Bonded By Blood

Named in honour of Exodus’s debut thrash metal effort, there’s no mistaking exactly what Bonded By Blood are up to latest album Feed The Beast: angry, vitriolic and aggressive thrash metal heavy on chug riffs and commentary about the demise of humanity. Thankfully, because these guys reside close to the Bay Area of San Francisco they so adamantly adore, Feed The Beast is almost a direct carbon copy of their influences. From the wailing whammy bar solos to hammering breakdowns, every trademark of thrash’s heyday resides here. While the overall sentiment of Feed The Beast is one of solid appreciation, there does seem to be something missing. It’s the same thing that happens with most bands struggling to revive a genre they weren’t originally a part of. The classic elements are keenly slotted into the right spots but the heart seems to be more about ensuring songs are as cool as the definitive gems as opposed to just delivering what they know. Feed The Beast isn’t the perfect modern incarnation of thrash metal’s forefathers but it’s the closest we’ve got so far.