When I was in 9th grade, I had a very hard time accepting that there was never going to be another Revocation in my life. The technical wizardry that came with 2009’s Existence is Futile pushed my listening habits further in the thrash metal revival that was going on at the time, and because of myself and many others Revocation have gone on to survive that fad and continue to push themselves to where they are now as a band.  Discovering Revocation was a one of a kind feeling, but the closest I’ve ever felt to that feeling again was hearing California’s Madrost for the first time.

Madrost is a different entity than Revocation, though: the sound of Madrost is more rooted in death metal, but that constant use of constantly evolving extremity and usage of dynamics and guitar solos is almost nostalgic. The harmonized guitar solo on “From Sand to Dust” is straight-up something you’d hear one of your guitar heroes do, while the rest of the song is a thrashy-death metal dream come true. Opening track “Eyes of the Deceit” sets the mood right away and it’s telling you that Madrost isn’t a band of pushovers.

Literally, this album has everything. From the previously mentioned guitar solos to the excellent production job to the tight musicianship behind it, Madrost have an album that doesn’t get old on the first listen and actually holds up on repeated ones, too. Songs may branch to the 6 minute mark and exceed it on some occasions, but that’d be a problem if Madrost hadn’t made such a great album to begin with.

Seriously, go download this beast over here. You can stream “Eyes of the Deceit” below.