rather negative take, I don’t believe Cruel Bomb is a complete swing and miss. It’s clear these four, a quartet since 2023, have spent a lot of time touring and playing together, reflected in Cruel Bomb’s taut performances. With a more adventurous songwriting approach and some vocal contrast, Cruel Bomb has the talent to do more. Hardcore enthusiasts and Hatebreed fans should find things to like, and though I won’t return to Cruel Bomb after closing my laptop on this review, I’ll be watching for what comes next.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: Self-Released
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: August 15th, 2025

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