Metatheosis

The thrash revival has already worn thin its denim vest for many metalheads. Understandably so. A lot of it is style over substance, where faded Testament shirts and old-school production values mask bands’ riff deficiencies (garage rock went through similar issues). Germany’s Noneuclid has been at it for a decade, which hardly makes them neo-thrashists—instead they take ’80s thrash metal into the new millennium by mixing black, doom and prog influences. Noneuclid does bring with it the extra baggage of being a “supergroup” (the band includes members of Triptykon, Obscura and Dark Forttress), typically a recipe for disaster. But Metatheosis—their second full-length—continues Noneuclid’s head-spinning head banging. Their apocalyptic visions are accompanied by equally menacing riffs. “Cult of One” is probably the most straightforward song on the album, with a riff that will cut skin (and a lyric that will turn stomachs: “between the sperms and the worms”). The centerpiece is a three-part suite called “Into the Light,” which is nothing compared with the 16-minute album closer “None So Lucid.” The production and vocals are on the tidy side, but that’ll be the last thing on your mind as this beast swallows you whole.