FRIGHTMARE was formed in 1986 in Concord, California, USA and is a Bay area Speed/Thrash Metal band that was around until 1988 they disbanded. Later on they decided to reform. That happened in 2020. And to give you more good news, they are actually still active right now. But if you are like me, and you haven’t had the pleasure of knowing about this Californian band before now, you will want to know about them so you can decide whether this would be something for you to consider listening to or even better, buying along the way. That is where I come in with my review.

Singer Brian Miller is also active in the band BURNT OFFERINGS, so if the name rings a bell that would make sense. He also is the only original member in the band. The rest came along on 2020. Well, this FRIGHTMARE album “Snake Island” is more of a compilation that houses the most current releases that the band brought into the world. The first EP (“Arsenal”) is from January 2025., whilst the second EP (“Snake Island”) is from 2023. The live songs that end the album were recorded on 28 September 2024 in Placerville, California. All put together they give you just over 35 minutes of well-produced and bloody good Heavy Metal that does have Thrash and Speed Metal weaved in the sound. It makes for a very Heavy sounding record, whilst not allowing any subtlety or more dainty sounds to be able to show themselves.

The sound on “Arsenal” is full-on, whilst “Snake Island” sounds a little less impressive. As for the live songs “Walk The Plank” and “Snake Island”, they have a full sound but are not the best live recordings I have encountered. But they do give you an inkling at how heavy FRIGHTMARE is when they play live. Conclusion on the musicality on this “Snake Island” album is that the songs are more than adequate in their own right. Like so many times I have to say that what FRIGHTMARE does has all been done before, but these guys do it with such a dedication and conviction that you have no possibility but to admire their enthusiasm for what they are doing. What I will say is that this is not pure Thrash, neither pure Speed, but also proper Heavy Metal. What is even more remarkable, “Up In Smoke” could be considered Crossover Metal, and at 1:12 minutes that fits the bill.