I picked up the new GAME OVER album ''Crimes Against Reality'' as I had a really enjoyed the band's previous album "Burst Into The Quiet", and I was very eager to know what their new album had to offer. The distinct unique album artwork definitely stands out for being GAME OVER's artwork, among all the other Thrash albums.
 
The album starts with a slow smoothing instrumental (before it turns into a fast wreckage of sound) in "What Lies Within" as the song builds the tempo and sets the stage for the next song in "33 Park Street" and also the rest of the album. "33 Park Street" is one of those typical modern Thrash attack song with fast paced sharp riffs backed by some excellent gang and backing vocals. The guitar work keeps you intrigued and interested all the way through. To be honest here in my assessment of this album, I don't really remember exactly how the previous album sounded although I do have a wage idea of the unique sound of GAME OVER itself even before I started playing this new album. 

In "33 Park Street", the band introduces some slower mid-tempo parts to avoid sounding one-directional and that works really well as the band is able to manage the slower parts and the main faster parts of the song really well without confusing the listener. "Neon Maniacs" has a party style feel to it as the backing vocals along with the fast paced sharp riffs make a one hell of a listening experience. The song packs in so much meat that even though the song is 3:37 min long, you start getting impatient even as it nears the 2 minute mark. Having said that, I am not so sure if that's really a good thing or a bad thing. With some sharp screaming vocals, "With All That Is Left" is an excellent song as it doesn't just depend on maddening pace, but brings in some beautiful ballad style song structure initially, before turning the song into another face melting Thrash attack.

"Astral Matter" starts with a bit of Progressive touch to it, although the song eventually turns into a 6 min long song full of insane riffs. "Fugue in D Minor" is more like a Crossover influenced short track ending with some slow keyboard work, as it clocks just 47 seconds. I have mixed feelings with "Just A Little Victory". It's not really a bad song. In fact as an individual song it really kicks ass, but when you listen to it along with all the other songs, especially in the order of the track list, it fails to really make any significant impact besides being catchier than few other songs. "Gates Of Ishtar" is a really plummeting, In-Your-Face song reminding me of bands like ONSLAUGHT and KREATOR for all the right reasons. The album gets catchier with its title track in "Crimes Against Reality". The vocals – both leading and backing vocals - really are some of the best not just in the album but of any new Thrash record that I have heard in recent times. Bang on. The album ends with another air guitar friendly "Fix Your Brain". The song is full of mindless catchy riffs with some funny lyrics. Some Thrash bands try to make the music as angry as possible, but GAME OVER is here to just have some fun, and not make it sound like a Crossover Thrash band.
 
"Crimes Against Reality" is not a ground breaking Thrash record by any means, but it surely has some innovative stuff and some insanely crazy riffs that will make even the most seasoned Thrash fan to stand up and take notice. GAME OVER has struck close to bull's eye again, if not the bull's eye itself. 
 





Final Score: 9/10