Formed in Mumbai in 2016, BLOODKILL are part of the new wave of Thrash Metal that is currently sweeping the world. They are a no-frills outfit that devote little time to frivolous production techniques, preferring to let the raw power of their performances do the talking.

Beginning with a short instrumental introduction, which with some vaguely Indian sounding scales is the album's only discernible nod to their country's own traditional musical history, it doesn't take long before we are in the thick of the action. "Blindead Circus" rips up the calm with a crunchingly heavy riff which could easily fool you into thinking you are listening to legitimate Bay Area Thrash. Anirudh Gollapudi's vocals are a brutal throaty yell with a hint of tune and speak powerfully of the political injustices that are rife throughout the world of today, although they may have more specific meaning regarding the minefield of Indian politics.

Opening with some nice fuzz bass "False Face" showcases a more traditional Heavy Metal sound but also shows some influence from Alternative Metal. With the distinctive gallop of NWOBHM in the riff, the verses consist of two sections, a strong guitar riff followed by more formless section with disconcerting, whispered voices which would be at home on a Mike Patton project, while the choruses are a full-throated screaming match with equally effective riffing.

"3B" begins as a much slower and more ponderous song with some wailing discordantly harmonised guitars, before Anirudh Gollapudi raises the stakes by emphatically declaring "It's time to burn the city!!!" heralding the track's evolution into a pounding Groove Metal track featuring some sterling drum work by Jay Patil. Still not the paciest piece on the album, it's nonetheless extremely heavy, and the lyrical content is as angry and venomous as you will find in the world of Metal.

"Unite and Conquer" returns us to the traditional British Heavy Metal sound with strong overtones of IRON MAIDEN at their most Maideny. It's an epic track with an extended guitar section where Vishwas Shetty and Shubham Khare trade barbaric riffs and licks to great effect.

Despite the name, "Horrorscope" is not an OVERKILLl cover, although the name perhaps is inspired by that band. Rather is a savagely heavy Thrash track which showcases Jay Patil's enviable skills with the double bass pedal, the drums on this song are brilliantly recorded and performed, and provide a relentless, driving foundation for the guitars and bass to work on.

I swear Anirudh Gollapudi sounds like he is about to break into a Pirate drinking tune in the style of ALESTORM at the start of the penultimate offering "For I am the Messiah", this does not in fact transpire, but the song has some hints of folk metal in its DNA. Of note on this track is Yash Wadkar's frankly incredible bass work on the verses where he matches the fast guitar riffs note for note while throwing out bass chords to add some flavour. Again, the track is ambitious and sprawling with passages of slower Groove, fast Thrash, towering guitar solos and furious vocals, a real tour-de-force of Metal.

The final track is the titular "Throne of Control" which opens with some military style drum rolling, which is picked up by a riffing guitar, before letting loose with a thunderous barrage of Speed Metal accentuated with blast beats. There's a hilarious moment where the breakneck riffing and drumming reaches a crescendo and suddenly pauses its frenzy just for a second, to allow Patil to deliver a single dainty "ting!" on a cymbal. It's nice to see that the midst of all this political anger and righteous resentfulness the band hasn't lost their sense of humour. Gollapudi's laugh is put to a rhythmic use at one point in a manner that recalls David Draiman's vocal stylings in a particularly effective moment of the track.

I have enormous praise for this album both in the writing, which focuses heavily onmelody through the guitars, the vocals which are used sparingly and not omnipresent but more effective for this efficiency, and the musicianship on display. The crisp palm muted riffs of Shetty are the perfect foil for the attacking but very well constructed solo moments of Khare's leads. The rhythm section is always tight, and both drums and bass are given plenty of space at various points throughout the album to shine. The production is modern sounding, very clean, lots of separation between instruments, you can hear every note that is played by all involved. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable album from start to finish.