WARBRINGER - Wrath And Ruin LP (Black Vinyl)

For a little over two decades the resurgence of old school thrash metal has brought the proverbial thunder back to the underground, ebbing and flowing to varying degrees, but always present for those whom crave the art of the almighty riff distilled to its greatest potency. At the forefront of this revival of the same hybrid of classic heavy metal stylings with the unfettered attitude and aggression of hardcore punk that Metallica and Slayer first unleashed upon the San Francisco Bay Area are Ventura, California natives Warbringer. Combining the old school fervor and virtuosic intrigue of Testament and Exodus with the harrowing, near death metal-like aggression of Demolition Hammer and Kreator, theirs has been a niche that has waxed a bit more modern than conservative adherents of the 2000s retro-thrash wave such as Evile and Bonded By Blood, but they’ve always been uncompromising in their commitment to preserving the fundamentals of the sub-genre and their latest studio entry Wrath and Ruin is no exception.