If you are going to make thrash Southern California is a good place to do it. This album has been getting a fair amount of hype, but from sites like Metal Sucks, whose opinion on music is questionable, so I am going to give this a listen. The first two songs are nothing new and kind of boring. It makes me think of a less interesting version of Skeletonwitch. It's a pretty generic thrash, if hyper-aggression and speed are all it takes to impress you then this might work,. The vocals spit out the lyrics with sharp precision but offer little personality outside of that. However, that statement could be true of any of the instruments involved here. It goes to show high energy only goes so far. The distance so far is two songs.
The bass player finally shows up for "Neuromancer" and brings more of a Testament-like groove with him. This is an improvement, and perhaps the album's best song. "The Jackhammer" is just a speed fest rushing past you. There is more of a black metal feel to " Through A Glass, Darkly" with catchier guitar parts, as it goes into more of a triumphant stomp. 'Strike From the Sky" finds the vocals unleashing a higher pitched scream, to create more of an Annhilator feel. Aside from that little vocal trick, the song is not the most compelling.
Lyrically 'Cage of Air' is the best song, as it explores AI. The song also has more of an Annhilator vibe, they need to get in touch with Jeff Waters for sure to be his backing band. But the songwriter might be better off left in Waters' hands despite the more recent Annihilator albums feeling like a search for relevance. The last song feels like they are once again putting speed ahead of hooks, and it ends up sounding like filler on a Kreator album. There are some pretty decent moments the album gets better as to goes I'll give it an 8, as they capture a reasonably accurate representation of thrash that translates well enough into 2025.
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