Modern thrash metal has failed to catch my ears for a long time mainly for its inability to color outside the lines of some very hard set genre rules. To get my thrash kick, I often have to look outside the genre to albums that merge a thrash influence into the band’s work, such as with Paladin, Hammers of Misfortune or Vektor. Not to be forgotten, Voivod were way ahead of the game in this regard, and they are relevant to newcomers Nuclear Tomb in just how much this band looks backward. Debut full length album Terror Labyrinthian sees the Baltimore band exploring technical thrash metal in the vein of Voivod and Coroner, just like Horrendous did last year and Dissimulator did earlier this year. The sound is raw and trebly, with a great emphasis on the drums having a live feel to them.The production makes me think of how the early Slayer albums sound and feel, and this goes well with Michael Brown‘s rasped vocals. Brown, being a member of the grindcore band Ixias, undoubtedly brings over some of that songwriting to produce a succinct 32 minute album of snappy songs that benefit from the sharp twists and turns. When it comes together, songs like the title track mix thorny dissonant riffs with full on drum assaults in a way that is propulsive and fun.
Nuclear Tomb sound tighter and more experienced than you would expect from a debut, which is no surprise considering their time in other bands. Terror Labyrinthian is chock full of sharp, techy riffs that are sure to satisfy most people looking for that thrash kick. On most spins, I find myself unable to remember much of the material, however, and there are some rough spots, like in “Dominance & Persecution” where the band attempt to slow things down with an interlude-looking acoustic guitar, leading the song to trip up the flow of the whole. Not all songs come at you with the same deadly intent as the title track and the weird intensity of “Fatal Visions”, unfortunately. But the album does turn a bit more vicious in execution towards the back end, sustaining it past the finish line. As much as a kick I get out of some of the songs, the year is heating up and I doubt I’ll be revisiting this album much. But if you’re in sore need of some thrash that brings the riffs, you can’t go wrong with this or Dissimulator (unless you’re a wimp that can’t handle less than a minute of vocoder across an entire album). Thrash needs a good kick in its ass around now, and I’m glad Nuclear Tomb are here to put their foot in there.
