Cruel Force Haneda Review
Cruel Force
Haneda
Shadow Kingdom Records
2026
There are bands that play Speed Metal… and then there are bands that rip open a time-portal, drag 1985 out by the throat, slam it onto a modern recording console, and force it to drink gasoline and scream at jets taking off overhead. That’s basically what’s happening on Cruel Force’s latest long player, “Haneda”.
For anyone who came up with Cruel Force as the savage Blackened-Speed wrecking ball, razor tremolo chaos, teeth-grinding aggression, the feeling that the songs might bite you, this record is going to feel like the band kicked down a different door entirely. Not softer. Not safer. Just older with a purpose.
“Haneda” doesn’t sound like the present looking backward. It sounds like the past refusing to die. The riffs don’t swarm anymore, they charge. Big, heroic, strutting mid-80s Speed Metal gallops dominate the DNA here. Instead of the constant frantic violence, they lock into those wide-open highway rhythms: the kind of riffs that make you picture leather jackets, mirrored shades at night, and bullet belts.
Cruel Force used to feel like they were chasing you. On “Haneda” they’re leading you, pointing forward, raising fists, yelling “keep up.” The choruses land with that almost-anthemic European Speed Metal swagger, closer to the era when bands weren’t afraid to be triumphant while still sounding dangerous. It’s melodic without ever going clean and heroic, without sounding like Power Metal, and catchy in the same way a chainsaw engine rhythm is catchy.
Production plays a massive role in the shift. The guitars are sharp but not suffocating, the bass walks instead of hiding, and the drums feel like a real kit being beaten by a human who might be smiling while doing it. There’s air in the mix, the good kind, the kind that lets riffs strut. The whole thing feels like it could have come out on a battered LP between 1984-1987, yet it doesn’t feel fake or nostalgic. It feels lived in.
Vocally, the snarl remains, but it’s wielded differently now. Less rabid possession, more commanding bark. The voice doesn’t fight the riffs anymore; it rides them like a war banner. That shift alone sells the era pivot harder than any production choice.
Too many retro records feel like museum exhibits. “Haneda” feels like a bar fight with history. They’re not imitating mid-80s Speed Metal, they’re re-weaponizing it. The songwriting has modern muscle underneath the vintage chrome. Tempos vary, arrangements breathe, and the band trusts groove and momentum instead of constant sensory overload.
Released through Shadow Kingdom Records, the album fits perfectly with the label’s tradition of preserving the spirit of Classic Heavy Metal. Without a doubt, “Haneda” and Cruel Force’s best effort to date.
Standouts – “Savage Gods”, “Warlords”, “Titans Awakening” and “Whips A Swinging”.