Black Thrash Attack

This is some excellent stuff! Mostly old school thrash, but there are elements of black metal in there as well, hence the title of the album, but it's more the vocals than anything else I find black-sounding. Apollyon's high-pitched, raspy snarls and screams define that side of things perfectly, and his evil fuzz bass rumbles underneath a volley of amazing, catchy riffing from both guitarists (including Rune "Blasphemer" Erickson of Mayhem). You'd never guess that this was an early 90s release (a bad time for metal in general, I always thought), with its righteous fist-pumping feel unafraid of trends and such.

Musically, we have a well-balanced mix of thrash, mid paced moments, doomier riffs, and all around good headbanging period wrapped up in a decent production that carries a good underground feel while being well-mixed enough to hear everybody well and clearly. Lyrically we're talking old school with titles like "Destructor", "Fighting For Hell" (with its great headbanging intro and middle part), "Wretched Face Of Evil", and "Sons Of Hades", and it fits perfectly. Dirge Rep's drumming is outstanding throughout the album, and only the occasional blast beat pops up as he mixes up the tempos perfectly and tightly. These guys are really damn good, and I am looking forward to hearing the rest of their stuff!