Review by Greg on December 13, 2024.

And here it goes, another band returning after a brief stint in the magic eighties that didn't leave us anything but demos, and, like in most similar instances, featuring very few of the same members nowadays. Anialator, apart from taking a chance for the worst spelling of the word I've ever seen (and that's taking into account Anihilated and Ennihilate, among others), is also notable for being helmed by bassist Alex Dominguez, who appeared in legendary thrash act Devastation in their early days, and again in their short-lived reunion (trivia: their Violent Termination contained a song – the least worst one – with the exact same title of the here examined album).

Surrounded by a revolving door of fellow Texan musicians, Dominguez finally managed to complete the first Anialator full-length a couple of weeks ago, 38 years after the band's formation, with brand-new tracks only. Death Is Calling presents a reinvigorated collective, although one shouldn't be too surprised at the energy brought to the table as there are a lot of new faces. Sometimes I'm reminded of Brain Langley-era Aggression, minus the death metal influence (so a lot like the awfully titled Feels like Punk, Sounds like Thrash), that is to say, another band likewise with a lone original member left, as well as among the better ones to do it. In any case, Daniel Garcia's drumming is relentless, and the vocals of Tony Gomez resemble a more extreme version of Rigor Mortis' Bruce Corbitt, accordingly to the state. Riffs might not be very original, nor very good at times, but there were some moments I liked such as the rifftastic intro of 'Kill Till Death', which however kinda fails to capitalize on such a head start, the middle section of the slower 'Iron Grinder', or a couple of cuts that simply make no prisoners altogether ('Memories Of Terror', 'Hear The Death Call'), with a very basic approach that is, at the same time, also extremely hard not to appreciate. The sleazy midtempo riff introducing closer 'Terror Tactics' is probably the only thing worth mentioning in the second half, but whereas there isn't a lot that compels me to put the whole thing on again, it's also nothing incompetent or sloppy like their first demos, if anything.

Honestly speaking, after these 33 minutes that surely won't change the world, I'm moderately happy. From what I've gathered, Dominguez had to face ex-bandmates who tried to illegitimately take possession of the band name (proof that you don't need to be in a big band or corporation to get into legal battles), and managed to come out as a winner only recently. Death Is Calling is the closing of a circle and a potential new beginning for the old dogs, like many works in this mini-series but, in a way, even more so than them, due to these happenings. I bet Dominguez is also happy regardless of the future of Anialator.

Rating: 6.6 out of 10