Blessed with youthful energy but suffering from poor production values, "Contempt Over The Stormfall" is a flawed but reasonable debut from Portugal's WRATH SINS.

They play these twelve tracks with a rabid enthusiasm and are clearly very talented musicians, although they're definitely not the finished article. There's plenty of decent songs but they're lacking any stand-out anthems and the overall impression they leave is that of a good, but not spectacular band. In other words, they'll probably grab all the big support slots in their home town but are unlikely to gather much attention further afield.

In fairness though, they do have a lot going for them. They've only been around for four years so have time on their side, plus there are some satisfying guitar riffs, decent drumming and solos to be found too. Thrash is the primary inspiration along with flashes of Death and Progressive Metal and there's a nasty, underground vibe to it all. On the other hand there are no moments that really make you sit up and take notice and a lot of it just blurs together.

They do come tantalisingly close to genius occasionally. The title track for instance has an absolutely ace solo in it and feels like it was written on a day that MEGADETH dominated their stereos. "Angels Downfall" meanwhile has a foreboding introduction that quickly turns into a manic rush of power chords, while "Watching Time Collapse" rattles on at a rapid pace and again features impressive musicianship from start to finish.

These aren't enough to lift WRATH SINS from being more than an average band however and for all their enthusiasm, this feels more like a demo than a proper album. We've been starved for quality Thrash in 2015 and as much as it'd be great to find an unsung gem among the new blood, "Contempt Over The Stormfall" isn't it. They're not terrible, but they are dangerously run of the mill.