Prey

You feel like moshing wildly with your head banging frantically against a wall, or whatever else is available? But you’re tired of listening to Slayer’s “Reign in Blood”, Dark Angel’s “Darkness Descends”, or Morbid Saint’s “Spectrum of Death”… you crave something more obscure but equally as vicious… no problemos, here’s the answer to your prayers, this “Pray”… sorry, “Prey” here, 17 tracks closing on just under half an hour, aggressive in-your-face hardcore-tinged thrash that will leave you not only speechless but also bodyless...

used to listen to this pummelling, uncompromising slab quite a bit in the past… but I have forgotten about them, like many other fans as well, and here’s the time to unearth them in all their devastating neck-spraining glory. Don’t let the pounding heavy riffage at the start of the opening “Fear in Disguise” mislead you; this is a most vicious old school attack which materializes before your eyes/ears in the form of short (1-2min) cuts that will literally leave wounds on your body. Fast ripping, merciless stuff which easily reaches the speed of light with “Harsh Reality”, with other reality-altering blitzkriegers (“Dishonor”, “In Your Mind”) following in quick succession, the maddening shorter “Controlled by Fear” winking at Cryptic Slaughter’s eye-gouging debut, the wild untamed orgy sustained till the very end with only the goofy frolicer “Gameshow (Of the Afterlife)” deviating from the pattern, and partially “Open Up” which offers a couple or more restrained pounding motifs to alleviate the exhausting setting.

Wow, that was some true dedication to the brutal side of our favourite metal; and one can hardly think of a more suitable accompaniment to this aural insanity than the venomous spatout semi-declamatory/semi-shouty vocals which easily compensate for the very few moments where all-out aggression isn’t encountered. There’s very little to savour here except all-out speed, and as such this recording should satisfy the headbangers on all counts. There isn’t much musical proficiency required to pull off this stuff, so don’t expect flamboyant guitar pyrotechnics or loftier strives at technicality… this is the last place you should be looking for those.

No wonder the lads disappeared without a trace after this exposition of musical madness; it takes a lot of energy from you to execute it, and eternal rest afterwards seems like a logical follow-up. Prey... sorry, pray they return one day with more vitality and intensity to spare.