After a brief intro, DIABOLICAL’s second album, A Thousand Deaths, kicks in full-throttle with “Children of the Mushroom Cloud.” From there, the band refuses to let up, shredding & thrashing their way through the album’s remaining seven songs as if 1986 never ended. But while the band (for the most part) likes to keep the tempo fast-paced, they aren’t afraid to mix it up either by throwing in clean sections & breakdowns that compliment the bay-area crunch riffs & shredding guitar solos. It’s this strong sense of dynamics along with an appreciation of classic 80’s thrash (SLAYER, DEATH ANGEL, EXODUS, DESTRUCTION) that sends them light years ahead of any east-coast hardcore band attempting to be the next IN FLAMES or AT THE GATES. So while DIABOLICAL aren’t exactly re-inventing the wheel, they succeed in showing these Gothenburg via Boston wanabees how it’s done. (World War III/Scarlet)
