Some cool thrash out of Italy here. Reqviem for the Oppressor isn't one of those "80s thrash revival" albums, rather aiming for a more modern approach while not doing away with the roots of the genre. This is pretty clean, more akin to U.S. thrash—Bay Area and what have you-than that of the usually harsher European style. I'm also reminded a bit of Canada's Infrared at times and there's a noticeable nod to old-school heavy metal in the guitars—I found myself thinking of early '80s Maiden a couple of times, and some of the solos make it hard not to break out the air guitar, even in public (uh-oh...) The vibe is kind of dark despite the band's very melodic approach to the genre; definitely not the happy-go-lucky party thrash kind of stuff. No shortage of speed, but some slower parts to give your neck a little break. It's not the heaviest stuff out there, but it's crunchy and aggressive throughout, with the closer being more of a quiet acoustic track. I usually don't like that, especially as a closer, but here I find it works well to cool off our jets. Is it original? Not really. Is it fun, aggressive, headbanging and air-guitar worthy? You bet.
