Hailing from Strathalbyn in South Australia comes thrash metal four piece Alkira with their 4 track E.P. “Red Devil”.
Now for me personally over the years I have been really impressed with a lot of the metal to come out of SA from the likes of Double Dragon, Truth Corroded and A Red Dawn just to name a few and Alkira certainly live up to the reputation.
These 4 Tracks are all rooted very firmly in the old school bay area thrash sound starting with the first song, the title track “Red Devil”. It almost sounds like an early Zetro era Exodus track when they were still trying to be as fast and heavy as possible compared to the others in the genre.
Second track “Hell’s March” has a very groove metal feel, definitely one to open up a pit. Real early Machine Head sound to this in the fact that the groove is there but its still thrash.
Next up is a heavy plodding track “The Night Mare” that’s a straight up chug riff that kicks in your face repeatedly and Gregory Challis spits out the lyrics with such venom. It reminds me of modern Testament with a bit of Pantera Dimebag riffage thrown in.
Last Track on the E.P. “Masks of the World” is as thrash as it gets. Hard, Heavy and fast just melting your face off and leaving you wanting more. 4 tracks isn’t enough.
The guitar work on this is so tight and the soloing is fantastic. Great mix of shred without getting to wankery. Challis’ vocals are great. Very aggressive almost current day Chuck Billy mixing in the traditional Trash metal screaming vocals with a more lower guttural barking at times.
The only problem I have with this release is its way to short. The 4 tracks we are given are amazing and really make want a full length Album. But until then I’m gonna suggest everyone goes out a grab this E.P. right now.
Plus any band that makes a band shirt out of a Coopers Sparkling Label is pretty rad in my book
“Red Devil” is available now http://alkirametal.bigcartel.com
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