Black Future＜限定盤＞

This Arizona-based progressive thrash band's second album fits very well with the retro aesthetic of its label, Heavy Artillery. Its logo and black-and-white cover art are an obvious (and loving) homage to Canadian art thrashers Voivod, and while there's some Voivod in their sound, there's also a furious intensity that's derived from Florida bands of the late '80s and early '90s like Sadus, Atheist, and early Death. The bandmembers can really play, whipping through their long (the album's final track, "Accelerating Universe," goes well past the 13-minute mark), complex songs with precision and skill. Vocalist David DiSanto is the wild card; his high-pitched, raspy shriek is a real love-it-or-hate-it proposition. But behind him, the band mixes prog rock and psychedelia with live-wire thrash and machine-gun drumming. The band's entire aesthetic, including tempo changes, several different moods, and some seriously shredding guitar solo action, is summed up in the nearly seven-minute "Destroying the Cosmos," but Black Future is packed with ultra-impressive performances that will make tech-thrash fans' hearts beat very fast indeed. ~ Phil Freeman