Review by Vladimir on January 3, 2024.

Well folks, it is time to dive deep into some thrash metal which I haven’t done in a while, and the topic of this review will be covering the polish thrash metal band Snake Eyes, more specifically their second full-length album No One Left To Die, released on April 2nd, 2022 via Defense Records. 

Snake Eyes provides a very tight and complex thrash metal performance with heavy and aggressive guitar work consisted of either triple picking riffs or downpicking at times, backed up by thrashing or mid-tempo drums and dry female harsh vocals that border with oldschool death metal. Aside from the usual thrash metal speed, aggression and musical hatred, there also seems to be a strong emphasis on atmosphere in every song, mostly expressed during slower sections and solos which manage to create a certain world that surrounds you as the song goes. Best examples that showcase a bit of both, is the fifth track 'Talamasca' that relies on both dark atmosphere and technical heaviness, a very solid combination of two worlds that was quite successfully and effectively carried out. 

The overall songwriting on this album has a very strong stylistic consistency, yet every song tries out something new, while also providing a different riff progression from one section to another. The great thing is that all songs manage to express some form of extreme aggression without feeling dry or effortless, which is by far the biggest strength of this album. The only weakness about this album is the fact that there isn’t really a song on this album that stands out in particular, without there being any awesome riff or memorable chorus, and at times it feels almost like the album is just meant to follow the same template from one song to another and call it a day. It is a bit of a letdown considering that there is such a strong and overdriven performance from the band on every side that could have easily shown its bigger potential, perhaps even introduce an element of surprise that would have you coming back to this album more frequently. The only real stand out is the final track 'Sigh Of Death' which is an instrumental all the way through with a strong emphasis on progression and frequent guitar soloing, although it goes on for about 11 minutes and 20 seconds which to some can feel a bit bothersome, but I personally wasn’t that much bothered by it. As for the sound production, it is moderately heavy and very top-notch sounding album, which did a great job with the guitars, distorted bass, drums and vocals. 

Overall, I’d say that No One Left To Die is a fairly good album that was quite enjoyable to listen to, even despite its mild lacklustre nature. Despite how many modern thrash metal bands come and go, we can’t deny the fact that it is just impossible to reinvent the wheel when it comes to the genre as a whole, but that doesn’t mean that the bands won’t give all they got and make something that on its own could be noticed by a solid amount of fans that will enjoy these albums no matter what. 

Rating: 7.7 out of 10