GENRE | VINTAGE POWER THRASH
VERDICT | HORNS UP HIGH MF’ERS
LABEL | PROSTHETIC RECORDS
RELEASE | 1.22.13
HOLYGRAILOFFICIAL.COM
Retro-thrash has been like a thing for quite a few years now. Bands like Municipal Waste, Airbourne, Trivium, and these L.A. thrashers, are simultaneously hailed and snubbed for embracing the classic ’80s thrash sound of Metallica, Exodus, Megadeth, et. al.
This one certainly has those vintage elements, but is an insanely melodic, modern power thrash classic that stands just fine on its own.
In fact, it’s a crushing leap forward for a band that got its start playing L.A. backyard parties before setting the metal underground ablaze with 2010′s “Crisis in Utopia.”
The thundering assault of riffs and solos on the title track and “Too Decayed to Wait” do, undeniably, hearken the stringy-haired Bay Area, circa 1989. But there is a youthful energy, a modern technicality and a distinctly original pummel.
The precision and spirit of the genre’s originators are firmly intact, but Dave Mustaine himself would admit that guitarists Eli Santana and Alex Lee take things to furious, creative levels once thought impossible.
Crank up “Sleep of Virtue” or “The Great Artifice.” Sure, it’s well-tread ground. But enjoy it for what it is: a kick-ass version of a classic.
