HAZZERD are a Canadian Thrash Metal band from Calgary, Alberta. Signed to World War Now Records in 2014 and with a debut EP by the name of "Victimize The Innocent", today, I'll be giving you my thoughts on its follow-up LP, "Misleading Evil". Sounds, and looks a bit MEGADETH-ish, right? Well, it comes relatively close in terms of quality also...

Let's take the unusual route and start with what I don't like about it...we'll be done with that fairly quickly. First off, some songs are a bit dragged out and a few times I felt like the composition could have been executed in a more straightforward, less flashy way. Second, I think the vocals aren't necessarily unfitting, just simply averagely executed. Dylan sure has some potential as a vocalist, but for now, I much prefer his drumming skills. And lastly, it's not necessarily a problem of a negative kind, but it sometimes felt like the group wanted to be like MEGADETH slightly more than they should have, and the record isn't that much of a unique peace of art; original, not generic (most of the time), but not unique. That's basically everything I didn't like (or like that much) on the album, and I know they sound like nitpicks, and they are, but lets be real, I had to come up with SOMETHING to not like. But now, we can start the dickriding. (I won't mention specific songs for the most part, because most positives apply to every track.)

One of this record's top strengths is the song-writing - interesting structures and blended styles, and also nice guitar and drum tones. Yet the best aspect of the instrumentation is the way the different instruments are sort of "aware" of each other and act not just as a sound themselves, but as a compliment and a foundation on which the other instruments can build upon. Another thing I loved are the intros - they are percussive, rythmic, bass focused, riff focused, and are all great and with a different approach. There are some more technical tracks, such as the title track and "Road To Nowhere" (the concluding song), and there are heavier, muddier Punk-ish ones like "Apocalypse Dawn" and "Under The Influence". I'm honestly amazed by this LP, and I think that I've said enough just go out there and experience it. It's a truly great piece of Metal music, and definitely one of the strongest Thrash releases of 2017.