NUCLEAR REVENGE is punishing, raw, and wraps you in a cloak of hate with their debut Let the Tyrants Rise. It's a solid collection of extremely blackened thrash that takes a lot from the Teutons, particularly Sodom. The band themselves are from Spain, however. The album opens with the no-nonsense 'We, The Bastards'; a barely two minute-long sonic barrage of raucous early Kreator-inspired mayhem. 'Ancient Rites' continues the blackened thrash mainstay of being short but full of impact, and what lead breaks there are are dissonant, wailing, and atmospheric rather than musical. Here again, the vocalist sounds like first few albums-era Mille Petrozza, maybe with a bit more frenzy. In terms of riffing, it's nothing groundbreaking or notably different, but it isn't trying to be. The guitars mostly lean on amped-up (more raw) Slayer-type patterns, very low and very tremolo-heavy. The band does slow down on 'Victims of the Black Flame' (for a little bit, sort of), which means you have a chance to understand what the vocalist is saying for once. Once they launch into the song at full speed, the drums are the main showstopper, with acrobatic hi-hat and cymbal crashes amidst a Dave Lombard-esque double bass attack.

Another one with a plodding intro, 'Cursed Are Our Marks' opens with doomy ringing chords joined shortly by lithe syncopated drums. The slower pace keeps for the body of the song, despite the drumming remaining as frantic as ever, making it seem faster. Vocalist Cryptic Molestor delivers his line with the same screeched bark as always, spitting lyrics at a breakneck pace. Halfway through the album we hear the most 'classic thrash' thing here; of course it's the quasi-comic relief 'Last Beer'. At least one song praising the wonders of debauchery seems to be a trope that thrash bands the world over follow religiously. Back to the meat on this blackened thrash bone; 'On my Cold Grave' delivers some Immortal-ish tremolo riffs melded with their homage to Teutonic metal. The rhythms here are simple but persistent, not truly wild or chaotic. That changes with the breakdown, where the dynamic is exchanged and urgent percussion overlays long chords.

'Lucifer's Slave' strides forward with its triplet grooves in the verses and over the solo, which again is a collection of trills and dive bombs. Over the style these guys play though, that approach comes off as enhancing the vibe, not as hiding the fact that the guitarist can't play an actual solo. My favorite riff on the album is probably the intro riff on 'Cross the Gate'-which is probably because it sounds the most like old-school thrash and is the least blackened. This holds true for the song itself as well, a darker but nonetheless classic homage to bands like Living Death or Exumer. Another standout moment is the melodic riff featured in 'Burn the Holy Cross'. That's one of the few moments on the album where something was stuck in my head past hearing it.

The album ends with a song that sounds like all the others; 'From Aethernity to Conquest' is not a bad song, in fact it has some cool riffs, but there isn't much new to say about it. Honestly, once I wrote the words 'blackened thrash' we knew what we were in for. A lot of thrash struggles with variety and at least to me, blackened thrash struggles even more with it, but unlike progressive metal or techdeath, that isn't its focus. It's fun music to bang your head to, and when interesting riffs pop out, they are maybe more notable for being fewer in number. This record is a great one for fans of Teutonic metal and the harsher side of thrash.