"1885" is a nice instrumental opener. it has a fast tempo and shows the bands great ability to arrange songs, which continues throughout the entire album. the guitars aren't a solid wall of noise. instead rhythm and lead play well off each other and ricochet around your head; its intelligent, cascading thick layers of guitar and the visceral vocal attack combines spectacularly. the drumming is excellent - precise and pounds through your head. i really liked the drumming in "no faith" - some great blast beats and rolls and fills. he's solid throughout the album at both the mid tempo and faster tempo of "sixty eight". the bass gets a little lost much of the time but has a few outings especially in the song "lawbreakers". and while the vocalist doesn't have a huge amount of range he's really good and completely fits this style - i can't think who he, and the band, as a whole remind me of - a bit xentrix, a bit Nuclear Assault !!!
overall this is an amazing thrash album and i have to give bonus points for using the word 'quixotic' in the song "creature of habit". there are some great riffs and solos in "uprise", "cover your tracks" and "lost generation". the lyrics are 'typical' thrash lyrics and delivered well. the songs are varied and of a good length making this an enjoyable 53 minutes. its concise, would probably make for a crazy mosh pit so to those into thrash i highly recommend it.
is it relevant today ? who cares ? this is good!!!