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ATROPHY
Asylum

Massacre (2024)
Rating: 8/10

As if by magic one of my favourite US thrash acts of the 80s has returned, albeit with only one original member in the form of vocalist Brian Zimmerman. The rest of the Atrophy line-up for this latest album consists of Nathan Moltavo (lead guitar), Mark Coglan (rhythm guitar), Josh Gibbs (bass) and Jonas Schütz.

Atrophy certainly isn’t the first 80s thrash act to have returned from the dead and they won’t be the last. It’s been 34 years since the Tucson, Arizona-based band released their excellent second full-length album Violent By Nature, so it was with some trepidation that I ventured into this nine-song outing. After all, so many returning bands and their releases prove to be disappointing, and I put forward Xentrix, Hydra Vein, Acid Reign, Exhorder, Sadus and Vio-lence as being prime examples of bands that have returned with underwhelming albums in spite of the initial buzz.

With Asylum, Atrophy continues the fizzing thrash vein, so no real surprise there, but the quality also remains. Even so, because so much time has passed one senses a real hunger in Zimmerman’s voice as he snaps violently with each song. There has always been a refreshing crispness to the Atrophy sound and considering this is a new line-up for Brian to work with the guys have done not just him proud, but hopefully the fans who may have been sceptical when they heard that the band was returning but with only Zimmerman on board.

When ‘Punishment For All’ kicks in one cannot help but thrash along to the speeding riff and snarling vocals. Okay, so the production dynamics are expectedly contemporary by design, as is the cover art (damn, I was crying out for a cool hand drawn sleeve), but as each track unravels it’s clear that Atrophy aren’t here to go through the motions and spew out a generic opus.

‘High Anxiety’ begins in melodious fashion but soon shifts into sneering speed, and this is the theme throughout, but there is plenty of variation too. ‘Seeds Of Sorrow’ whizzes with a devilishly wild solo, ‘The Apostle’ begins with snarling narration and a bony bass, and ‘Distortion’ offers some killer mid-tempo crushing. However, the biggest surprise here is the haunting intro to ‘Close My Eyes’ where what I assume is Zimmerman (but forgive me if I’m wrong) caresses the ears with a feminine, clear tone to a trickle of guitar before the combo unite to construct an enormous wall of serrated steel built upon a foundation of bass and drum grinding. Elsewhere, ‘Bleeding Out’ and ‘American Dream’ are more routine in their attacks but still vicious and potent, as is closer ‘Five Minutes ’Til Suicide’, rounding off what is a fine return from a band that sadly, fizzled out too soon.

With Brian Zimmerman’s more gravelled Chuck Billy (Testament) style snaps and barks, Atrophy sounds like an angrier and more exuberant clan ready to take on the world again, but whether there’s enough here to weather the storms of a rapidly changing climate one will have to wait and see. Whatever their fate, Atrophy, for the foreseeable future anyway, are running the asylum since bursting out of their straightjackets
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Neil Arnold

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