At a time in the world when real life events are plenty intense and brutal, one might wish for something to bring a little bit of order to things. Enter thrash metal titans Municipal Waste and their upcoming album, Electrified Brain, a high speed adrenaline rush built to inject energy into a solemn society.
Perfecting their craft over the last 20 years, Municipal Waste flawlessly blends the melodies of Carcass, the speed of Slayer, and the punk influences of D.R.I. and The Casualties. As the band's first offering in five years, Electrified Brain is like a rollercoaster through a hurricane over its fourteen tracks of thrashing goodness.
Going from zero to 666 miles per hour in just eighteen seconds, the album kicks off with the title track and circle pit worthy instrumentation under vocalist Tony Foresta's commanding barks. "Demoralizer" is the first of several songs that include stellar guitar harmonics sure to please any fan of Iron Maiden or the aforementioned Carcass.
There is no sign of slowing down with neck breaking riffs of "The Bite" and the appropriately titled "High Speed Steel". The flag of hardcore that reads 'never trust authorities' flies high with songs such as "Thermonuclear Protection" and "Restless and Wicked". Of course, it would not be a thrash metal album without talking about some of things that matter most in life, like "Ten Cent Beer Night".
As with many albums in the last two years, Electrified Brain was influenced by the events of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this case, Municipal Waste took the time to experiment with new song structures and musical overtones, which led to unique thrash crossover cuts like "Crank the Heat" and "Paranormal Janitor". It is clear that this opportunity gave the band a chance to create something that goes beyond modern thrash and into a realm of their own; perhaps this ride through dimensions has brought us to a new world of thrash metal?
The Metal Mayan rating: 5/5
To say emotions are riding high in the U.S. at the time of this review is a great understatement. At about 34 minutes long, Electrified Brain is a refreshing break from things: a half hour of power that makes me want to drive my car as fast as it can go.
I'll call it what it is: this is a fun album that is enjoyable musically, lyrically, and is sure to be a good pick-me-up on difficult days. Even the outrageous artwork demands the listener has a good time and a cold beer (or ten) when enjoying the songs within it.
It's a difficult world, but Municipal Waste is here to help take the edge off a bit. Visit your local record store and pick up a copy of Electrified Brain, out 01 July on Nuclear Blast.
Advanced copy courtesy of Secret Service PR and Nuclear Blast
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