Exodia may not be a name you recognize yet but they've certainly been working their socks off. With over 100 gigs to their name including shows with Slayer, Lamb Of God and Destruction, they seem to know what they're doing for sure. With their album Hellbringer, they have set the standard for things to come with the band.

The album kicks into action with Wicked Seed with a muffled intro that gradually builds to the main riff which is a facemelter for sure, with some insane drumming melding with the guitars nicely! The vocals feel to me like a mix of some old school 90s thrash metal mixed with modern Metalcore vocals like those of Trivium. It works quite well but might not be to everyone's taste. A very cool guitar harmony section later on is well worth checking out though!

There is a lot to get heads banging on this one, with songs like Shout The Nations and Anesthetics providing some blistering tempos and plenty of hefty riffs from the guitars. Go! Is a little bit of a change of pace with a little more groove to it with some nice stop start riffs going on too. Future Generations is a standout track for me, with some creepy clean guitars opening up the track and then building up to a crescendo of riffage, with a very old school feel to the track overall, with a very apocalyptic sounding chorus that works really well. This is definitely a key track here, with some nice songwriting and some really great moments.

The album finishes with The Art Of Drinking which is a more tongue-in-cheek song which sings about exactly what you may well be thinking. It's a nice way to end the album on a lighter note and should get a few laughs going.

The production is pretty spot-on for modern thrash records, so it will fit in with the genre very well. The drum sound is nice and tight, the vocals sound pretty aggressive as is needed and the guitars are nice and harsh sounding. Sadly at times the bass is a little bit low but this is a problem with the modern metal scene 99% of the time rather than the band itself.

Hellbringer is a pretty solid album from Exodia with plenty of material to keep thrashers banging their heads without outstaying its welcome.