Sovereign＜Clear Vinyl＞

Tenet, not to be confused with the R&B group of the same name, is an industrial-strength thrash band with some seriously powerhouse membership. Vocalist Steve Souza formerly fronted both Exodus and Testament; guitarist Glen Alvelais has played with Testament and Forbidden; and second guitarist Jed Simon, bassist Byron Stroud, and drummer Gene Hoglan are all veterans of Strapping Young Lad (plus the six-dozen other bands Hoglan's bashed the skins for, of course). Given that pedigree, any discerning metalhead is gonna pop the shrink wrap on Sovereign looking to have his/her face torn off within ten seconds of pressing Play, and that's pretty close to the result when "Being and Nothingness" kicks in with a pick-slide, a thundering avalanche of drums, and a patented Souza scream. From there it's off to the races, with nine tracks in under 35 minutes, each one a blur of thrashy riffing, shredtastic solos, and Souza's vocals, which haven't gotten any more melodic since the '80s glory days of Exodus; he still sounds like Accept's Udo Dirkschneider with his privates caught in a belt-sander. The only time they slow down is on the six-minute "Going Down," which settles for a doomy, chugging pace. The production on Sovereign owes something to Strapping Young Lad, but these guys are content to get over with the fury of their riffs, rather than the abuse of compression SYL leader Devin Townsend is known for. This is a fierce, relentless, all-star effort well worth any metalhead's time. ~ Phil Freeman