Bay Area Thrash Metal with a little hint of Teutonic Metal... I mean what could possibly happen? Well, the answer is TRAITOR. For ten years now they have been circulating back in Germany, after creating a diehard fan base they began their expansion and slowly became well known amongst the Thrash Scene in Europe. With their countrymen KREATOR leading the charge and setting a great example this young band has continued its growth and as a thank you to their fans they have released "Decade of Revival" as a thank-you for their continued support. Featuring four new tracks especially recorded for this album, along with ten recorded from their set at Rock Hard Festival back in 2018. It really is a treat to listen to.

The artwork, conceived by Pär Olofsson, is eye catching, and very well produced if you ask me. But we can expect that from an artist who developed covers for such bands as EXODUS, MALEVOLENT CREATION and IMMOLATION.

I want to focus this review on the new developed tracks. Of course I will comment on a couple of the live pieces, but as is important with any new release, the newest songs should be the primary focus. First off "Decade of Revival" opens with "Metroid" and we are instantly hit with heavy open ended chords, a delightful motif to set the tone for the rest of the track. All members of TRAITOR coming together sublimely to bring their own personal brand of Thrash into our lives.

Next is "Into The Nightsphere" and again we don't mess around. With a delightful lick from Lorenz Kandolf and his bass guitar, we are thrown into pure old school Thrash Metal that the likes of SLAYER would have been proud to produce in their hay day. This song has energy and aggression from the word go, and it shows no sign of stopping as we get further along.

Thirdly we come along to "Space Seed" with a great opening guitar run through to Andreas Mozer delivering some brutal blast beats we continue this aggression that has become familiar through previous tracks. Accented by a few slower breakdowns, this track is sure to get any crowd moving at a show.

Finally, from the new tracks, we come to the album's namesake. "Decade of Revival"' and it delivers exactly what we have come to expect from this group. Fast, aggressive and just an overall delight to experience. Lyrically I feel as though they are trying to kind of tell their story over the last ten years. And what a decade it has been. I should hope we will see another Decade of Development.

Now a quick note on some of the live tracks we come across. The quality of TRAITOR live is very impressive, they deliver an uncompromised sound from their studio albums to their live shows. The multifaceted layering, they achieve through the use of all members being a vocalist adds to the depth of their music. I also had to admire "Predator" it is a great song, and myself being a huge fan of the movie franchise I am torn between TRAITOR and ARNOCORPS for who provided the better track to go with the films.

Overall I would have say that this is a great album that is well worth getting your hands on. Especially as the deal you get on the purchase is incredible. With purchase you get the CD, a DVD filmed of their performance at Wacken Open Air in 2018 and a patch for those of you, like me, enjoy spending hours attempting to be a tailor. So a large thank-you must go to TRAITOR for releasing this album, it was an absolute joy to listen to and review.