Band:	Crisix
Album:	Against The Odds
Style:	Thrash metal
Release date:	March 2018

01. Get Out Of My Head
02. Leech Breeder
03. Technophiliac
04. Perseverance
05. Xenomorph Blood
06. Prince Of Saiyans
07. Leave Your God Behind
08. Cut The Shit
09. The North Remembers

I remember when Crisix released their first album - part of me says I remember when they were still known as Crysys, but I could be lying to myself, for all I know - and at the time I was blown away by the supercharged energy they delivered with every riff. They fell off my radar for a while, but coming back to catch up with them on Against The Odds, I'm very happy to hear that Crisix have only continued to turn the volume up since The Menace.

Their style is extravagantly and pridefully indebted to the stiff-necked, chest-beating, dirty, rotten, toxic waltzing of the Old Style - stop me if you've heard this claim propagated by a million blurbs in a million press kits of a million watered-down thrash-worship bands - but Crisix possess such levels of instrumental fluidity and over-the-top vitality that their "Ultra Thrash" is more reality than empty boast. It would be an overstatement to say that Crisix bring something truly new to thrash, but by the same token, they don't sound chained to a retro formula like so many of their contemporaries. There is a drive to improve and seek a personally identifiable sound.

Julián Baz manages an awesomely ugly vocal delivery that is simultaneously guttural and piercing. The guitars keep to low tunings and deep chugging that are somewhat unusual for thrash, belying Crisix's retro aspirations with a very modern low-end crunch pulling in shades of melodeath. Occasional breakdowns and technical flourishes steer Against The Odds into heavier genres, with moments that remind me of recent Cannibal Corpse, Vektor, and even later-era Immortal. While most of the solos fall into that space-filling domain of wankery that constitutes so much of the heavy metal soloing doctrine, there are several moments of genuine feeling and inspiration that hint still further at visionary potential only just beginning to be tapped by Crisix.

Despite the self-professed dedication to speed and aggression, Crisix can construct interesting, multi-tiered melodies, as demonstrated on tracks like the cold, spaced-out "Prince Of Saiyans" and the roaring, fantasy-rich "The North Remembers." Truthfully, while Crisix's traditional thrash game is strong enough to stand tracks like "Get Out Of My Head," "Leech Breeder," and "Perseverance" against anything coming out of the 2010s thrash generation, the best moments on the album don't come from thrash at all. The sudden dark detours and variations provide the most compelling case for returning to Against The Odds, and Crisix seems to have matured and refined in these aspects since their debut seven years ago. My advice to Crisix is to continue experimenting and continue growing; thrash is limited, but Crisix doesn't have to be.