When you think of nightmares, your first mental images are probably something out of a horror movie or maybe a horrible memory that never leaves your brain. That being said, REPULSOR's new album Trapped in a Nightmare is actually a Thrash dream come to life! Despite the ominous and foreboding title, this 2014 release is actually very promising and I'm optimistic in terms of what lies in the future for this band. Sure, the track titles imply the negative side of their subject (i.e. heritage in "Stained Heritage" and instinct in "Killing Instinct") but the music is upbeat and energetic, leaving out the tell-tale haunting sounds of minor chords that many other Metal bands would happily oblige to include.

I am personally thrilled listening to this album which features a furious sonic Thrash attack in each of the songs except for "The Summoning" which is a nice classical acoustic piece all on its own in the middle of a Thrash Metal album. Trapped in a Nightmare has a very old-school sound and gives me the distinct impression of a style similar to EXODUS, MEGADETH, and MUNICIPAL WASTE except there's no wailing vocals. They're straightforward vocals without any growling or screaming, so they're nice in the sense that Strzala uses a relatively clean style but even better since they never lose that Thrash-vocal feel to them.

I can say that I enjoyed this album more since the production, mixing, and recording were definitely done by professionals. As good as the music is, I'm left wondering if there was anything else that could be added to the album. There are only six songs spanning about twenty-five minutes, and only five of them really fit the Thrash Metal theme that REPULSOR is so good at doing. I just think that there was a lot more potential that wasn't achieved because as soon as I pressed the play button, the entire album had already played through and I was a little frustrated. Still, all of the songs are really good quality and easily distinguishable. The instrumentation never gets boring and the riffs stay fresh all the way through, so I had to give it some solid respect.

There are many things about Thrash Metal that draw in listeners and Trapped in a Nightmare has all the beaming qualities of the genre. Though I feel like this album needed more songs to make a complete statement, it holds its own against other comparable albums. So never mind the nightmare, fans of REPULSOR and Heavy Metal alike will be dreaming for more!