Rating: 8.5

Country: USA

Genre: Thrash Metal

Record Label: Beer City Records

Release Date: 2008

Track list:
1. Arise From the Wreckage
2. Violence and Aggresion
3. Electrocutioner
4. Enemy Lines
5. Godhand
6. Permanent Damage
7. Fear
8. Retaliate
9. Reap the Weak
10. The Flames of Aggression
11. Ritual Sacrifice
Total playing time 39:54

Band Website: Head On Collision

Head On Collision - Ritual Sacrifice

Pat McCauley - Guitar, Vocals
John Hancock - Bass
Jason Brooks - Drums

I don't know about you, but most of the metalheads my side of my age were weaned on thrash metal. It was inconceivable for one to be into extreme metal without him having heard the staple thrash metal acts. It served as a foundation to prepare him for the more extreme music out there, a stepping stone for those like me who were craving for greater heaviness and brutality. Also, it must be taken into consideration that it wasn't possible for one to survive only on this genre as it faded out during the ‘90s where other related extreme metal genres such as death metal and black metal came to the fore and offered the listener with something extra. So while we continued to worship the classic albums, thrash metal music at that point of time sounded weak and hackneyed in comparison, and many including me satisfied their thrashy urges by listening to the Floridian and Swedish deathrash acts and the insanely fast and rabid grindcore bands. Naturally it would take a lot for a new thrash metal group to rekindle the old fire, and Head On Collision have managed to do just that.

Although they are from the US, their music doesn't resemble bay area thrash as one might expect and instead sounds like a brilliant cross between pre-‘90s Canadian thrash played by bands such as Sacrifice, Infernal Majesty, Razor and Teutonic thrash metal most specifically Agent Orange era Sodom and Kreator circa Pleasure to Kill. Pure raging thrash metal unsullied by modern trends is what you will find here. Yet, it doesn't sound clichéd and is far from an affected attempt at recreating the magic of those bands. Opening with “Arise from the Wreckage” which is a thumping instrumental song, you know that you have something really fucking good spinning in your player. And when the Mille Petrozza meets Tom Angelripper rasps are introduced in the next one, it is time for you to shed your inhibitions and do some seriously mad body thrashing. The ensuring intense shredding by the guitarists peels the skin off your face, the bassist mangles out delectable chunky notes from his end, and the drummer creates blood-rushing explosions on his kit in a manner reminiscent of Ventor of Kreator. This, my friends, is sheer thrash metal glory, if you know what I am talking about. There are no pit riffs here to induce you to jump into one where you would rub balls with other men. No, this kind of music ignites such an uncontrollable sensation of ecstasy within you that you can't do anything else but stand and vibrate violently all over, with your head getting tossed about the most.

The music follows a mostly mid to fast pace, not wasting their time dawdling but not darting across either. But then they don't need to, for their riffs are so fleshed out, so intricately played, it is a certain delight to listen to them like that. Unlike several acts of today, there are indeed leads erupting every now and then in their songs to which you do some passionate air guitaring of your own, especially with them being relatively expressive and meaningful in addition to being racy, and not just involve noisy aimless shredding done Slayer style. The production is top-notch, crisp and clear, and lends just enough grit and power to each of the instruments. However, it doesn't quite uphold the evil ritualistic image the band is attempting to create with their artwork and album title, for their music exudes an aura of the war-obsessed Sodom rather than that band's early alleged black metal releases. The highlight is when their ace drummer gets into his cannon-blasting or whiplash beating mode with the music following suit, and that is when all hell breaks loose. Everything seems well then, except towards the end their intensity takes a minor dip and that could partly be attributed to the presence of a slight melodic undercurrent.

Playing tight, ballsy, unadulterated form of thrash metal with utmost sincerity, Head On Collision have by far surpassed the expectations of this disillusioned thrash metal fan. I would strongly recommend Ritual Sacrifice to all those with the fire of real thrash metal burning in their hearts and who are disgusted by the new trend of weak retro thrash that is rampant these days.

August 10th, 2008