Witchtrap 

Vengeance Is My Name

Hells Headbanger Records/Dirty Sound Records 2012

On Vengeance Is My Name Colombian black thrash horde Witchtrap continues to deliver deadly strikes of METAL!!!!   Much like their thrash forefathers did, Witchtrap take influences from traditional and speed metal and inject rawness and more speed for a rabid concoction of thrash metal!  After a misleadingly calm acoustic intro a burst of razor-sharp riffs confront you on Winds of War.  Shredding guitars and bile-filled vocals rip chunks of flesh from your body.  The early thrash elements really come to the forefront on Damned To The Core.  You can hear references to Show No Mercy in some of those riffs, but it's not like a clone, it's more like Witchtrap and Slayer took the same influences and came to similar conclusions.  Later in the song I hear some distinct NWOBHM references, perhaps a little Angelwitch.  Queen of Hell is up next and is a brooding track.  It conjures comparisons to Extreme Aggression era Kreator with its menacing riffs and measured pace.  Distinct Legacy era Testament riffs appear throughout Venomous Breath.  However they are rawer and more bestial, especially when paired with the South American sounding chorus.  The title-track begins with a beautiful, classic lead and an epic riff beneath it, but that quickly gives way to some bouncing, traditional guitar passages and rolling bass lines.  This is a prime example of taking NWOBHM influences and making them harsher and more feral.  The song then kicks it up a notch for some sawing thrash riffs as the song moves towards its explosive climax.  My favorite track on the album has to be Pay In Blood with its total street-rock opening and classic metal main riff.  I can picture these guys riding motorcycles and listening to Steppenwolf and Deep Purple as they scorch the highway.  The chorus is a thing of catchy beauty.  It is instantly stuck in your mind.  On the opposite end of the spectrum is I'll Take Your Head is a straight-ahead speed-fest which brings the album to its logical conclusion.  Vengeance Is My Name is a forward looking album that infuses underground black thrash with early NWOBHM and thrash influences and hones them into a lethal arsenal.  Witchtrap keeps the flame of true metal burning bright and uses it to ignite a raging inferno of blackened thrash that incinerates the underground.