Band:	Sacred Ally
Album:	Reality Hammer
Style:	Progressive thrash metal
Release date:	July 2011

01. Math
02. Kermit The Prog
03. Despair
04. Uzumaki
05. Valour And War
06. High Seas
07. Final Juggernaut

"Math"..."Kermit The Prog"...What's in a name, eh? Now, here I am anticipating some full-blown, unabashed wankery. I mean, generally speaking, when I come across overly proggy bands, all I hear is a bunch of people who, if it weren't for their preoccupation with their instruments, would be waving their dicks in your face. Sacred Ally on the other hand is a treat; instead of musical meat-spin, it's just a series of awesome riffs being tossed at you in rapid succession.

So the riffs are fast and sweet, it must be thrash, right? Of course it's fucking thrash. They just needed to bring in the prog elements so they could cram in all these riffs, they wouldn't have all fit otherwise. Fortunately, they let the riffs smoothly fire into one another pretty seamlessly. Yes, the drastic tempo shifts are there, but something just feels natural about them. They drive from the previously mentioned thrash appeal into soaring leads that could easily find themselves at home in some good ol' fashioned power metal, and just when you're getting bored of those, they throw some Thin Lizzy worthy guitarmonies at you. The beautiful part is the riffs are always given enough time to marinate; too often bands overstretch the whole constant-shifting aspect, ripping you out of your groove when your just getting into a certain segment, Reality Hammer seems to always give the listener the appropriate amount of time to let the flavour of each riff soak in.

So this album is pretty top-notch, the only real issue is the bottom end...or lack there of. It comes through some times, when the riffs allow it, but occasionally it sounds wafer thin. The riffs feel heavy, but they don't sound heavy, if you know what I mean. The best example of this being the first segment of the closing track "Final Juggernaut". That riff is pretty damn crunchy, but it just sounds like all guitar, and no bass. This is something that is noticeable on close inspection, but not all that trifling in the grand scheme.

So you like riffs then? Quit fucking around, give Reality Hammer a spin. If you don't, you'll regret it a few years from now when they have their own chain of restaurants, complete with hidden potty-cams to boot.