Tenet
, not to be confused with the R&B group of the same name, is an industrial-strength thrash band with some seriously powerhouse membership. Vocalist
Steve Souza
formerly fronted both
Exodus
and
Testament
; guitarist
Glen Alvelais
has played with
Forbidden
; and second guitarist
Jed Simon
, bassist
Byron Stroud
, and drummer
Gene Hoglan
are all veterans of
Strapping Young Lad
(plus the six-dozen other bands
Hoglan
's bashed the skins for, of course). Given that pedigree, any discerning metalhead is gonna pop the shrink wrap on
Sovereign
looking to have his/her face torn off within ten seconds of pressing Play, and that's pretty close to the result when
"Being and Nothingness"
kicks in with a pick-slide, a thundering avalanche of drums, and a patented
Souza
scream. From there it's off to the races, with nine tracks in under 35 minutes, each one a blur of thrashy riffing, shredtastic solos, and
's vocals, which haven't gotten any more melodic since the '80s glory days of
; he still sounds like
Accept
's
Udo Dirkschneider
with his privates caught in a belt-sander. The only time they slow down is on the six-minute
"Going Down,
" which settles for a doomy, chugging pace. The production on
owes something to
, but these guys are content to get over with the fury of their riffs, rather than the abuse of compression
SYL
leader
Devin Townsend
is known for. This is a fierce, relentless, all-star effort well worth any metalhead's time. ~ Phil Freeman