Hellacaust

One of the last releases for Canadian indie GWN Records (RIP), Inevitable Dementia is a fine way to say goodbye. Although at 42 minutes it gets extremely redundant, this is one great blast of raw blackened thrash. Evoking some of the classic German thrash bands (Sodom, Destruction), with a raging primitive black metal vibe and an extreme, underground Canadian frost-bitten war metal sound, Hellacaust have created one vicious sound. No surprise this Nova Scotia mob started off as a toss-off cover band, paying homage to Bathory, Sodom, and the like, as that’s exactly what they’ve summoned up here. There’s also a slight element of metallic tongue-in-cheek humour to the whole thing, which is always welcome. Noisy to the extreme, and that great raw production sound only makes it more caustic — this isn’t one for the casual metal fan. But those looking for the seedy underbelly of maniacal thrash, black and death will find plenty to while away the hours chewing on here. And man, get a load of the great metal artwork and band member monikers — Crucifuck on guitar.