The amount of kickass albums that came out this past Friday is, for a lack of better terms, absurd. Yesterday, I was in sheer awe that nearly 55 years into their career, Uriah Heep dropped what may very well be the album of the year, and it’s only January. Today, I find myself reviewing not one, but two albums from my friends and yours at Dying Victims Productions. I’m not sure how they do it, but this label has been at the forefront of releasing some of the finest metal of the 2010s and 2020s, so long as it’s honest and true. The band in review here is no exception to this standard.
Meet Trastorned. Hailing from Chile, this band released a slew of demos from 2009 to 2014, before going radio silent for 5 whole years. A pair of digital singles followed in 2019 and 2020 respectively, all leading up to their debut full length, Into the Void. This album has been more or less nearly 15 years in the making, and all I can say is better late than never. In what’s shaping up to be a huge year for thrash, with new releases on the way from Overkill, Enforced, and…uh…Metallica, Trastorned has kicked things off with not merely a bang, but a nuclear explosion.
Clocking in at just a little under 30 minutes, Into the Void comes off as a lost thrash relic from straight out of ’85, when the early euro metal influence was still present, but the increasing extremity would further pave the way for black and death metal. At least this is the feeling I get when listening to the opening “Witch Hunt”: A neck snapper and a half with lethal riffs, insane solos, and an overall delivery that’s chaotically evil. This hellish conjuration of bestial guitars, brutalizing drums, rumbling bass, and shouted vocals recall Hell Awaits era Slayer and Dark Angel, especially on cuts like “Black Fire” and “Miasma of Death”. Hell, even the titles are cult!
For every section of breakneck thrashing, there’s an equally punishing offering of midtempo mosh mania, but without every coming off as cheesy or crossing over into, you guessed it, crossover. Diabolical and brutal as the album is, I wouldn’t categorize it as a homage to early black/thrash or death/thrash either. No, Into the Void is an all out thrash album. If there are hints of anything, it’s occasional technical flourishes, heard on the second half of the title track and the aptly titled “Insanity”. Closing it all out is the ultra-violent “Reborn Through Hate”. Not to be confused with the Coroner song of the same name, this rager stands out on its own, seething with aggression.
One listen to Into the Void and you’ll need to schedule an appointment with a chiropractor ASAP. My neck has been wrung six ways from Sunday, and I’m currently typing this review while looking like Reagan from The Exorcist. OK, that part may be slight exaggeration, but I think you get the point. The mosh pit that is 2023 is just beginning and Trastorned have given us enough fuel to last us at least the first quarter of the year. On that note, lace up your high tops and get moving!
8 out of 10
Label: Dying Victims Productions
Genre: Thrash Metal
For fans of: Slayer, Dark Angel, Kreator