French thrash metal act Psychoid have released their debut album “Thrash Impact” and it’s about as pure and simplistic as thrash metal can get while still giving some bang for your buck!
Taking influences from old school thrash acts such as early Metallica, Anthrax and a bit of Sepultura, there’s definitely a US east coast thrash sound that can be heard all over this record. Think early Anthrax and Overkill with some truly chugging riffs and a few twists and turns to make things interesting. The opening track “Anarchy” is a good example of this and a perfect way to open things up with aggressive riffing and some double kicks to further maximise the instrumentation.
That instrumentation is important too as it makes up for the weaker element of the band in it’s vocals which while old school in it’s shriekness nature (Think Crisix on that level) needs an extra bit of muscle to keep up with the rest of the band’s sound. That being said, the performance is top notch including the solos which are scorching and on a whole other level in comparison. The mix in production could also be a little more consistent but those bass lines more than make up for it with some surprising lead work and some thick string flapping moments like in the track “Live Die But Buy“. Chugging riffs are the order of the day here before the song leads into another bass led number “TV’s Grime“.
The real old school stuff starts coming in with “The Old Scapegoat“, a Seek & Destroy inspired lick kicking things off while “Platoon Of Death” brings some sinister atmosphere to the table. The epic instrumental piece “The End Of Times” has some truly tasty bass lead work here with melodies driving things most of the way before the aptly titled “Out Of Control” brings some furious thrash back into the fold.
The rip roaring “We Kick Your Ass” ends things fittingly well, concocting hellish groove and chugging riffs that summarise the core sound of this band. It’s not a bad effort for a debut full length and it’s got enough grit for true thrash fans to sink their teeth into.
TRACKLIST
Anarachy
True Chatter
Live Die But Buy
TV’s Grime
The Old Scapegoat
Platoon Of Death
The End Of Times
Out Of Control
We Kick Your Ass
