Germany’s DEW-SCENTED has been working to revitalize the international thrash scene for quite some time now. Their previous two releases, Impact and Issue VI, have been very successful in that effort, and their new album Incinerate only catapults them further along that path. They have managed to cultivate the ferocity and technical prowess displayed in Issue VI into yet another thrash extravaganza. The album presents you with eleven solid tracks plus intro and outro instrumentals. Although the band struggles to push their sound even further with additions such as spoken word vocals, the present state of their songwriting is phenomenal enough to satisfy your thrash needs along with a touch of death metal polish.

The production is as good as ever, and the band continues to make use of alternating stereo channel beats to bludgeon the listener into submission. The only minor production gripe is that a seemingly out of place and strange reverb exists for the vocals on a number of tracks. This doesn’t so much detract from the experience of the album as it rather calls into question the creative decision to add that effect. Regardless, Incinerate is full of thrashy goodness to which you won’t be able to resist banging your head. “Vanish Away” is a good opener, but “Final Warning” kicks it up a notch and really gets the adrenaline flowing. Every track is very solid, but other stand outs are “That’s Why I Despise You,” “The Fraud,” “Perdition For All,” and “Contradictions” for the excellent guitar work. Although this album should still be considered a thrash album like other releases by these guys, Incinerate definitely makes more use of blastbeats for a fuller, heavier sound.

Some may think this band has fallen into rut with a songwriting attitude of “if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it,” but DEW-SCENTED’s sound is fresh enough to silence anyone with qualms about the band’s musical growth. (Nuclear Blast Records)