I was lucky to catch this band supporting Napalm Death at the Electric Ballroom a few months back in London. They put one heck of a show, I was captivated after one song and loved their set. Of course I had to get myself a copy of their latest album, a fast, to the point thirty three minutes of brutal thrashings spanning eight tracks. Hailing from Dallas, these Texans have been at it for almost ten years and as far as I can tell, this is their sophomore full length.
The band sound right out of the 80s. A fast ripping, power shredding Thrash Metal band with frantic chugging grooves laced between gritty metallic shreds and tight picking rhythms. Tinges of Crossover creep in and a Slayer like darkness marks their sound with eruptions of wild, noisy frantic solos that burst into the fold between conventional thrashing sections. Its quite atypical of the genre but well thought out and inspired, rather than repeating old ideas the band reinvent them with some vigor and resiliance.
The eight songs take on the same tone, intensity and pace with very little to break them up other than some echoing, reverberated effects between a couple of tracks. From start to end its all killer no filler. Hard to pick a favorite however "Ruination" stands out for its frighting gang shouts and the front mans beastly screams coming to life on the chorus. His shouts are audible and gritty, drenched in reverb to give it a sense of scale that falls inline with the music.
Its a weighty record with a well formulated thrash persona, a sturdy production that brings the sweet spot of the fast open string muted picking to the forefront of the sound. As a whole it possibly lacks one thing, some "break out" moments to sweep you off your feet. It pummels hard and fast but none of the riffs defy expectation and so its a cracking head bangers listen but lacks that spark to add memorability to the songs. Other than perhaps having the potential to do better this is a great listen.
Favorite Track: Ruination
Rating: 6/10