You’ll have to excuse me in advance, because this is gonna be less a review and more the journalistic equivalent of a blowjob. Seriously, this really is that good. This is retro Thrash done right, peppered with a gnarly Black Metal edge. It’s nasty, it’s mean, it’s raw – it’s about as raw as Mike Tyson’s ass after a Buster Douglas beatdown – it’s every damn thing a good Thrash album should be, and I completely didn’t see it coming. I mean, I liked their debut, simply titled Thrash Metal, but Grand Feast For Vultures has completely blind-sided me with pure Thrash awesomeness.

Like with any other retro or revivalist band, there really isn’t much in the way of originality here. What they do have is a firm grip on just what made the old Thrash so badass, and the skill to match, which allows for flawless execution. Leaning towards the more extreme end of the genre, they cull influence from the likes of early Kreator, Sodom, Destruction, Slayer and Sepultura, blazing away at breakneck speeds and injecting portions of razor sharp melodies along the way. Pete Evil commands an excellent raspy blackened vocal style, backed occasionally by bass thumper Bosse’ deeper death growls. Pete is also one of the six stringers, accompanied by Dor Amazon, and together they lay down some of the best and vicious Thrash riffs and leads I’ve heard in quite some time. The soloing is top notch as well. Then there’s Faust of Emperor fame behind the kit, throwing down an absolutely devastating performance. The production is clear but still raw – there’s a heart warming fuzz to it, the way it should be.

The albums first two cuts, “Castle of Skulls” and “Nothing but Contempt” set the stage well with some good and memorable high octane, evil Thrash, but things really take a turn for the stars with “Personal Exorcism”, an 8 and a half minute jaunt through the depths of hell. There’s a two minute build up before any vocals kick in, going through several different riffs and paces before finally locking into a main riff that had me reeling my jaw up from the floor. The battery continues through “Laid to Waste” and the title track, both menacing and dominating in their own right, but the real star here is the 12+ minute monster instrumental, “Horsehead Nebula”. A roller-coaster like ride of epic-fucking-riffs and melodies that are set to burn, with ripping solos piling in one after another. The dominate riff sounds like Iron Maiden on steroids and speed – highly melodic, but still very muscular and thrashy. The album then closes out with the equally epic “One Step Closer to the Grave”, which is where the band lets off the accelerator, if only momentarily. Another long intro before the vocals kick in, the song begins to really take off at the five minute mark, and continuously builds through to the climatic album closing ending.

Words cannot properly convey the greatness of Grand Feast For Vultures. It’s simply a phenomenal thrash album, and the best I’ve heard over the past couple years. There are no weak moments. At this time, I will not hesitate to call this my album of the year, and most likely will remain so till years end. I cannot urge you enough to seek this out.

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