Mastery
Lethal Legacy
10
What’s On Tap: Unbelievably aggressive, heavy, B-R-U-T-A-L instrumental thrash metal from Toronto...
Hmmm. How does one ‘spell’ the sound of a person in the midst of a spit-take, immediately followed by the racket of their car screeching, swerving, hitting a telephone pole, and throwing said driver through the windshield, onto the street, and eventually rolling into the path of a barreling garbage truck? Well, regardless of how the hell it's spelled, that's nearly what happened during my initial spin of this record in my car yesterday. Of course I luckily avoided the above scenario and eventually arrived at my destination physically unscathed, but h-o-l-y shit! This record kicked my ass!
Lethal Legacy, quite simply put, is the most aggressive, ass-kicking rendition of very late 80’s/early 90’s era speed/thrash these ears have heard in over fifteen years. And hell, if you were to throw Mastery directly into the very late 80’s/early 90’s, they would’ve given those thrash bands of yore a serious run for their money. Take everything you loved about early works from bands such as Heathen, Testament, Forbidden, Exodus, early 90’s era Pantera, Death Angel, Dark Angel, and any number of other bands of that era and ilk, mix it all together with an absolutely crushing bottom end and top-notch production, and you’ve got Mastery (a fitting moniker indeed). Folks, if James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammet, and Dave Mustaine were to hear this EP today, they’d probably all wither instantly and blow away in the wind. It’s just that bloody tough. Six tracks of absolutely bludgeoning, speedy thrash metal, packed to the fuckin’ gills with shreddage galore, filthy riff breakouts, impeccable lead-work, and some of the best damned thrash metal drumming I have ever heard. Each player in this band is a master of his domain, and the musicianship on this 25-minute EP proves it. And as far as why there are no vocals present, the band offers up the following explanation from their website:
“We tried out a number of different singers, but just couldn’t find the right fit. So we found ourselves in a situation where we could either sit in the studio waiting for the right person to show up, or we could get out there and do it anyway! We didn’t know what to expect heading out as an instrumental metal band, but all the feedback we’ve gotten at our shows have indicated that we made a good choice”
Yep, I think they made the right choice as well. Nothing wrecks an otherwise fantastic record faster than turdly vocals. And while I honestly hope Mastery eventually finds someone to fit the vocal-bill, the band's sheer musical aptitude on this EP is easily enough to satisfy my ears. If you consider yourself a fan of thrash metal (or aggressive metal in general), you’d be a fool not to check these guys out. Lethal Legacy is one of the best thrash metal EP’s to surface in the genre since Blood Feast’s 1987 EP, Face Fate. I can’t wait to see what they offer us in the future. Absolutely phenomenal...
