Review by Felix on October 15, 2026.

South American thrash can be very adventurous and wild and so I always like to listen to new bands from this region. Sometimes these dudes attack in a very generic way and the here reviewed formation marks no exception. Honestly speaking, I wonder that it took four decades until I stumbled over a band with the obvious name Neckbreaker. But now these four dudes from Chile fill this gap. Sadly, in terms of their compositions, they are not overly original as well. Already the acceptable yet somewhat vapid opener gives the first indication that this album will be not reach the highest quality and the fact that a melody line of the following title track is heavily influenced by Testament's "Burnt Offerings" is another more or less dubious detail.

Regardless of the not totally convincing start, "Mental Void", the band's debut after many demo years, offers thrash metal of the typical kind. Unfortunately, the longer the album lasts, the more it gets clear that the band does not capture the explosiveness of the genre completely. While an alarming song like "Written In Gunpowder" knows how to press the pedal to the metal, other tracks lack intensity and suffer from sound holes which allow the energy to escape. This and the fact that a few choruses are going nowhere ("Perception Of Risk") reduce listening pleasure.

Yet it is also true that the full-length does not disappoint from beginning to end. The lead singer screams passionately, the background vocals lend the tracks a little hardcore feeling. Okay, the more or less sharp riffs are not the most expressive ones ever written in the history of thrash, but they guarantee a certain constant sonic combat mode. "Rotten Clue" holds some of the best of the album and maybe this song even bundles all the strengths of Neckbreaker. Admittedly, even this track does not make "Mental Void" to an essential genre output, but it shows the potential of these authentically acting guys. By the way, either they know how thrash has to be produced or they were just lucky. In any case, the album can rely on a proper, typical thrash sound with an aggressive, cutting guitar tone and a pretty good balance between the single components.

Less cool is that Neckbreaker want to teach us a very primitive and one-sided view concerning the Israel / Palastine conflict. Things are probably more complex than "Crush Zionism" indicates. I don't think that one can do this topic justice with such a title, because these things aren't black or white. Thrash metal is maybe not the surrounding for many shades of grey. Anyway, the music is the crucial factor and despite a certain monotony and a lack of individuality of the single songs, "Mental Void" is definitely no flop. It just cannot piss with big dogs. But to check out very solid pieces like the slowly growing "The Flight Of The Puma" or the swift "Alcoholic Possession" will not cause any damage and the musical integrity of the five-piece is another positive factor. Guess it's quite possible that it'll go better next time.

Rating: 6.3 out of 10