In yet another tale of a metal subgenre rapidly stagnating, blackened thrash finds itself needing revitalizing. I love the stuff, and while I’ll happily listen to whatever band wants to don a bullet belt and play some fast, evil riffs, a lot of these bands are simply musical junk food. However, Mayhemic present a different tale. Hailing from Chile, where there must be some kind of cheat code as this country produces some of the finest newer underground extreme metal acts, Mayhemic are no exception on debut album Toba. Opener “Kollarbone Crushed Neanderthal” explodes with a dizzying array of riffs before Noctumbra, one of two vocalists, rasps, snarls, and barks sonic filth while every other band member goes ridiculously hard on their instruments. The drumming is the best aspect of Toba, as Leviathan (Ripper, Inheritance, Evil Madness, etc) alternates between savage all-out assault hits and less-unhinged satisfying strikes. Mayhemic work best when they lose all pretense of subtlety, and thankfully the majority of Toba is a lesson in aural barbarity.
An important aspect of blackened thrash is how hard the riffs hit, and Mayhemic is all riffs, all the time. Dual guitarists Doom and Noctumbra frequently deliver blazing fast shredding sections that make it feel like Toba is an out-of-control train barreling at full speed towards a building, ready to obliterate it from the map. I’m most amazed at Toba’s highlight “Eschatological Symphony”, however. This all instrumental track showcases everything that Mayhemic is best at, and makes the most out of what normally would be considered an interlude. The blistering lead sections range from “quite impressive” to “completely fucking ridiculous”, and once the gun cocks at just before the halfway point, the song gets progressively more feral for the remainder of the time. The closing parts of Toba stick the landing as well, Mayhemic never dragging where other bands might. And going out in a ball of fire, sticking true to their namesake, Toba is an incredibly impressive debut. It’s the breath of fresh air that blackened thrash has needed, and I’m going to be coming back to this more and more frequently throughout the remainder of the scorching summer and the rest of the year. Don’t skip out on this one.
