USA, as a country, has always been fascinated to its own people and people worldwide, due to the secret operations and experiments that its government is accused of carrying out over the decades, and over the years, Thrash bands have taken some of them and tried to make it their lyrical themes, just like the Russian Chornobyl or the German Nazi themes. So we got Greek Thrash band EXARSIS, with their 3^rd full-length album "The Human Project" released on May 8^th, with some of the secret operations of USA as their lyrical themes.

Without sounding too cheesy, I must say "The Human Project" does remind me of many modern bands like VIOLATOR, RED RAZOR, and other modern Thrash bands who have a touch of punk but still keep it Thrash as fuck! The songs are simply fast paced and the riffs are insanely fast paced, something I must say really stands out from EXARSIS, compared to its contemporaries, who though blast fast riffs, but EXARSIS takes the madness to a whole new level, which is surely going to be loved by all the seasoned Thrash fans. Closer listen of the record will tell you that the vocals of Tragakis are as unique as it can get on a Thrash record. He brings in these sharp guttural vocals, slightly reminding me of Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth from OVERKILL, but still stand out uniquely especially due to the uniqueness of the vocals. It's also worth mentioning that I found it difficult to follow the lyrics in songs like "R.F.I.D" due to the uncharacteristic style of the vocals adopted here, though artistically great, becomes a touch difficult to follow the lyrics, though one may argue lyrics never really played an important part in a Thrash Metal album. "Abnormal Generation" is reminiscent of EXODUS due to the hair lifting capacity of the song! The lyrical themes take a new turn with songs such as "Police Brutality" and "Brutal State" which makes one only wonder how much anger the musicians are expressing through their music against the authorities. Isn't Metal all about being rebellious?

Every song builds a moshpit inside the brain and it's not to imagine the band live. The band squeezes in a 50-sec build up conversation between a citizen and a media personality, as the theme slips into the next song, "Know Your Enemy (322)", giving indications of the anti-media lyrics adopted here. The goodness of the album culminates with an excellent song in "Brutal State", as the band brings the best of anthemic vocals and some tasty solos amidst the usual hair lifting riffs to end the record.

I have often said that Thrash has become a very niche genre today due to the lack of trust and interest among the general metalheads, but if you still dig Thrash or Speed Metal, then blindly pick this one.
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