Right after blasting District Destruction, I have this prompting, and deliciously fucking overwhelming need to throw myself into a chaotic, earth-shaking, and universe-rippling moshpit of the bloodiest kind. Mortal Infinity are, quite simply, a new thrash force imposing itself on the very forefront of the game; much like the press releases say it, they’re playing a groove-laden, nuclear warfare-inducing brand of thrash that gives one the impression they’ve been leaders of the pack for 20+ years now; the progressions of the rhythm sections on this record, the tech-savvy rhythmic flourishes, the countless hook inductions, the attitude in the delivery that constantly hits the nail on the head with dizzying and dangerously addictive precision; all of these elements come together and chemically entwine to create an album that sits right at the very top of the totem pole in terms of quality, feel, vitality, and immediate spawning of a primitive and strongly urgent need for repetitive consumptions.

It’s really quite simple; the brilliance at hand instantaneously brings the blood to a boil, and each n’ every single cut on this monster of a thrash staple (so intelligently meshing true-to-roots and amazingly fucking refreshing oldschool influences with intricate and raging technical death-thrash leanings right towards modern-sounding mashups of occasionally hardcore-infused stomp and melody) steps up the plate fearlessly, boldly, memorably, and in such a way that it’s bound to become an absolute crowd-favourite. These songs are anthemic, unforgettable, and creating a high that make one beg for a zillion helpings of this ferociously and adamantly essential fix of groovy and undoubtedly bar-raising and spirit-elevating fix.

The intro already says a lot about how well-oiled this attack is shaping up to be, and certainly charges up a sea of machine guns that I could foresee would pour out of the gate to tear away a lot more than a couple full jaw-sets of teeth, hairs from the tops of scalps, and maybe a couple eyes from their sockets; ”Thrill to Kill” indeed immediately brings catchiness and a handful of meaty and groovy riffs on board, with a steel solid rhythmic chug. A typically Exodus‘y feel crawls in at the 3.22 minute mark and albeit this brand of thrash has, without a shadow of a doubt, been done before, there’s not an iota of space for doubt; Mortal Infinity have a fucking crushing record in them, and this first track does more than enough to back up that statement. ”At Dawn of Death” confirms the validity of such a quickly and unshakably rabid and enthusiastic thought; the fucking ape gallop crawling in from its very first second sure doesn’t waste one bit of room or time-space; wall to wall aggression is on the dial and ready to fucking burn three hundred cities to less than dust. The main riff is incredibly old school and sure will have huge sentimental value especially for nostalgia of classic 80s thrash; it simply demands extremely candid replays. The slowing down in pace around 1.35 is interesting, and balances out the feel of this one blitz with a fresh, invigorated, and well-calculated tactic.

The mainman/vocalist Marc Doblinger fucking spits seas of planet-engulfing fire. When the main groove kicks back in, there’s an undeniably classic feel of greatness and anthemic hugeness going on that simply grabs, moves, and throws bodies all across the board; it’s a magical moment that locks in this certainty that these guys are cooking up a monster that is quite far from losing breath or ball-field space to rule over as a catastrophically godly entity. The progressive riffage around 3.25 developing atop of a catchy melodic solo makes for an incredibly cool section, which gets particularly dazzling in its horsepower when the latter goes beautifully bonkers in terms of speed and flashiness. The undead-raising and war-mongering gallop closing out the track masterfully and automatically induces a form of headbanging that’s bound to mess up blood circulation to the brain for a long while in the aftermath.

”Wake of Devastation” is more of a melodic number and showcases another, more modern-thrash-influenced take on this worshippable brand of thrash; the groovy licks are nicely down-tuned, threateningly thick and slicing. Doblinger’s vocals sound like Chuck’s and are absolutely balls-out on this number. The drive of the track’s build is well-catchy with a steel-solid drive, but I found myself thinking it needed an additional kick to truly start hitting home, and from the moment that thought crossed my mind about three minutes in, the boom came; one delirious trot that brings to mind the best work of one Germanic force named Kreator (meets Exodus‘ early works) launches itself into some epic and wonderfully toxic stomp. This is followed by a very fitting, mid-paced valley that pushes this sweet melodic main lick to the forefront.

”Retribution” has a SICK groove jumping out of the wooden frame with six meter-long claws and 700 000 heads with eight sandpaper tongues out each, bloodlusting, and blindly desecrating everything that lives or hopelessly tries to play dead. Mind-boggling shreddage and a commanding vocal are quick to rush their way in. The background riffery is so goddamned reminiscent of the first incarnations of Bay Area thrash, it’s simply awing. Mid-tempo leanings follow, greatly enhanced and boldly underlined by the drummer’s admirably dynamic delivery, going straight back into the firing up of this pillaging main riff and its accompanying groove that simply fucking stuns and works so blooming well. Another mid-tempo section unfurls, unveiling some mean rhythmic chugging with vocals that get particularly psychotic around 3.14. One rad and suspenseful descent occurs at 3.32, guided by slamming drums, and one kickass atonal melody, masterfully switching into a buildup that goes into prog riffage, sitting atop of energetic, and notably seasoned drumming, with some neat lickery hovering about.

”District Destruction” houses one state-of-the-art main riff which is simple, but bringing the fucking point home from the absolute getgo. It fires the first bullet and sure doesn’t miss its considerably memorable headshot. It sparks up strongly dandy prog thrash riffs that lay out the track’s foundation and pave the way for the first verse. The vocalist is still in one particularly menacing and alarming fury. A mid-tempo and engaging stroll is on the dial, and it seems this track is taking on much more of a progressive voicing on all ends of this spectrum, especially as it reaches the 1.41 minute mark. The result is of an irrefutable brilliance. The 2.26 minute mark sees the sum of the parts going into a full-blown speed section that still retains the prog element, making for a nice stylistic mashup, and the drumming keeps on switching patterns for one cool and gorgeous finish. The urgency is so palpable, it amps up physical adrenaline effortlessly. The 3.16 minute mark launches itself into a nice buildup with numerous nifty sound FX painting a clear picture of mass destruction, and a mid-tempo drive crawls its way in with its range of dirty riffs to boot. Those energetic gang shouts are adding a nice touch of force of impact. The melodic soloing around the 4 minute mark sure as fuck doesn’t lack any sort of character, and the ending of this cut is insanely inebriating.

I can safely say the last three tracks are the most jaw-dropping ball-breakers this side of 2012. ”Condemned Rising” is very, dangerously frenetic, 57 friggin’ seconds in. It fires on all fucking cylinders and pulls you straight into the fleshgrinder before you find the time to scream. It has some especially tight groove flourishes in the rhythm section, and its structure is very impressively fast-evolving. It’s a chaos-monger of the neatest and biggest fucking proportions, period. The 2.50 minute mark sees another mint proggier section that eventually kicks back into this highly pleasing and fulfilling groove. The pace of the pwnage gets faster than ever at 3.27, and that section is just so effin’ revitalizing, it easily classifies as one of the most epic highlights on this whole record. ”Radical Response” is the main fist-waving sing-along anthem around these parts and follows in straight afterward with this ridiculously freakin’ catchy main riff uncorking this top-class brew, quickly developing into one hell of a masterfully-crafted second main riff, guided by one truly mean gallop. One heck of a collection of Instantaneous Winner riffs unfolds and showcases exactly how brilliant this band is. Plus, the vocalist just fucking nails it throughout. This is so very intoxicating, it’s heart-grabbing. There’s a nifty valley around 2.56 with some more mightily groovy chugging that goes into one kickass buildup paving the way to a mid-paced section with more of this solid, generously thick n’ heavy brickwalling chug.

The aptly-titled ”Sound of Brutality” has great progressive riffery in the background right off the bat, and soon has one explosive chorus with its handful of beautifully slicing melodies barging in for all to witness and worship. It has such a classic and Exodus‘y spirit all the damned way, and is so true to where it hails from, it’s a poignant statement of authenticity and refreshing appeal in the case of a new thrash band; it surely promises for more and more goodness in the years to come. There’s a hint of a touch of a hardcore feel around the 1.43 minute-mark, and let me tell ya that it stomps and kicks ’til the skins eventually reddens and breaks. The drumming develops from there into one interesting series of patterns in a strongly lively way. One seriously engaging descent into an endless pitfall you’re bound not to return from, guided on by gang shouts and one energizing and well-rounded-out final display of nifty musicianship seals the deal very nicely.

This album, my friends, is gonna raise the stakes for the thrash scene and very quickly toss the Mortal Infinity name in bright and flamey focus right up there with the best of the bestest. This is a record you must own, and will make all pits of the world go absolutely nuts in such a way that neighboring cities just might have to duck, cover and prepare for a life-threatening game-changer.

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