Admittedly I hadn't heard anything by Nottingham England's own MERCILESS TERROR. But I'll give just about anything a spin at least once, so here we are. Formed in 2009, and hot on the heels of their critically-acclaimed EP "Perpetual Devastation", they have unleashed their full-length album on the world, "Vile Extinction" via Devil's Clause Records.

The album is lyrically themed on the damnation of humanity. You have to listen really hard to catch it though, because the vocals are very effects-laden, and at times rather indecipherable. That being said, the musicianship is first-rate. Even if the vocals were a bit jarring at first listen, I was impressed right away with the band. I particularly enjoyed the guitar solo on "Enraptured" which was the track I kept coming back to. "Hateful Abomination" also stood out for me with its potent combination of blast beats, machine gun riffs, and breakdowns.

On "Process of Eradication" the band puts on a clinic on how to most effectively use drums to pummel heads in, just insane. As I write this I can only imagine the circle pits when MERCILESS TERROR plays live. There are a couple of throwaways, however. "Imminent Death" really isn't very good, but at only 1:55 it is over before it can affect the album too badly. "Baptized In Blood" once again suffers from poor vocals and overly repetitive music. But things take a turn back toward the good with "World Desolation" and the instrumental "Dystopic Visions" which reminded me of something one might find on an early TESTAMENT record.

Closing song "Existence Denied" moves forward like an advancing army of death coming straight for you at first, before taking off at a full run, hell-bent on destroying everything in its path. On the opposite side, the album opener, "Doctrine of Malevolence" is an all-out blitz attack on the senses from start to finish. A very strong track, and a great way to bookend the record, I think.

Overall I was pretty happy with my first MERCILESS TERROR experience. "Vile Extinction" is a pretty solid record. And while I wasn't totally blown away, and one or two songs rubbed me the wrong way, I can definitely see the potential these guys have. And I think that if they continue to grow they will continue to get better. In the meantime, they are a welcome addition to the Death and Thrash genre.