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THRASHERWOLF
Inside The Sickened Mind

Vicious Witch (2024)
Rating: 7.5/10

Back on the hunt, bloodthirsty London, England-based combo Thrasherwolf embark upon a sophomore full-length release four years after debut We Are Revolution.

Since the release of the 2020 debut, bassist Alex Mitsis and drummer Billy Lucas have been replaced by Raimonds Dobelis and Zaq Razaq respectively. Such changes have been for the better as the quartet – completed by vocalist / guitarist Daniel Lucas and guitarist Jack Saunders – storm into action via opener ‘Final Act Of Aggression’ quickly followed by ‘G.B.H. (Gratuitous Bodily Harm)’, a perfect one-two combination to the ribs and jaw.

Although standard fare (mind you, what isn’t nowadays?), Inside The Sickened Mind is a major improvement over the debut. The riffs are sharper, the songs better structured and there’s a little more variety too. Even so, Thrasherwolf doesn’t exist to break boundaries but instead thrash hard and that’s what much of this album does, except for ballad ‘Haunted’.

As someone who has been a thrash fan since the 80s it’s fair to say that the UK has always been much maligned, even through the variety of bands back then such as Hydra Vein, Deathwish, Acid Reign, Sabbat and the slightly more prosaic but successful Xentrix. Now though the British scene is buzzing, even if the genre is producing not just a lot of sound-alikes but bands aping the past.

Thrasherwolf, if you give them time, will throw in a few curveballs riff wise alongside a smattering of cool solos, but dig deeper and you’ll find some great mid-tempo grooves, apparent from the aforementioned opening track, ‘Final Act Of Aggression’, into the monstrous ‘Scream Till Death’ and fluidly in the melodic ‘Shameless Loser’.

I refer back to ‘Haunted’ though for intriguing diversity as the combo drifts into a power metal vibe. My only quibble with the track is that the vocals don’t necessarily transfer well to the softer style, because Daniel Lucas always maintains a snarl. But hey, for the thrash fans out there there’s still plenty of pace and aggression; ‘Hanging House’ is a real standout with the Anthrax chugs, as is ‘Consumed’ with its serrated jabs.

I’m not sure if it’s intended but the production is just a touch on the light side. However, with each spin I become more immersed in the Thrasherwolf sound, taking in the nostalgic air right up to the hilt of the epic closing title track which boasts a belligerent 90s vibe.

Critics can moan all they want about an over-saturated genre dripping with silly artwork, but Thrasherwolf, among many others, are flying the flag for the ever-growing UK thrash scene, so I say join them in their quest.

Neil Arnold

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