"Blasphēmia" is my introduction to the band HERESY and what an introduction it is. This is the second release from these Costa Rican metallers. This album is a mixture of some of my favorite metal style so it's no surprise I dig this release. The vocals at times remind me of old IN FLAMES, KREATOR, FORBIDDEN or NUCLEAR ASSAULT. The guitars are tight and crunchy with plenty of melody yet the overall recording has an old school Thrash rawness to it.

"Downpour" has some great stop start riffing and is a perfect intro to the album. This leads us to the next song "Last Night God Spoke to Me". It starts with a Doom-like intro before turning into a mid-tempo thrasher. I can hear some MEGADETH influence in the chorus and some SLAYER in the bridge. The next track "The Pagan" continues the solid Thrash foundation with some great speed picking before leading us into the album's first instrumental "The Hive".  The riffs and melodies in this track keep my head nodding with its choppy rhythm and use of melody. It was also the perfect spot in the album to give us some respite from the full on thrash attack.

"Sharpointing" has an intro that could have been on old EMPEROR album, before quickly returning us to the Thrash sound. This is by far my favorite track on the album and it has what I would call the first real "vocal hook". I hope the band continues this direction in the future! "Suiciety" luckily give us a glimpse of the vocalists ability to do more than shout style vocals. There is nothing wrong with the rest of his vocals it just all had a sameness to them. Let's hope he explores his voice more in the future. The outro "Blasphēmia " would have been better suited as an intro to an earlier song. It began and I wasn't sure if it was going to be a ballad or what, but we get a nice ambient instrumental complete with acoustic guitar solos.

Overall, this is a solid release and I hope to hear more from this band in the future. I see myself listening to this album for quite some time to come. The production is clear and everything sits well in the mix. The songwriting is great and it's nice to hear a slight influence from Melodic Death and Black Metal bands mixed in. Looking for a new Thrash album? Pick this up today!