This is the kind of album that makes us question our life choices regarding why we never got into Municipal Waste in the first place. Maybe we should start a column called “Oops! I Did It Again!” with the focus being artists we initially neglected only to find out they kick serious ass. Sounds better than the “How’s that egg on our face look?” or “Boy! Does that crow taste great!”, right?
But I digress.
It’s time for album number SEVEN from everyone else’s favorite modern Thrash anarchists in Municipal Waste which also serves as a great entry point for all us noobs out here. With Electrified Brain, the Virginians craft a modern Thrash magnum opus that gets faster and faster the deeper within you get. Channeling greats like Sacred Reich and Anthrax among others, the quintet birth fourteen new Metal masterpieces on Electrified Brain that’ll more than stand the test of time much like the legendary artists who initially paved the way.
Now onto the tunes!
The opening title track is glorious, complete with a sick breakdown leading towards the shreddier “Demoralizer” with Tony Foresta barking out lyrics with the same kind of bite that Ad-Rock spits rhymes. Tack on some expertly executed exquisite production by Arthur Rizk (Can you hear how crisp these tracks sounds?? Bah Gawd!) and you have an opening salvo that’s a one-two punch that’ll have fans salivating.
Ready to drool some more? “Last Crawl” follows the further in, the faster Municipal Waste go theory with a thunderous and thrashy affair showing off Nick Poulos and Ryan Waste’s riff readiness while “Grave Dive” lays back a little, and only little, for this groovy shredder that’s built on a righteous call and response gang vox and Foresta’s frenetic vocal flow. “The Bite” goes to space and hits ludicrous speed for an Exodus-inspired romp with “High Speed Steel” following like a PBR tournament in yer earholes as Dave Witte and Philip “Landphil” Hall on drums and bass respectively absolutely slay to become a formidable force as the magnificent Municipal Waste rhythm section.
“Thermonuclear Protection” is just three minutes of this steady stream of solid riffage from Poulose and Waste that devolves into another rad breakdown, “Blood Vessel-Boat Jail” is a blistering two-sided beauty that comes off as an amalgamation of early Megadeth or Metallica recording in the 21st Century, and “Crank The Heat” is a nice gang vox-led ditty that does not disappoint. And don’t think we missed that “Rock You Like A Hurricane” shout out at the end of “Ten Cent Beer Night” either!
Then it all comes crashing down with “Putting On Errors” putting on a masterclass of old school Thrash to the extreeeeeeme with “Paranormal Janitor” following and forging a fast and furious conclusion that injects a fiery melody into the mayhem.
Electrified Brain releases on July 1st through Nuclear Blast and you can get your pre-order on NOW by heading here or here. For the latest on Municipal Waste, including tour dates like the stop in Worcester for the Tattoo The Earth festival in August, follow them across the information superhighway when you click here, here, or here.