Chilean Metal musicians seem to do no wrong; every band I've heard from the country has sounded great. Thrash Metal is yet another genre Chile seems to have conquered, and all the proof is on the second album from MARTYRIUM, "Children Scream for Mercy".

MARTYRIUM's brand of Thrash Metal is along the lines of ANTHRAX or VIO-LENCE: it's the link between Crossover and Thrash Metal, incorporating Hardcore elements with the more extreme riffing of Thrash Metal. "Fucking Greed" is where this Chilean band is seen at their most Hardcore, while most of the rest of the album is pure Thrash havoc.

The album peaks at "Resistance Prevails", and the buildup is very strong. This track shows the band at their strongest, boasting three different groovy breaks, each one building on the last, with riffs scattered throughout, all of which are complete rippers. This song also shows a very successful theme shown through the album's entirety: progression.

The songwriting is very good, and the songs all progress nicely. It limits repetition and helps everything become more efficient, listenable and less exhausting. "Eaten Alive" shows good use of this element, as the riffs build up into the main verse and the chorus all the way to the bridge and the solo (a section of the song with very notable chemistry between the lead and rhythm guitars). This may seem obvious, but it can oftentimes be taken for granted how important riff differentiation is when it comes to making a song flow nicely.

Another advantage this album has is its production, particularly with the drums. Each track shows the whole, thick sound of the percussion section, and the result is a very impactful series of booms whenever a groove hits on "Cynical Rhetoric of Priest" or "Resistance Prevails". The rounded-off production makes for a very fortified sound.

Lastly, there's the structure of the entire record. The closing track isn't the best song on the album; however, it does showcase what the band is about: pure Thrash. If there is one thing I would change, it's the instrumental "Misprision of Treason". If anything, the guitar, save the last few riffs, is worthless. It seems as if the recycled riffs went here. The song would have been better off if the guitar was completely removed, making it just an instrumental piano piece, a perfect transition into the concluding track.

Aside from a few flaws - like poor transitioning between certain riffs, ect. - there is no major error that stands out. In the end, this is really heavy Thrash Metal that isn't too flashy or complex and stays consistent throughout the record.