After only having been around since 2025 France's Thrash Metal band DEATHRAW is giving us a taster of their music with their debut album "Reduced to Ashes". As for the people within the band, we have Aurélien Gonzalez, who you might know from bands like BLACKENED and DEAD TREE SEEDS, while Eric Walzer is from the band DRAUGEN. I know, they might  be as unknown to you as they are to me, but there will be readers who immediately recognise those names. And for this new band they have chosen to stick to the Bay Area musically. and when I start listening to what DEATHRAW is giving me on "Reduced to Ashes" they certainly have done just that.

As you might expect, with the experience and connections these players have in combination with their musical direction, there are a lot of similarities with a lot of Bay Area Thrash Metal bands. The most obvious one is EXODUS, as a lot of what DEATHRAW does has that same kind of vibe, a lot of riffing could have come straight from them, as well as the way that Fabrice Goddi drums. It is very reminiscent of that of Tom Hunting. But that's not the only band that will pop up. You will hear DEATH ANGEL, SLAYER, DARK ANGEL and TESTAMENT passing you by, amongst others. But what I do like is that DEATHRAW has been able to sculpt the compositions into something that is definitely their own, making "Reduced to Ashes" into a very pleasant album to listen to.

What only adds to the enjoyment of "Reduced to Ashes" is the fact that all five songs are absolutely beautiful. DEATHRAW is showing off the ability to compose very good songs and are able to play them accordingly. The songs have balls, have substance, are strong in sound and delivery. And as the production of the album is way above par, there is no chance of anyone not recognising how good this all sounds. As DEATHRAW is a new band it's not really a surprise that they were a new entity for me, but you can rest assured that I will be looking out for any new material by them, as "Reduced to Ashes" is a very uplifting first encounter that tastes like I need a whole lot more. I would like to add that I wopuld like that to happen sooner rather than later, preferably with a record contract in their back pockets!!