Metal Underground.com

"God May Show You Mercy ... We Will Not" is ... a waste of a great title on a mostly sub-par album. German thrashers Minotaur apparently aimed to create some warp-speed thrash in the mode of Slayer, Dark Angel and Possessed. You can definitely hear that influence in the songs, which zoom along at a nice little clip. Unfortunately, the horrible vocals by Andreas Richwien, who also plays guitar, play a big part in making the album difficult to listen to, at its best.

Things get off to a rousing start with "Armegiddo," which opens with the quote that gave the album its title, before Alfred Diehl's quickly galloping bass line sets the tone and speed, joined by Richwien's guitar. For a moment, we're in thrash heaven — and then the vocals drag it down to hell — and not in a cool "metal" way.

I'm not sure if Richwien was aiming for a Rob Halford scream or a growl, or a combination thereof. On every track, fast or slow, the vocals are a strangled scream that sounds like Richwien is trying to hit a note that's way too far out of his range. That must be why the vocals are buried so low in the mix most of the time.

Instrumentally, the band is dead on, with some real effort made in the intros. Sure, "Rather Die" has some moments that feel like scale exercises, but that's par for the course in old-school thrash.

If I had to pick a favorite among the songs, it'd probably be "Soulless," which features some great drum fills from Jorg Bock, and Richwien's least annoying vocals. The album's worst song is the W.A.S.P. cover, "Animal (F**K Like A Beast)," in which Richwien's voice is completely out of place.

On "God May Show You Mercy ... We Will Not," Minotaur takes listeners through a maze of decent playing and horrible vocals, for a confusing and unfulfilling metal experience.