THE PROPHECY²³ is a Thrash Metal quartet from Germany who since 2005 have released 2 demo records. Recently the band signed a deal with Massacre Records and released their debut studio album entitled "...To The Pit". The record label has promoted heavily the band setting up a big campaign for a relatively new and unknown outfit, which means that they consider THE PROPHECY²³ as a strong card for the present and especially the future and really believe in their potential. On the other hand this is something that creates high expectations. The question is: do they deserve all these? Well, yes they do and "...To The Pit" is the living proof that the German quartet has the potential and the abilities to create great music.

There are some times when only a few words are necessary to describe a band's style and music and this is one of those. THE PROPHECY²³ play pure old school brutal Thrash Metal; simple as that. Their music is strongly influenced by legends of the genre such as SLAYER, TESTAMENT, EXODUS and even ANTHRAX and that I believe can describe everything. In some songs we can also find some Death Metal elements in some riffs along with growls that add even more brutality to their sound. "...To The Pit" is full of aggression from the beginning 'till the end; a record made for headbanging and moshpits! The production is really good too; everything sounds crystal clear and that really helps the band show it's abilities to the maximum.

Now lets go to something that I found really strange. The record has 13 songs but in fact the songs in it are 12 because the 13^th track has a duration of only 30 seconds! Why would someone put a 30sec song in an album? I really can't understand what's the point. Also in my personal opinion I would have probably excluded around 2 'weaker' songs in order to make the record more solid and powerful in its entity. But of course this is my personal opinion and it doesn't change at all the fact that "...To The Pit" is a very good album.

So if you are a fan of old school Thrash Metal and you want something brutal and aggressive then "...To The Pit"is for you. THE PROPHECY²³ are showing great potential and I believe they have what it takes to create even better stuff in the future.

Highlights: "Brutal Thrash Maniacs", "From The Basement To The Pit", "Immortal Attitude", "23 Thrash B.C.", "Struggle To Survive".