are one of the most promising of the new wave of thrash bands, and on their second album, they're clearly hardened by time spent on the road, ready to crush the listener with a fresh set of high-speed riffs and machine-gun drum fills. This band plays in the old-school thrash style of and , with none of the progressive intricacy that brought to the form on . Though there's definitely a influence in the guitar solos here, it's obviously derived from earlier records like . Still, it's reductive to talk about strictly in terms of how faithful they are to the classic style. Drummer throws in extremely effective double-bass fills on as bassist yanks furiously at the strings, and vocalist is one of the best new frontmen, always keeping his (surprisingly strong) lyrics clearly comprehensible. They've expanded their range of subject matter since the last album, moving into horror themes while still occasionally dealing with the war-related subject matter of 2007's . While remaining true to their classicist thrash roots, have managed to evolve slightly on their second album, and that kind of incremental development can be the foundation of a long and respectable career. ~ Phil Freeman