Unnatural Selection

Unnatural Selection is the third full-length from Denver, Colorado's Havok, though it is my first exposure to the band. To my ears, this is fairly typical, late 80s Speed/Thrash Metal. There are double-kick drums, furious riffing and wild solos with only occasional respites from the overall frantic tempo of the album. The vocals are a higher-register yelp that doesn't vary a whole lot and gets monotonous after a while. The songs are generic, though "Chasing the Edge" has some cool backing vocals during the chorus that are pure 80s.

Unnatural Selection is derivative of albums like The Ultra Violence from Death Angel and Pleasures of the Flesh from Exodus, with just a touch of Southern California Crossover/Thrash. If you've heard those records, you've heard what Havok are offering, making Unnatural Selection another one of those albums that I wouldn't necessarily turn off but neither can I think of many reasons to go back to it.