FINAL DEPRAVITY returns with their second album, "Thrash Is Just The Beginning", after "Nightmare 13", released in October, 2010. It is worth checking out, any band headlining above these guys needs to watch out that FINAL DEPRAVITY won't be stealing their show.

FINAL DEPRAVITY like their Teutonic Thrash, not surprising as they are from the Ruhr and features new drummer Jerome Reil, son of KREATOR drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil. On their Facebook page they flag up KREATOR and SODOM as influences and it really comes across, but this is not some simple covers or tribute band. FINAL DEPRAVITY do their own thing based on the work of these two and others. I like what they do, but I am not blown away to the extent I was when I heard the first EVILE album. But FINAL DEPRAVITY are a different creature, less about the catchy, slower songs and more about full on thrash attacks. The opener and title track does remind me of EVILE though, and grew on my like some evil ivy.

I keep asking myself which is my favourite song on the album, and I'm not sure. "Thrash Is Just The Beginning" is very good, so maybe that one. "Thrash Is Just The Beginning", the opening song, is a cracking tune, maybe my favourite on the album. There is some good melody to go with the crunching thrash riffs, showing this band can craft songs too. "Dementia" shows some more variety, and I like that. It's a slower one and I think it's so important for thrash bands to be able to do different things. If you just want to do Speed Metal that's fine but I find only speed with no variation can get boring fairly quick so I always want bands to get a big Prog. "Gates To Nothingness" has a lovely little into that remind me of the best METALLICA albums, the ones with the acoustic intros. I think the music is actually very beautiful, no bad thing for a young Thrash band. It's only a short instrumental song, but it's very good. It leads straight into "Garden Hate" which has a good start, good melody on the chorus. This is a very fine song. "Vengeance" is a good tune. It may be my favourite on the album for the variety and just pure great riffs. It is the longest song on the album, and I personally think that if you do a cover you should do something different with is. Closing track "Pleasure To Kill" is fine, but it's not so different to the original to make it really stand out.

This album made me bang my head. I was very close to giving it 8, I agonized but decided on 7 in the end, though it was very close. I think some more variety, some slower and heavier songs would have pushed it to 8, and the songs other than the ones mentioned here are not so different so that is what I would ask them to improve.