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UPCAST
I

Self-released (2024)
Rating: 5/10

Sounding like every other modern day generic thrash act, Russian band Upcast delivers a hostile but formulaic debut full-length that frantically throws the listener around for its duration only for said audience to get its energy back and move on to something else.

From the opening chords it’s obvious that Upcast is influenced by the likes of Slayer and Destruction but with a contemporary spin and all too often a complete lack of variety. For me, it’s the vocal tirades of Decomposter which irritate the most as aggressive but all too familiar snaps of hardcore blasting. Everything is so in your face and macho, but with little opportunity to breathe I’m left cold by its relentless barrages, just as I am with so much of today’s thrash.

From opener ‘Afterburning’ through to closer ‘Cassette Player’ this is all slightly one dimensional, give or take an occasional slice of subtlety on ‘Immolation’. ‘Canned Laughter’ rakes like machine gun fire, but again, even with its clinical barrage, the vocals drag it back to mediocrity.

‘Beyond The Shadow Of A Doubt’ is a standout track due to its opening discordant chords and tense entrance, but I’m almost dreading the vocal fury to enter the arena. I guess what I’m trying to say then is that Upcast would benefit greatly from having a less confrontational and generic vocalist because in his quest for dominance Decomposter really does hinder this album.

Neil Arnold

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