Sharpening the blade for the final deadly thrust that will end everything, inflicting ostentatious pain to one's foe in one clean sweep up the skull as in the cities of steel there is no law, how Metallic of a statement is that? It is ample for Thrash, abundant for Death, unveiling another kind of swing of glory for the sake and preservation of the old school war machine. And there goes another Canadian band, a merger of late 80's infused Thrash converging on the peripheries of Death Meal but certainly nothing of the usual muddle of the genres, it is a pleasure to know UNTIMELY DEMISE and the Punishment 18 Records' reissue of their debut "City Of Steel". Like deep cut through the brains, there is more than just a glimpse of the interesting collaboration of influences taking MEGADETH / EXODUS / TESTAMENT / SLAYER along with the early Euro Thrash mastery of DESTRUCTION / KREATOR inhaling thin fumes of DEATH. Neatly produced, and solo infested, by ex-MEGADETH / ex-KING DIAMOND / ex-EIDOLON's Glenn Drover, "City Of Steel" is a crafty paragon of a quality made Thrash Metal album.

This trio of reveled itself as a high rated musical paramount. Some would argue that the band's riffery and in a way their semi driven DEATH, yet also Bay Area felt, song arrangements have been widely known and even overplayed on the verge of banality. There is of course a found truth within that statement as there is nothing genuine about the music, however, the band's superiority comes from their attention to details while  contributing to the Thrash Metal world another piece of a potential classic with a kind of within Thrash and Death merge diversity that would sound great. There is an energetic vibe bestowed throughout the material that I found it to be fascinating, crisscrossing within the entity that is Thrash, harboring NWOBHM type twin guitar melodies and efficient bass work, bashing riffs of the old Bay Area and Teutonic fusions, while exterminating with flamboyant soloing exhibitions, provided by the idle hands of Glenn Drover that slayed my mind with his shreds, virtually sealed the deal for me and deemed it as impartially good. "Hunting Evil" is a work of art, Thrashing up in the vein of late 80's EXODUS, SLAYER and TESTAMENT while tempting your thirst with an overdose of mastermind soloing. Matt Cuthbertson slammed with his vocal performance, crossing between Zetro type shrieks through blackened snarls, and of course his rhythm guitaring served the song right. I would also recommend the brutish fests of the self-titled, which tuned to late 80's DEATH pervades surging with a shrewd arrangement and crispy melodies, and there are the violent incursions of "Bloodsoaked Mission" and "Virtue In Death" that reminded me of a the once Speed Metal invasion of MEGADETH in the mid to late 80's, right upon the thresholds of "Rust In Piece".

Evidently UNTIMELY DEMISE remained solidly Metallic and sinister but were trying to rally up additional fan base from other of Metal's subgenres, and with "City Of Steel" they made another Traditional Metal fanatic as one of their fans. I haven't heard the new release, but this debut just provided me with a rightful excuse.