Xentrix: Bury the Pain (2019)

The U.K. is not really known for thrash metal.  Despite being the birthplace of heavy metal as we know it, for all intents and purposes, and being a major breeding ground for punk, the two major ingredients in thrash metal, there are not a ton of U.K. thrash metal bands who have made a long-lasting impact.  Basically, there is Onslaught, Sabbat, Xentrix, and in recent years, Evile.  Xentrix released a couple of great albums in the heyday of thrash metal, then disappeared for awhile.  But, like many other metal bands, they have re-formed recently with a new singer, and this is their first album since 1996.

I am not overly familiar with the previous Xentrix releases.  I have heard them, but do not own copies of them, though that's not due to not wanting them.  This is a terrific return to the form that made those earlier albums (I am not talking about the 1992 and 1996 releases) so great.  

The music sounds like a combination of Practice What You Preach-era Testament and ...And Justice for All-era Metallica.  It is aggressive thrash metal with staccato riffs and a lot of intensity.  The vocals sound like a gruffer version of James Hetfield's AJFA shout.  Xentrix generally do not waste time doing acoustic interludes or melodic sections.  The band simply goes out and makes as much harsh thrash metal as possible.  It's thrash metal that recalls the spirit and anger of the genre in its early years, before a bunch of bands started incorporating humor and progressive elements.  Some of the highlights of the album include the blistering title track and the punishing "Let the World Burn".  

A lot of thrash metal bands from the genre's golden period have reunited over the last decade or so, but not many have done so as convincingly as Xentrix.  This is a terrific comeback album and cements the band as one of the best thrash metal bands to come from the U.K.  There is not a lot of competition, but still.