"Origin" by Harlott

If you close your eyes and picture 1983, you're going to be in the right mindset for this old school thrash record.

Harlott, the band, hails from Suburban Melbourne, Australia, which has a growing metal scene. That's heartening to see. Bring the metal to all corners of the world.

Harlott's reputation is held up by their high energy shows, up tempo music, and they're very strong devotion to The Bay Area Thrash Metal Scene of the 1980's.

Remember when Metallica's only record was Kill 'Em All? Well Harlott does not, but this doesn't stop them for carrying the torch into well into the new millennium.

Speed demons from Australia

In some genres of music, it's normal for there to be people who dwell in the old school if they weren't there originally. That's not normally the case in metal, though it should be.

Harlott was formed in 2006, well after Metallica had cut their hair, slowed down, and had stopped playing thrash metal.

But when the opening track to Origin fires up, it's easy to close your eyes and set the way back machine to those heady days when metal changed forever.

These boys are the defenders of the riff. It has been a long time since such deftly articulate riffs have been played at this speed. Like most Slayer records, this album starts off fast and frankly it does not stop, save the odd breakdown until it finishes.

Their tone is somewhere between Metallica and Slayer. The riffs are more ambitious, like old school Metallica around the Justice Era, but the sound of the guitars is far fuller, much like Slayer from...all their eras. That heavily overdriven fuzz sound. Harlott will not beat you over the head with how heavy they are, but they don't need to.

The galloping rhythms give way to face melting solos played by both the singer and the dedicated guitarist. From sweep picks, to tapping, to dive bombs, to harmony leads, these boys play every shred technique they can find and burn those fretboards off after each solo.

The vocals are most reminiscent of Exodus and Anthrax. They took the best parts of the big four and turned them into a thumping, galloping, hungry beast ready to leap out of its den and into the wilds of the world.

Release: 3/31/14
Genre: Metal, Thrash Metal
Run time: 39:56
Label: Punishment 18 Records
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Track list:
1. Origin
2. Effortless Struggle
3. Ballistic
4. Heretic
5. Export Life
6. Heirophobia
7. Kill
8. Infernal Massacre
9. Regression
10. Virus
11. Ultra Violence
12. Not Long For This World