Greece is known for a great many things; philosophy, art, mythology and a very relaxed attitude towards nudity are just a few that spring to mind. One thing that I have never really associated with this most beautiful of Mediterranean locations is Thrash Metal.  P.T.O.M.A have certainly enlightened me on just how wrong my assumptions and preconceptions have been.

Their debut album "Shit Into Existence" leaps out of the sleepy and picturesque streets of Thessaloniki and punches you in the face with a fist full of titties. You just have to look at the album art to understand that thee boys are not going to take themselves too seriously, it's been a long time since I have had to panic quit my web browser at work because an unexpected image is clearly going to get me fired or scheduled for a psychiatric meeting. Aesthetics aside however, the musical content of this release is fantastic; from the outset of the album, I could tell that this was going to be exactly the kind of Thrash that the world needs more of. Balls to the wall Metal.

This is not an album of over production intended to polish a rather scabby turd. Rather it has that raw feel of energy that makes your head start spontaneously banging and before you know it, a mosh pit seems to have erupted across a 20ft radius of the speakers. Lyrically, what more could you want than songs called "Wrath Of The Anus" and "Die With Titties In Your Face"? The guitars' speed their way through each song, broken up only by sporadic solos that could melt the face off of a small child. It's hard to find such a pleasing new band these days that don't fill their websites with photos of themselves looking like the coolest dudes ever or strive to play such complex and unnecessarily complicated music that they can't move one iota whilst playing on stage.

Of course, you can always argue that Thrash is getting old and is never really going to be that original anymore and, well, you would be right in a way as it can be a fairly limited style, and the original feel of that era in music was mostly lost a long time ago.  This doesn't matter though, the true beating heart of Thrash has never been to be avant-garde or to evolve music and push the boundaries of what is possible, the true heart of Thrash is fun, regardless of what some may say. P.T.O.M.A are keeping the undying spirit of bands like MUNICIPAL WASTE going and will carry that torch into the next generations of Metal an all of its subsidiaries.

So stop trying to debate whether the new material being released by OPETH is as good as "Blackwater Park" or if PANTERA should really reform with Zakk on guitar, instead go and grab a beer, put on some P.T.O.M.A and start a riot.