It is incredible to see how heavy music resonates with people all over the world. From places you least expect, you can be certain that a group of younglings will sell their soul to this genre and dedicate their lives to it in some cases. The band we have today is TABAHI from Pakistan of all places. And they want to show the world that Pakistan has good quality Thrash Metal as well even with only 2 members in the band. The first track is “Breaking News” with a good heavy introduction and good thrashy riffage. We can notice that these are well seasoned musicians and composers that know how to use all the thrash elements in their favor.

 The vocal, that is performed by the also competent bass player Daniyal Buksh Soomro, requires a little fine tuning and extra power to my ears. They are far from bad, but they are not that great, and this can be noticed also on the second track “Run For Your Life”. The vocals may sound a little weak, without punch. However, this is another banger tune with great riffs and energy. “Politricks”  is next and kudos for the title. Great instrumental and guitar/bass riffs. The vocals once again are not convincing to me. It seems that it is more like a black metal vocal in a thrash band. The range is limited. The next tune is “Survive Or Die” and for me, the best of the album so far. Another great work from guitar player Faiq Ahmed with good heavy riffs and solos. The song also has a kind of a chorus that you can sing along with a slight melody added to it that provides a welcome little change of mood.

 We reach half the album with “KingPin" that keeps the same energy and speed as the others. No ballads here folks. Just good riffs and unconvincing vocals so far.  I have to mention as well the good performance of the non credited drummer. Drum parts are killer in every song and I hope this is not programmed. You can see great drummer work on “Fatal Torture”as well with smart tempo changes and time signatures. Please add a drummer in the band and let us know. If you programmed these drums, you will need to find a good drummer for live performances. This is a full length album and it is the second of the duo's career. The 7th song is “Outcast”. I like their instrumentals and riff choices and I believe them to be a well seasoned thrash band in this respect, however, the vocals seem to be very monotonic and hard to understand for my taste. The great bands that I like from the genre usually have crunchy  vocals but with a little more melodic output. Even Dave Mustaine can be melodic sometimes.

“Lal Shahbaz Qalandar” (a poet who is revered in South Asia) is next and the duo decides to add a very welcome middle eastern flavor to their metal. I love when bands mix a little of their culture in their music regardless of the style. This one took over as the best so far. We get close to the end with “ Obsidian” and it is another very well composed tune with good riffs and killer drums. I am trying to find a singer that has the same style of voice as Daniyal Buksh Soomro but I was unable to. It sounds familiar to me but is really not to my liking unfortunately. Is not bad, but it is not good. We reach the end of the Middle East metal  journey with “F.U.N.” Another tune with good riffs and tempo changes with creative solos and poor vocal performance.  

 TABAHI have drunk from all the correct sources and their work is high level. Guitar players will hate me for this but the voice is the central part of it all. It needs to have range, highs and lows, screams and most of all, magnetism. The capacity to make the audience follow the melody as rough as it may be. Good album with some good tunes that could be much better if the singer worked on the vocals a little more, or if the duo finds a better singer ( and a drummer please!) for the genre.