Thrashing its way out of Scandinavia is a band named SICKOMANIA, and they have quite obviously studied the finer points of thrash metal, while also applying elements of Death Metal and more traditional Heavy Metal. Their new self-titled album is amazing and is the reason we're here today.

The band formed toward the end of 2019 and released a trio of singles before dropping their debut, self-titled release in late November of 2021. Each track is a furious display of thrash metal that incorporates many other aspects of Metal genres, affording them ample opportunities for future songs/albums.

The first sounds after I pushed play were from a lone acoustic guitar, playing a beautiful intro melody, much like DEATH ANGEL used on "Act III;" that then led into thrashy music with an incredible groove, and a ton of power. The track in question is called "Asystoli" and is the perfect representation of the SickOmania sound.

The band tears its way through this song with an aggression that is tempered with metallic power. The vocal work is rooted in the late 80s, early 90s style, at times reminding me of Bay Area bands like FORBIDDEN or EXODUS, while also hitting upon the New Wave of Thrash Metal of recent years.

As the album progresses, we are given a look into what modern thrash metal can be, and it is a beautiful melding of the old and new schools of the genre. Tracks like "Slumberland Prophets have a bit of a crossover feel yet feel like a marriage of genre innovators like METALLICA and MEGADETH. While other songs like "Theater of Memories", bring in more of that DEATH ANGEL vibe that is used in the intro to "Asystoli", while being reminiscent of the groove oriented, slower thrash of the mid-1990s.

One of the very best tracks is called "Psychotic Path", which has a massive Exodus feel from the very onset; seriously, Gary Holt would love the riffs they wrote for this track.  The intro goes from mellow to haunting, and from light thrash to pure maniacal riffing before dropping into a verse that reminds me of "Blacklist" from EXODUS' 2004 album, Tempo of the Damned. The lead breaks are incredible, with technical mastery and enough restraint so as to not be an example of overplaying.

The album ends with ten minutes of all the things that SICKOMANIA excels at, beautiful acoustic parts, groove laden thrash, and leads of astounding skill. I love that the solos are technically proficient, but as I said earlier, never feel like they are overplayed. Plus, these types of instrumentals always feel like an homage to METALLICA, especially at about three minutes and forty-five seconds in, when the riffs take on an "Orion" feel; which is the best instrumental METALLICA ever wrote.