2020 has been a year of reissues, remasters and remixes for a lot of bands. On the reissue end of things, American Technical Thrash Metal band INTRUDER have reissued their second album "A Higher Form Of Killing", together with their EP "Escape From Pain" and their third and final studio album "Pyscho Savant". These reissues are a great opportunity to evaluate the evolution of the band's sound from a less focused, more high-energy Thrash Metal towards slower, groovier proggy Thrash.

First released on 1989, "A Higher Form Of Killing" takes a page or two from the classic Thrash Metal bands book, especially finding a middle ground between the proggier, more experimental facets of METALLICA and MEGADETH (think "...and Justice For All" or "Rust In Peace" respectively) and the punkish energy of ANTHRAX.

The record opens with the brief "Time Of Trouble", a mishmash of radio sounds, random snippets of music and spoken word samples making reference to a suicide bomber. It functions as both an intro to the album and to the first proper song, "The Martyr", a classic Thrash banger with a steady rhythm and complex riffing patterns. The use of gang vocals adds a bit of punch to the chorus while things get locked in a funky groove in the middle section of the track. The drums give a needed ground to its shifting structure and everything gets capped off by the technically impeccable soloing of Arthur Vinett. The lyrics paint it clear, "I'm a martyr and I die for the cause", it is the bomber we are hearing on this song.

The rhythm section gets playful, almost-tribal drums and nasty bassline on "Genetic Genocide". Here James Hamilton's vocal delivery feels closer to Classic Metal vocalists, especially those coming from a Hard Rock or even Blues Rock background. Still, he retains a thrashy edge and grit. Some tempo changes help keeping the track interesting through its length, especially since it can get a tad repetitive at six minutes in length.

"Second Chance" slows down the tempo and moves into heavy ballad territory for its first minute and a half. In that sense, it seems to take a page from the METALLICA playbook, being the fourth track. John Pieroni's complex drumming feels at times a bit like overplaying, at least until the track shifts from its soft start into a mid-tempo banger.

A catchy cover of THE MONKEES' "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone" sits in the middle of the tracklist. Pieroni contributes vocals here and he does sound perverse and insane, something that truly fits the mood of the track overall. It is slightly dissonant, with gorgeous and noisy, squeaking soloing. Certainly a fun mid-point track. A bit of a palate cleanser.

The two longest tracks of the record come next, back to back, bordering on seven minutes each. "Killing Winds" might be the strongest song here. It begins with more tribal-sounding drumming and some crunchy guitars. The time signature alternates marvelously between 6/8 and 4/4, conveying a sense of drama and urgency to the track. A few tempo changes help. It is one of the most technically impressive tracks on the record, even if it is not a shred fest -there's some shredding still- or always going at breakneck speed, the impressive stuff has to do with clever songwriting.

"The Sentence Is Death" comes at the very end of "Killing Winds", working with some of its ideas, weaving the two songs together in a neat fashion. Things get borderline proggy in the middle, and although it does not have the same cohesiveness as the previous song, it still is a fun track where Arthur Vinett gets to show off with his guitar dexterity.

The album closes with a one-two punch of no nonsense, straightforward Thrash bangers in the form of "Agents Of The Dark (M.I.B.)" and "Mr. Death", neatly connected by the brief spoken word track that is "Antipathy". "A Higher Form Of Killing" ends with ten minutes of crushing, repetitive rhythmic patterns and heavy riffing.

INTRUDER had their sound and vision clearly defined by the time they released their sophomore record, what seemed to be lacking was the songwriting. The ideas are there and the musicianship is more than commendable, but the execution falters at times, either because there are no clear hooks, or because some self-editing was in need ("Genetic Genocide" is a good example, as it could have been a couple minutes shorter). Production-wise, the tracks sound as expected from an 80's Thrash album, could be less gritty but it fits the style. Overall, this is a great slice of musical history that shows a band in search of refining their sound, something they would've achieved by "Pyscho Savant".