Again the sounding of the alarm, another meltdown is upon us, fires ignite, spreading through our world, tearing us down asunder towards our very demise. Alien invaders, robotic annexation, zombie infested society, everything that is evil is coming down on our dear plant Earth and there is no way to stop it other than succumb to various methods of death. Yes, I assume that you are thinking of what I am wondering about right now while writing this like "isn't it over with those overstated apocalyptic cliché's?", well my friends, it would appear not as there will always techniques to diversity these themes in such a manner that it would look original. However, I won't be presenting to you that case over this review. After five years, I meet the Italian Thrash Metal dogmatists, BRAIN DEAD, in the field of battle, holding on to their sophomore release, "Menace From The Sickness", an ominous reminder of things that might come, yeah those platitudes I mentioned. Back in the day, these guys nearly chopped me in half with their carving debut, "In The Deep Of Vortex", derailing with American influenced Thrash onslaught that would make you feel empowered. However, now there is this new shindig, and like BRAIN DEAD showcased themed vision, it was actually a meltdown.

Still creating headbanging turnouts, reserving a measure of compelling songwriting without willing to be technical or innovative, while also following the late 80's American vibe of skull bashing Thrash assault, yet currently with also a few European stints of KREATOR and DESTRUCTION added to the mix, the BRAIN DEAD clan attempted to preserve the same driving force that led them to their fine debut.  On the other hand, their sort of captivating grip was extinguished rather quickly song after song. At times I have to be honest, it was listening to songs that were dragged with additional filler minutes that the last thing that those were there for was to contribute. I found it hard to comprehend the band's deep urge to stretch their material with reoccurring riffs and passages. Therefore, aside from seething with utter triviality, BRAIN DEAD's predictive procedures began to tire, sending me messages of boredom, signaling lack of even a bit of creativity, needless to say imagination, as if the world was truly at its proximate end. Nonetheless, the larger part of the tracklist produced several insane lead guitar shreds that in a way partially atoned for the band's austerity, along with a few riffs that checked in just in the nick of time. Furthermore, the vocal section began to exhaust as well after a while, though not being all that flat, it was like listening to the same lines time and time again. On several occasions there would be high screeching pitches of wrath; however, those didn't cause a breakthrough.

"Menace From The Sickness" may appear to be far away from the fortunes and fame of the debut album, and it did really, yet it had a few glimpses of hope that signified that BRAIN DEAD weren't lost for good with the self-titled tune, that exemplified just how this band should continue, and there were "Total Despair" that is a high above ground graviton in musical terms with the attempt to entice with different angles and "Another Way" that proved that sometimes length has some advantages. BRAIN DEAD at least retained their sound, and even prompted it to be a tad better than the debut, yet I sure hope that their material would take on a much better form next time.