Album Review: Subtype Zero – The Astral Awakening (Seeing Red Records)

Forced to change their name due to a legal dispute, the Ohio thrashers formerly known as Cringe have been ravaging the U.S. with their rabid and furious form of thrash for the last 4 years. Now known as Subtype Zero, they invoke the true spirit of early thrash/crossover pioneers so convincingly you’d swear you’d been transported back to 1986. This is ‘Hell Awaits-era Slayer/Bonded by Blood’ -era Exodus meets D.R.I. and Cryptic Slaughter for a parking lot brawl.

Their new album, The Astral Awakening will be released on August 24th 2018 via Seeing Red Records.

Firing off short, heavy and pure-thrash based tracks, Subtype Zero’s The Astral Awakening isn’t an album that surprises. It’s as straight-forward as the description and the influences suggest but delivers plenty of thrills. The words ‘no nonsense’ apply here as Subtype Zero have zero frills. They’re nasty, fiery and energetic as Become Insane, Unprecedented Salvation and Twisted Obsession beg for an old-school head-banging pit.

If 80’s thrash is your flavour then your mouth will be salivating as you listen to this album. Unfortunately it does begin to get a little old as it goes on. Short songs or not, the twelve tracks are all very samey and after a while they begin to blend into one another. The same tempo is repeated throughout and other then high, screeching guitar moments it really becomes difficult to distinguish them.

It’s not going to get many repeat plays even if the likes of Sin of the Innocent and Relentless Cleansing are hefty slabs of thrash.

Subtype Zero – The Astral Awakening Full Track Listing:

1. Blinded By Light
2. Shrouded Mestasis
3. Become Insane
4. Unprecedented Salvation
5. Twisted Obsession
6. Flesh Famine
7. The Astral Awakening
8. Sin of the Innocent
9. Relentless Cleansing
10. F.T.C.
11. Inhumane
12. Cerebral Cage

You can pick up the album over on Seeing Red Records’ Bandcamp.