Thrash Metal. It's the head-busting, denim-clad, studded longhair's soundtrack. Thrash is long hallowed and enjoyed by most fans of Metal. It's impossible to not give credit where it's due in Metal as an art form without the significant contributions of Thrash. DEFICIENCY is a band I was not familiar with. Upon realizing that they were French, I got somewhat excited, it seems that lately French bands are pushing the boundaries of technical musicianship. Upon seeing an album cover with an apocalyptic motif, people being sucked into some sort of person-tornado (Personado?), I felt I was in for something sinister and devastating.

Does DEFICIENCY live up to the expectation? Well it depends what you're looking to get out of this album. If you want evil and devastating, this may not be where to turn. If you're looking for sweet riffs and solid melody this is the one to check out. The overall feel of this is slightly epic, almost Power Metal-y at times, but still faithful to the Thrash sound, maintaining an almost old school vibe.

I enjoyed the songwriting throughout the entire album. Every track is masterfully put together to flow between catchy thrashing riffs, soaring leads, and thoughtful instrumental sections that tone it down just enough. If you want to hear crusher solos, this is the album for you. There is a lot of great structure to the whole album. The drumming is perfectly mixed, the bass is a thick burping pulse all throughout. It's quick and solidly supports the ever-shredding melodies. The overall feel of this album was more upbeat and sorrowful than outright aggressive. There's a lot of fast fist-banging riffs as well, but this really runs the whole gamut throughout the album. The majority of the time this did feel a little more melancholy than massacre.

Part of this is the vocals. There's a lot of clean singing here. It's not a guttural growling or even a harsher hoarse tone. Those are present and even some almost Death Metal-style vocals make an appearance but once again most of it is shouted crooning. It lends well to the noodly tone of the album, so it's hard to complain when it all fits. I couldn't really make out what was being said, but with song titles like "Newborn's Awakening" and "From A Less To A Greater Perfection" I can only imagine these aren't exactly get-amped-up-and-punch-a-hole-in-mom's-wall style lyrics. It doesn't matter in the end however as the musicianship here is really great. The song "And Now Where Else To Go" is a fantastic instrumental. The second to last song "The Post Knowledge Day" is a seven-plus minute long Thrash Epic. Those two songs alone are worth picking this release up for.

I couldn't quite place the vocals but I was definitely reminded of a slew of other bands while I listened to this release. I would say folks who like HIRAX, CRYPTIC SLAUGHTER, ANTHRAX, DEATH ANGEL and the like should at least give this a try. It's definitely catchy enough to keep most listeners engaged from start to finish.