(We present Wil Cifer‘s review of the first Atrophy album in 34 years, recently released by Massacre Records.)

Despite growing up on it in the ’80s I do not cover much thrash. Most of the new thrash bands just fetishize the sound of Combat Records bands circa 1985. While that was a pivotal time for metal, nostalgia only goes so far. Arizona thrashers Atrophy were never a household name when it came to thrash, but their 1988 album Socialized Hate was an overlooked classic. I gave the album an overdue revisiting, before diving into the band’s first album in 34 years.

The first thing that is evident here is that, at 59 years of age, sole founding member Brian Zimmerman’s voice has held up extremely well, for a vocalist who has not been all that active over the years. His delivery on this album carries the familiar narrative of their earlier work, though it seems he has spent some time thinking about what he did on those albums, as the phrasing is more nuanced.

The session players Zimmerman gathered to make this album might not be big names of thrash, but hungry players who took the opportunity and stepped up to show they were just as capable as any of the veteran thrash bands out there. Continue reading »