Tuck From Hell

Three-year-old thrash metal devotees Tuck From Hell fancy themselves a band immersed in the aggressive sub-genre's notorious Bay Area scene. In other words, they adore the likes of Forbidden, Death Angel, Testament and, obviously, Mega-tallica. Strange, then, that Thrashing sounds incredibly distanced from that particular era/area. In fact, when tracks such as "Tuckerz" and "Death Before Disco" unfold, there's little that actually churns up such memories. Instead, they come across as decidedly influenced by the other side of America, pulling from the anger-meets-drawl of Pantera and the like. Even weirder is that "I, Hellbilly" (the most revealing title, in terms of their Texas metal inspiration) actually sounds like something that could have sat perfectly on Nuclear Assault's Survive or even Razor's Open Hostility. Then again, "Idol of God" oozes "Metal Militia" from every pore, so there's some San Francisco influx; it's just not as prevalent as they wish us to believe. Regardless, being misclassified or misdirected doesn't mean Thrashing is lacking. Upbeat and full of hammering riffs and beats, there are moments of pure moshing madness. But there aren't enough to make this a vital cog in the escalation of thrash. It's more like one of the bolts you don't want to lose, but won't cry over if it goes missing.