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ZERO TOLERANCE
Tender Is The Flesh EP

Self-released (2024)
Rating: 7/10

I’ve been playing this EP a lot lately, the new release from young thrashers Zero Tolerance. Formed out of Hamilton, Ontario in Canada, members Nate Yarrow (vocals and lead guitar), Eve Copeland (rhythm guitar), Evan Petrie (bass) and Eon Copeland (drums) began life last year and issued a demo entitled Hellion Trance. With Tender Is The Flesh the band continues with its strong old school ingredients, the five tracks (two of which appeared on the demo) harkening back to the mid-80s thrash scene where bands such as Dark Angel were causing a stir.

The title track kicks things off with a fierce chug that combines a robust bass, crisp riff and some hammering drums before a piercing solo emerges from the density. The vocals engage like a New York hardcore or crossover snap, smirking and mocking in its gritty delivery. ‘Hellion Trance’ boasts quite the Kreator vibe with the abrasive, colourless guitar zip and the yapping vocal sneers.

Zero Tolerance successfully marries various styles of mid-80s thrash but with enough vim to keep the listener entertained. A rawness is maintained through the duration of this EP. ‘Metal Order’ is a haphazard affair but showcases the abilities of Copeland who bashes the crap out of his kit like it’s the last day on Earth. To an extent this is a Teutonic killing spree, a combination of tirades whipped into a tumult of both familiarity and freshness.

‘Depths Of Hell’ brings a slight shift in that the band resorts a serrated mid-paced groove, somewhat urban and with streaks of Cryptic Slaughter. The mix is quite rough but it adds to the innocence and energy, although when ‘Written To Die’ closes off proceedings with more mid-tempo snarling my faith is restored in the thrash genre, because Zero Tolerance has proven that the past can still be stirred up to result in something exuberant and potent. All hails to the continued festering of the metal underground.

Neil Arnold

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