There is absolutely nothing as satisfying as old school Thrash and Death Metal.  Like a ravishing hunger fueling a stark craving for a grilled burger with gooey cheese and bacon, musical cravings can be just as specific.  Thankfully, Alberta, Canada's DETHEROUS deliver the goods made to order.  Injecting equal parts American and European Thrash and Death Metal influences, the band forcefully wave the flag of hate!

"Smouldering Ashes" kicks things off with a thunderous ferocity.  One can hear a distinct KREATOR influence running throughout with the precision riffing.  This is beer-chugging, headbanging, moshing fury performed with an intensity to rival the greats that came before.  The breakdown around the 2:08 mark conjures memories of classic S.O.D., and it is a groove that slowly accelerates until returning to the original blasting fury.

Old school fans are going to love the instrumental work on here.  The interplay between guitars fuels the fire by dumping tons of lighter fluid on the ever-higher reaching flames.  The drums slam!  With a tight acoustic sound and frenzied cymbal work, the groove is strong.  The bass is punchy and jumps out of the mix with a satisfying low-end precision.  Vocally, the singer is savage evoking the more primal side of Thrash and Death Metal, lacerating his tonsils in the process.

"Ridden," the third track, is varied between tempos.  At one moment, the band are blazing through high-speed aggressive Thrash while others point to more grim influences.  The thick, chugging, palm-muted parts echo the triumphs of essential ASPHYX.  The production allows for the band's duality of Thrash mayhem and Death Metal stomping to sublimely blast from the speakers.  When things are darker and more primal, they rage, and when things thicken up, there is an unmistakable classic groove that ensues.

The title track is among the strongest, if not the strongest on the album.  It has a solid mid-pace initially that is thrown out the window for all-out blasting after the one-minute mark.  There is a marked Crossover influence present here as one can hear shades of old D.R.I. and even C.O.C. when they played that style.  There is a controlled chaos that is present within like mayhem tempered with discipline.  That analogy actually sums up the total of the band's material - like flooring the gas yet hitting the breaks just a couple of meters before the cliff and kicking up plenty of dust in the process.  The following track, "Monstrosity," is also a worthy submission with a more Death Metal focus throughout the verse that gives way to thick, militantly-stout breakdowns.

The key word to surmise this record is fun.  It is like a celebration of all that is good from '87-'92.  For a debut album, the band have a refined sound that will clearly only develop more and more over time.  It is time to welcome DETHEROUS to the family!