As the World Dies

The Bay Area's Trauma has mostly been known over the years as the band Cliff Burton played bass in before he joined Metallica, but that might be about to change with the release of their third album, As the World Dies. Only vocalist Donny Hillier and drummer Kris Gustofson remain from the band's first go-round in the early '80s but As the World Dies succeeds where a lot of reformed "golden age" acts fail; they've created an album that sounds like it could have been released 30 years ago with songs that don't simply mimic what has come before. Thrash isn't a genre that tolerates a lot of experimentation, so your songs better be top notch and As the World Dies delivers the riffs, ear-pleasing choruses and lead work to help it stand out from the crowd. Whether it is the harmonized vocal lines of "From Here to Hell", the rip-roaring speed of "Run for Cover" or the simmering aggression of "The Rage", Trauma have crafted some highly entertaining metal. Another positive is the production, which is modern, but successfully avoids sounding modern. This is most obvious in the drums which might be triggered, I'm no drummer, but they don't sound triggered to my ears, and that's a huge plus over the slew of clickety-clacking heard in many thrash albums today. There are a few songs that aren't all that special but as a whole, As the World Dies is a fine release from these metal veterans. If newer albums from the likes of Testament, Death Angel, etc. haven't done it for you, Trauma has your fix.