2016 has seen a renaissance in the Thrash Metal Genre. We have had two amazing albums from two legendary bands by the name of DESTRUCTION and DEATH ANGEL; two outfits that are without nonsense and will not abide by the rules and the standards of conformity. They will do what they want, record their music in their way! Well, CRIMINAL falls into this category as well.

I will not single out any song in particular; the album is packaged rebellion (ANTHRAX represent!) by the thrash titans of Chile. I don't think I have ever heard of any band from that country before. From all of my research on the internet, I see that they are very well regarded in the Genre and have done many tours with legends like SLAYER, NAPALM DEATH, MEGADETH...and the list goes on and on.

They say that if they would have not left their native Chile, they would have been hunted down by the social upheaval and the strict regulations of their government. The Metal genre is neither well respected nor accepted in a number of Countries in South America.

If DESTRUCTION and SEPULTURA had a love child in music, it would be these guys. That was my first thought when during my first play-through of the album. It has that edginess of DESTRUCTION (a criminally underrated band and by far of the best bands in the Genre bar none) but with the harsh vocals that reminded me of early SEPULTURA with good old Max Cavalera.

I couldn't understand most of the lyrics (like SEPULTURA back in the day) but you can sense the overall feeling and lyrical vision they have. I may have my doubts about singers gargling their words but I felt it fit very well with the aggressive music. The vocals match the rapid guitar solos and the thunderous drum attacks.

Speaking of drums; I felt they sounded lackadaisical (a wee bit like on METALLICA's "St. Anger"). They sounded too stripped down. The production value of the album may be this band's weakest link. I know Thrash Metal is not supposed to sound crystal clear, but I felt the drums were recorded badly. It is pretty much one of the only faults I see in this album.

I am huge fan of Thrash Metal from the eighties and this band (who has been honing their craft for more than 25 years) strike gold again! After a meddling period in the late nineties and early 2000's, they have had a string of great contemporary Thrash Metal albums that I consider as hidden masterpieces.<