If it is not already recognized that "Germany" and "Metal" are near-synonymous, which it damn well should be, then bands like DUST BOLT are doing an excellent job of raising such awareness. 2014 sees the release of the Munich Thrashers second album, "Awake the Riot"; I have found that my appreciation for a band is that little bit stronger if I have seen them grow since their first album; I am glad that  this was not the first of the band's material to 'grace' my ears. On a more personal note, along with Danish Thrashers INVOCATOR, they were the only other band to get me into the genre. Assuming that I postulate my previous shying away from Thrash, this is no small praise.

"Awake the Riot" is an album without fillers or 3-minute industrial introductions. "Living Hell" is a 5 minute meat-grinder of pure Thrash that embraces a subtly elegant burnishing of technicality. The vocals edge towards the extreme side, doing well to stay away from grating 'yelling'. "You Lost Sight" offers up an enigmatic mix of molecular-edged chord progressions, punctual beat downs of heavy gallops and a serious case of skin blisters. The riffing in this track may well be my favorite on the album, combining catchiness, speed and a headstrong groove. If anything, it is a surefire way to get me to enjoy a Thrash band. As could be expected, the lead work is fantastic, which also steers away from Thrash stereotypes and incorporates strong, lengthy melodies.

"Eternal Waste" portrays another kind of heavy; one more voluminous and enveloping, with the hard-rocking introduction comprising of some very JUDAS PRIEST-sounding riffage. The razor's edge guitar playing indeed makes a return; right up there with "You Lost Sight", and is easily another highlight; the collective musicianship astoundingly stellar. If there was a track on this album that screamed Progression, it would be "The Monotonous - Distant Scream". Seemingly diverting from the album's heavy-fast-melodic recipes, a melancholic clean intro gives way to what sounds like a strange marriage of Doom, Black and KING DIAMOND. As I trusted, the blurring, thrashing riffs came back to the forefront, if for but a moment, which opened up for a stunning lead solo section and complicated rhythmic arrangements. As if rotating in on itself in a circle, the track trudges through in a reverse pattern, and is eventually stripped down its bare, sonic bones, timbre by timbre. This has to be one of the only Thrash metal albums I have ever heard with something truly 'strange' on it, and it couldn't have been more successful.

This album is deserving of proud placement in the collection of any metallista, and is an incredibly strong contender in modern Thrash.