Review by Felix on January 16, 2022.

Some details concerning Costa Rica:
- Capital: San José
- Number of inhabitants: roughly 5 million
- Neutral since 1983 (“Switzerland of Central America”)
- First female President: Laura Chinchilla Miranda
- Best thrash metal band: Chemicide

Well, I admit that the first four bullet points are merely nice to know, but the last one is all the more important for that. Okay, I further admit that I am not familiar with any other thrash band from Costa Rica. This makes it relatively easy to say which one I like most. But let’s stop the irony mode and talk about Inequality.

The third album of mastermind Frankie Chemicide and his comrades is just another thrash metal album and maybe that’s right, but to me this sentence sounds like “this young woman is just another beauty”. Expressed differently, I like this pretty generic stuff, because it’s fast, energetic, properly violent and uncompromising. Songs like 'State Of Emergency' or 'Overload' are not far away from Demolition Hammer’s outbursts of murderous brutality on “Epidemic Of Violence”. I don’t say that they reach the same outstanding level of thrashing bestiality, but that’s mainly because of the less furious mix. No doubt, Inequality sounds well. It is equipped with a clear, punchy and direct sound, but the material does not press the listener against the wall like the monster of Demolition Hammer did. The sound of the album is somehow the modern counterweight to the compositions which were exclusively forged in the old school of the genre. If you like other thrash bands active today, for example Contradiction, Fusion Bomb or Speedrush, you will enjoy the similar approach of the four-piece from this land I will probably never see.

Chemicide use all trademarks of thrash. Rasping guitars, shouted vocals, double bass hailstorms, guitar lines which are as swift as an arrow ('Indoctrination', many more) and they are not afraid of occasional atmospheric moments either (the part of 'Altered Reality' before the vocals set in or the instrumental on position six of the song list). I appreciate the fact that they don't need keyboards for the atmospheric moments, but rather rely on ominous riffing. Nevertheless, the explosive high velocity eruptions are more characteristic for the record. 'State Of Emergency' marks the prime example in this context. It’s more spontaneous than the entire Slayer discography since 1988 and more impulsive than the whole Testament catalogue. I don’t say that Chemicide deliver better material than these legends, but in their best moments, they convey this irresistible juvenile drive that some of the pioneers lost way too fast. But exactly this high energy aura is a more or less essential ingredient of real thrash metal.

An acceptable yet slightly inadequate Misfits cover song helps the (so-called) full-length to cross the 30 minutes mark. As far as I know, their fourth album Common Sense will soon be released, maybe it will be a bit longer? However, quantity is secondary. The musical content is convincing and in the case of Chemicide, I even like the multi-colored artwork which is well aligned with that of their second album. Hey, Costa Ricans, don't you want to start a 5-million-strong competition to see who can thrash as well as Chemicide?

Rating: 7.5 out of 10