Born Witless

The main problem I have with modern (or 'retro') thrash is that, unlike the 80s bands they're worshipping, they aren't trying to push any boundaries with their music. From '83 to the late 80s, bands were constantly trying to up the speed, heaviness and aggression of metal which resulted in some incredible albums like 'Reign in Blood', 'Pleasure to Kill' and 'Darkness Descends'. However, with this "new wave of thrash" we've been experiencing recently, a lot of bands settle for just playing plain thrash, without trying to break the limits in any way.

Magnetron are different, though. Magnetron are clearly trying to play as fast as possible. I can't speak for their older material (apparently they used to play grind) but they broke up and ten years later reformed. Well, the music here is certainly high in speed, but it's definitely not grind. This is pure thrash. They sound mostly Bay Area inspired, but with a bit of influence from Kreator and Destruction. It's interesting to hear Bay Area style riffs played over very fast drumming, and it's just great to hear a modern band not settling for mediocrity and really trying to push their boundaries as far as possible. Th music on Born Witless is exciting and manic, all four songs are on par with some of the fastest 80s thrash bands, and 'Wearing Down the Stones' takes it to insane levels, blasting through three minutes of insane speed-thrash, yet still featuring lots of melodic, epic riffs and shouted gang vocals.

I can't wait for Magnetron to put out a full length, especially seeing as though I've grown a bit tired of the modern thrash scene and am looking for something to really bring back that amazing feeling of a band that just wants to play as fast and heavy as possible. Definitely a worthwhile demo to get hold of for thrash fans, especially those that ask for a little more in terms of effort and intensity, Magnetron do not disappoint!