Review by Jeger on July 29, 2024.

70,000 years ago, Toba erupted; spewing forth volcanic mayhem into the hemisphere and raining down total volcanic winter for years following. And it's like we choose to just ignore these potentially catastrophic natural time bombs, but then again, what else can we do? We're about due for another one, but until the cap blows off officially, we have the ball-blistering thrash metal of Chile’s Mayhemic to precursor the main event…

Since the beginning, the South American thrash metal movement has been one that has marched proudly alongside the Americans and the Germans. Sepultura and Sarcófago, Pentagram and Apostasy ring a bell? You could say that the South American scene has actually stayed truer to the ways/traditions of the old school and no one would likely argue. Thrash has long taken root down below, and now, during this unprecedented era of de-evolution, as we stand as a species deserving of total annihilation, the abominable Mayhemic are here to remind us all that extinction is probably a little closer than we think…

Ripping at the jugular, balls deep in the cunt of the competition thrash metal… Extreme to the core and blazing through each note/beat like men possessed by whatever demon that makes you sound better than everyone else… With their debut LP, Toba, released on July 26, 2024 Mayhemic rape the aforementioned competition and it's not even fair, man, like where did these dudes come from, and from which parallel dimension did they find their drummer? Contemporary dynamics offset by classicism in recording; resulting in a nicely balanced album, despite its eviscerating nature. Laser beam-like guitar riffs that pulsate and scramble the senses during maniacal album cuts: 'Kollarbone Crushed Neanderthal' and 'Triumph Portrait' that just exude silly in a good way levels of speed and aggression. The way thrash was intended to sound? Well, not over here in the old US of A, that's for true. We can’t do it like this up here… This is some genuinely primal yet masterfully adept extreme metal that harkens back to the glory days of Kreator's "Pleasure To Kill" or the aforementioned Sarcófago’s "I.N.R.I."

The sheer intricacy of these progressions is like something out of a clinic, and at no point do they become gaudy or exhaustive, just total enthrallment from beginning to end as you find yourself in a perpetual state of awe. 'Extinction & Mystery' and 'Valley Of The Thundra' - mid-tempo delicacies that tantalize the palate with delicious guitar riffs and hearty rhythms - martial cadences that only serve to bolster the guitars. A little wisdom in action here to help you understand that these aren’t just a bunch of pissed-off kids with instruments, but the cream of the current Chilean extreme metal scene. The legends of the international scene don’t want to hear this shit, because they can't play it. The upstarts should also avoid this album so as to not become discouraged… You can't manufacture energy like this. Here we have the fire of youth converging with mad-scientist-level talents and the result is just fucking mind-blowing music. 

Do people mosh to this shit or just stand there jaws agape? Are these dudes on Crystal Meth? The good pink shit? Sure sounds like it… Prepare to imbibe like a rail of ice to the face every fevered riff and every triple-machine-gun fire rhythm. It does not go down smooth, in fact, it burns and rips away at your nasal tissue, but man is it a sweet ride. Definitely not your fluid chugging thrash record. Toba is all violence and inertia like an old wooden roller coaster that jerks you about as you wonder if it was such a good idea to get on this thing. And it boils down to perfection… This is a statement-making debut and the statement? I think the music speaks for itself.

Captivation: 10/10
Concept: 10/10
Cover Art: 10/10
Production: 10/10
Revisitability: 10/10

Rating: 10 out of 10