This Arizona-based progressive thrash band's second album fits very well with the retro aesthetic of its label,
Heavy Artillery
. Its logo and black-and-white cover art are an obvious (and loving) homage to Canadian art thrashers
Voivod
, and while there's some
in their sound, there's also a furious intensity that's derived from Florida bands of the late '80s and early '90s like
Sadus
,
Atheist
, and early
Death
. The bandmembers can really play, whipping through their long (the album's final track,
"Accelerating Universe,"
goes well past the 13-minute mark), complex songs with precision and skill. Vocalist
David DiSanto
is the wild card; his high-pitched, raspy shriek is a real love-it-or-hate-it proposition. But behind him, the band mixes prog rock and psychedelia with live-wire thrash and machine-gun drumming. The band's entire aesthetic, including tempo changes, several different moods, and some seriously shredding guitar solo action, is summed up in the nearly seven-minute
"Destroying the Cosmos,"
but
Black Future
is packed with ultra-impressive performances that will make tech-thrash fans' hearts beat very fast indeed. ~ Phil Freeman