Thrash Metal/Crossover/Party quartet INSANITY ALERT formed in 2011 in Tyrol, a federal state in Western Austria. Metal music was bound to eventually get faster and more technical. This is how Thrash/Speed Metal came to be. The annals of the genre can be traced back into the late 70's even, where some scholars say the groundwork was laid by MOTORHEAD, JUDAS PRIEST, and even HEART (yes, have you ever heard the riff in "Barracuda")? Of course, the most famous of the early Thrash bands include well-known acts like EXODUS, METALLICA, ANTHRAX, MEGADETH, and SLAYER. Though it seemed to have run its course by the time Grunge came along, it enjoyed a re-birth of sorts, as fans of those early bands grew up and formed bands of their own.

The self-titled album here is a 2014 reissue and contains fifteen tracks. Most of the scorching songs clock in at under two or three minutes. It this sense, you can hear more of the Crossover qualities that the band has. Punk and Metal are often thought of as opposites, but you when you blend them it makes a noticeable genre of its own. I hear some early EXODUS and perhaps even MEGADETH in the burner "The Claw (Of all That is Evil," particularly in the vocals and plethora of riffage. There are also moments of raucous fun, as in the "Zongo Vs. Eyeball track, where the title doesn't seem to make an easy translation to the listener, or the 25 second pure speed of "FUN," where you have just a few bars of music slam in and then leave as quickly as they started.

"Blunt In, Blunt Out," is just over three minutes. It's long enough to develop a slower mid-tempo rhythm, and the pace is probably fitting to the song title in the sense of what happens soon after you take the blunt in. Has anyone any Cheetos? "Shit for Brains" reminds me of early SUICIDAL TENDENCIES. Heavy Kevy sings at a breakneck pace and the social commentary is pretty straightforward. "Twist-Off Betrayal" is another short intense song, at under one minute, talking about what happened when you grab a beer that does not have a "twist-off" cap. It's clear that the band doesn't take themselves too seriously, and humor has always had a place in the genre.

"Shellshocked" opens with a police whistle, some crowd shouts, and gun fire. The past picked guitar riffs are enough to start breaking fingers and producing bloody wounds. They save the longest song as the last. "Run to the Pit" is three-and-a-half minutes and set to the tune of "Run to the Hills" by IRON MAIDEN, but with lyrics that fit that song title. If you survive the assault on your ears with minimal injuries, you have taken in the fifteen smoking Thrash/Crossover songs that make up INSANITY ALERT's self-titled album. Brining fun back to the genre while furiously causing headbanging pain, it's an honest album to get you in the mood to run into the pit.