From the murky depths of Missouri comes the fourth full-length from native sons Degrave. If you recall, I covered their previous, jaw-dropping release Volume from 2023. That was a metal as fuck album and… good news, everyone! Metalithic fucking kills!

I mean that too, in no uncertain terms, this record is solid as a rock, brutal as fuck, and unapologetically METAL. Like, you can feel the iron and minerals in your body reacting to the familiar, the glorious tone of the guitars: that 80s Thrash tone that made albums by Nuclear Assault, Sacred Reich, and of course, Slayer so memorable and beloved by generations of Metal fans.

Metalithic stands as a testament to the legacy of Thrash Metal, a bludgeoning riff after blistering riff, throat grabber. From out of the gate, they’re on fire with “Usurper of Flames”, and it brings a smile to my face. It’s unrelenting, and instantly, I got that head-moving feeling. There’s killer gang vocals and enough pinched harmonies to make Cannibal Corpse blush (and these show up across the album like punctuation marks of blood). Isaiah “Cliff” Curtis is the star of “Sing the Body Electric”; his bass just walks all over the song like an angry girlfriend who feels greatly disrespected. It’s a bit of a slow burn at first, but then midpoint it blows up with menace. Then “Every Fucking Day” has this sort of punked-up flow to it. I get a hint of Obituary’s “10,000 Ways to Die” and that’s not unwelcome at all.

 

This album is definitely a big leap forward from Volume. This is in terms of production and musicianship from the members. The solos are fucking mind-blowing. The riffs themselves are like flying guillotines, and everything pulls together tight as a bullfrog’s ass.

“Lockdown” slaps the spit right out of your mouth from the get-go. A brisk thrasher that could’ve been on Show no Mercy right after “Final Command”. Degrave doesn’t concentrate on Death Metal too much on Metalithic. This is more of a Thrash workout than the Death Metal moments from Volume. That’s not a complaint, either. This is a ripper of an album, and I can’t help loving the nostalgia brought through the boundaries of Hell by these guys.

All killer, no filler continues with “Abort the Court”, and it’s chock full of gang vocals; it’s one of those incredibly fun Thrash songs, sort of like Anthrax on steroids. “Living In A Smokescreen” blasts by with hardly a thought as to whether it’s safe or not; a rolling death trap that leaves bodies in its wake.

A highlight for me is the bass instrumental “Ignis Accendere”. Isaiah “Cliff” Curtis runs a clinic on badass bass grooves amongst notes that crush upon hit. I fucking love this track, hell, I love this whole album. Degrave doesn’t disappoint because they know what’s up. The wandering bass soon becomes part of the Acid Bath-ish “Burn Up the Sky”, a swamp ride into despair, and the final track “Death Is” furthers that murky feeling with some killer Corrosion of Conformity riffing and a bass line that won’t quit.

With Metalithic, Degrave has created a thrashtastic album that offers you no respite from the beating from start to finish. This is a thoroughly enjoyable rip ride that will undoubtedly appeal to people who like Obituary, Anthrax, D.R.I., and Slayer. Show these guys some love and get this album!

[Visit the band's website]

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