Review by Adam M on September 9, 2025.

This album showcased a more aggressive side to the band and remains a classic in the genre because of this fact.  There is an increased sense of evil and this makes it more foreboding.  The album is dark and this shows it to be more prominent than any other work by the outfit.  There is really an overarching power that lifts this above other albums by the band.

The musicianship is really top notch on the album and the songwriting is  solid and not overly technical.  There is a really nice tone to the guitars as they crunch along  The production is rather strong and allows the instruments to breath nicely.  There is a tendency for drumming to be poignant and this aspect of the work is shown prominently by Dave Lombardo.

The flaw to the work is in how it is not as all around impressive as Slayer’s Reign in Blood album.  This makes it something of a runner-up in aggressive albums because Sepultura’s Beneath the Remainsis also better and this makes it second fiddle to those albums.  It is still one of the better album of thrash you shall find. 

Overall, this was a really powerful display of metal might and perhaps the best album of the band.  It is still not as essential as Reign in Blood and this means it plays second fiddle to this release.  Songs like “Eyes of Wrath" are still classic of the genre and they crush as much as they ever have.  This is a smashing release and essential listening.

Rating: 7.9/10

Review by Luka on June 11, 2001.

As soon as this CD started bellowing out in it’s mighty thrash metal glory I was already floating in heaven. Testament owed us big time and they were back, as their previous albums "Low" and "Demonic" were just about their weakest records ever. Well they must have started doing something right this time, ‘cuz I haven’t heard them this good since "Souls of Black"!

But that’s not the whole story, however, as the first 20 minutes of this CD kicked my ass and blew me away to that realm of metal perfection few others can create, I soon felt the ground beneath me drop. The first 5 songs deliver simply amazing riffs, dynamics and speed. A clear definition of fast, ass-kicking, low-tuned thrash metal. Avoiding the pretentiousness of "Low" and the monotony of "Demonic", this time the boys put away the Coors and get down to do some serious, hard work. The song structures are innovative and refreshing, the riffs technical, fast and brutal. The drumming skillful and intricate. The intro to "3 Days in Darkness" is just killer, the prime example of heavy and complicated riffing, "Down For Life" has the catchiest verse I’ve heard in a long time and the heavy and progressive "True Believer" reaches a climax of utter metal perfection.

And now for the rest of the album. I don’t know what the hell happened to the guys but after the 5th song Testament just dropped the idea of making the perfect thrash metal album and puked out the other 6 tracks. It surprises me that they didn’t even bother to mix up the great tracks with that bad ones. The first five were on a roll, and after that, gutter-ball. The whole album just drops and you’re thinking "what the hell? Who put this shit in the player when I was listening to an awesome album?". Unimaginative, stale and repetitive, I can’t help but just press stop after the 5th song. What a shame, I’d give it 10 if they’d made the effort and determination to produce what would undoubtedly be a mind-blowing thrash metal album.

Bottom Line: The first 5 songs get 10/10, the rest get 3. If you think five truly kick ass songs are worth the money, go for it!

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Adam M on September 9, 2025.

This album showcased a more aggressive side to the band and remains a classic in the genre because of this fact.  There is an increased sense of evil and this makes it more foreboding.  The album is dark and this shows it to be more prominent than any other work by the outfit.  There is really an overarching power that lifts this above other albums by the band.

The musicianship is really top notch on the album and the songwriting is  solid and not overly technical.  There is a really nice tone to the guitars as they crunch along  The production is rather strong and allows the instruments to breath nicely.  There is a tendency for drumming to be poignant and this aspect of the work is shown prominently by Dave Lombardo.

The flaw to the work is in how it is not as all around impressive as Slayer’s Reign in Blood album.  This makes it something of a runner-up in aggressive albums because Sepultura’s Beneath the Remainsis also better and this makes it second fiddle to those albums.  It is still one of the better album of thrash you shall find. 

Overall, this was a really powerful display of metal might and perhaps the best album of the band.  It is still not as essential as Reign in Blood and this means it plays second fiddle to this release.  Songs like “Eyes of Wrath" are still classic of the genre and they crush as much as they ever have.  This is a smashing release and essential listening.

Rating: 7.9/10

Review by Luka on June 11, 2001.

As soon as this CD started bellowing out in it’s mighty thrash metal glory I was already floating in heaven. Testament owed us big time and they were back, as their previous albums "Low" and "Demonic" were just about their weakest records ever. Well they must have started doing something right this time, ‘cuz I haven’t heard them this good since "Souls of Black"!

But that’s not the whole story, however, as the first 20 minutes of this CD kicked my ass and blew me away to that realm of metal perfection few others can create, I soon felt the ground beneath me drop. The first 5 songs deliver simply amazing riffs, dynamics and speed. A clear definition of fast, ass-kicking, low-tuned thrash metal. Avoiding the pretentiousness of "Low" and the monotony of "Demonic", this time the boys put away the Coors and get down to do some serious, hard work. The song structures are innovative and refreshing, the riffs technical, fast and brutal. The drumming skillful and intricate. The intro to "3 Days in Darkness" is just killer, the prime example of heavy and complicated riffing, "Down For Life" has the catchiest verse I’ve heard in a long time and the heavy and progressive "True Believer" reaches a climax of utter metal perfection.

And now for the rest of the album. I don’t know what the hell happened to the guys but after the 5th song Testament just dropped the idea of making the perfect thrash metal album and puked out the other 6 tracks. It surprises me that they didn’t even bother to mix up the great tracks with that bad ones. The first five were on a roll, and after that, gutter-ball. The whole album just drops and you’re thinking "what the hell? Who put this shit in the player when I was listening to an awesome album?". Unimaginative, stale and repetitive, I can’t help but just press stop after the 5th song. What a shame, I’d give it 10 if they’d made the effort and determination to produce what would undoubtedly be a mind-blowing thrash metal album.

Bottom Line: The first 5 songs get 10/10, the rest get 3. If you think five truly kick ass songs are worth the money, go for it!

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by George on March 11, 2020.

Pyroclasts is the second of two Sunn O))) albums released in 2019 and it's the one I like less by a pretty significant margin. Musically, it's pretty much exactly what you'd picture when you think of this band. It's primarily made up of thundering basslines which crawl along at a snail's pace, a monotony unbroken by any form of percussion for the entire duration of the album. Sections are nonexistent - as a matter of fact from moment to moment within each song pretty much nothing changes, so one has to take a step back and look at the bigger picture to really see what's going on. It's not uncommon to have a mountainous ten-minute buildup, but in classic Sunn fashion it remains unresolved. Now, all of that isn't exclusive to this band, it could be applied to drone as an entire genre. And therein lies the problem.

My main problem with this release is how - dare I say it - generic it is. I believe pretty much any drone act could have put this together, so far is it removed from the ever-changing, challenging and genre-defying standard of this band. Gone is the Sunn O))) that released the surreal, terrifying Big Church, the hauntingly beautiful Alice and the crushingly claustrophobic Báthory Erzsébet. All of those songs fulfil their purpose to near perfection, gripping and immersing you in their respective worlds and emotions and not letting go until the very end. Pyroclasts falls flat in comparison; sure, it's some pretty good background drone to throw on if you want to read or relax, but the fact that that's it is disappointing. The line between incredibly slow yet impactful music and boring monotony has been crossed.

Sunn O))) make simple music. In fact, they've practically defined minimalism since the beginning of their careers, and Pyroclasts definitely holds a candle to that. If you sit back and let yourself get lost in the music you can easily become immersed, basking in a strange calm amidst the brutal bass-driven loudness. But I've come to expect experimentation from them, some element, somewhere, that challenges you, makes you uncomfortable, scares you, forces you to really think about what you're listening to. That's what this album lacks.

In conclusion, is Pyroclasts a bad release? I wouldn't say so, but within a discography as varied and thought-provoking as Sunn O)))'s, it's definitely a low point. However, I will concede that maybe there's something deeper here, some artistic merit I'm unable to appreciate. I've seen people discussing what images this album evokes in them, everything from towering, monolithic mountains to fathomless voids underneath, so give it a go. Who knows, maybe you'll find some hidden beauty in the soundscapes that I just can't see. For me though, it remains background drone and nothing more.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Review by George on March 11, 2020.

Pyroclasts is the second of two Sunn O))) albums released in 2019 and it's the one I like less by a pretty significant margin. Musically, it's pretty much exactly what you'd picture when you think of this band. It's primarily made up of thundering basslines which crawl along at a snail's pace, a monotony unbroken by any form of percussion for the entire duration of the album. Sections are nonexistent - as a matter of fact from moment to moment within each song pretty much nothing changes, so one has to take a step back and look at the bigger picture to really see what's going on. It's not uncommon to have a mountainous ten-minute buildup, but in classic Sunn fashion it remains unresolved. Now, all of that isn't exclusive to this band, it could be applied to drone as an entire genre. And therein lies the problem.

My main problem with this release is how - dare I say it - generic it is. I believe pretty much any drone act could have put this together, so far is it removed from the ever-changing, challenging and genre-defying standard of this band. Gone is the Sunn O))) that released the surreal, terrifying Big Church, the hauntingly beautiful Alice and the crushingly claustrophobic Báthory Erzsébet. All of those songs fulfil their purpose to near perfection, gripping and immersing you in their respective worlds and emotions and not letting go until the very end. Pyroclasts falls flat in comparison; sure, it's some pretty good background drone to throw on if you want to read or relax, but the fact that that's it is disappointing. The line between incredibly slow yet impactful music and boring monotony has been crossed.

Sunn O))) make simple music. In fact, they've practically defined minimalism since the beginning of their careers, and Pyroclasts definitely holds a candle to that. If you sit back and let yourself get lost in the music you can easily become immersed, basking in a strange calm amidst the brutal bass-driven loudness. But I've come to expect experimentation from them, some element, somewhere, that challenges you, makes you uncomfortable, scares you, forces you to really think about what you're listening to. That's what this album lacks.

In conclusion, is Pyroclasts a bad release? I wouldn't say so, but within a discography as varied and thought-provoking as Sunn O)))'s, it's definitely a low point. However, I will concede that maybe there's something deeper here, some artistic merit I'm unable to appreciate. I've seen people discussing what images this album evokes in them, everything from towering, monolithic mountains to fathomless voids underneath, so give it a go. Who knows, maybe you'll find some hidden beauty in the soundscapes that I just can't see. For me though, it remains background drone and nothing more.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10