Dublin Death Patrol

Always a tough side-project to wrap the noggin around, Dublin Death Patrol bring together Testament vocalist Chuck Billy, his brothers, Eddie (ex-Vio-lence) and Andy, Troy Lucketta of Tesla on drums (who does a good job thrashing out, oddly) and Steve "Zetro" Souza (ex-Exodus) behind the mics with Chuck Billy. And there are, like, seven other members, as well. They look like a gang, but they sound like your basic Bay Area thrash, delivered quite well. And with those two thrash legends behind the mic, you know it's going to sound good. But like their DDP 4 Life debut from 2007, something doesn't quite connect ― maybe it's the relentless internal comparisons to legends like Testament or Exodus, or the mental confusion the side-project status/insane line-up causes. Compared to the new Testament, this is lightweight stuff. But taken on its own, songs like "Dehumanize" are fun thrash-punk ragers, while "Broken" is a dark, chunky, mid-tempo thrasher with great vocal trade-offs. This is a fun album, one that can be enjoyed more when expectations are tossed aside.