For those unaware of their existence, HAVOK is one of a handful of bands that play and dress like they came straight from the mid-80s Bay-area era. Their debut was solid, but unremarkable thrash and ranked just above the middle out of all of the releases of the movement so far. For "Time is Up" they have a new lead guitarist and new drummer, both of whom do a fantastic job.

The songs are definitely thrash and are very catchy without succumbing to the "stupid-thrash" of bands like MUNICAPAL WASTE and GAMA BOMB. "Time is Up" is a remarkably consistent listen the whole way through and because of that it is hard to pick standout tracks. The first single, "Scumbag in Disguise" is definitely among the most catchy, but as for the best of the album, I'd have to go with "Prepare for Attack" with its air-guitar-worthy solo section and the frantic "No Amnesty."

The fact that they stick to one sound and style is, for the most part, a positive thing because they do it well without softening their sound or slowing down in an attempt to broaden their fan base. However, as happy as I am with "Time is Up," I do sort of wish they had attempted an epic, or the type of song that could have stood out from the rest of the others as the pinnacle of the album. This is a very minor complaint though, because things turned out quite head bang-worthy anyway.

I think what really makes this Colorado-based band so impressive is that, unlike many others from this movement, they actually improved on their sophomore album and definitely did not gear their sound more towards NWOAHM bands like LAMB OF GOD and SHADOWS FALL like a couple of my other favorites. While the movement itself and many of the more unimaginative and worthless bands are fizzling out, HAVOK has made a statement that they are more than part of a fad and will be going nowhere but up.