Thrash metal is seeing another rise. Bands like Ultimatum and Grave Forsaken have been releasing albums and on top it off, bands like Tourniquet and Deliverance are returning with new material. To this we can you add Join The Dead to the ranks. Join The Dead isn’t just some group of young punks. The band features Michael Phillips on guitar (FaseDown, Deliverance, The Sacrificed), Paul White on vocals (Decadence – which is another band Michael was part of) and Tim Kronyak on bass (Deliverance). Fortunately, this four song EP isn’t some short blip. Three of the songs are about 6 minutes long with one (“Out of Breath”) being the shortest at three and a half minutes. You can definitely hear traces of Overkill, early Metallica and even some Deliverance in the album. The song “Idol Faith” has quite a bit of traces of Deliverance with not only some lyrics matching up to a Deliverance song (“Self Monger”) but some riffage as well. That’s not to say that it’s a Deliverance wannabe; not in the least bit, there’s a variety of influences and originality.
Paul’s vocal delivery is more gruff like Sacrament’s Mike Torone. The guitar solo work of Michael Phillips is, as always, truly stunning; blistering, melodic and captivating. If you pick up the physical copy of the album, you get 11 bonus songs which are mostly demos from various bands that Michael Phillips has been a part of throughout the years. The best bonus song is the live Deliverance song “In You” which was taken from Up From The Ashes III in 2009. If you’re a fan of thrash metal, then you definitely want to pick up this gem.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Review by: Jeffdls
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You can purchase the album here: Join the Dead – S/T
