Launching a sky-blackening attack in response to the still cresting wave of apocalyptic times at hand Washington D.C.-based thrash metal trio DESOLUS relay prophecies of horrifying demise on this authentic ‘old school’ minded debut full-length album. Armed with a studied grasp of classicist riffcraft of the morbid-thrashing variety and amped to a nigh death metal level of intensity ‘System Shock‘ is brilliantly stylized to the point that it doesn’t feel like a “retro” experience so much as it offers spirited addition to a legacy of violent firebrand thrash on the toppling edge of extremity. If you’re a fan of the eldest high standards of stylization and aggression you’ll know these folks have it down the moment you hear it, anyone else will get a chance soak up a serious chunk of morbid thrash education within each sitting.

Desolus formed circa 2019 during the impending events of the most recent pandemic and served as a point of focus between bassist/vocalist Vivek Rangarajan and guitarist/vocalist Jimmy Frost both of whom approached their interest in the aggressive spectrum of mid-to-late 80’s thrash metal through classicist songcraft. By the end of 2020 they’d added Travis Stone of Pig Destroyer on drums and at some point between then and now cut this set of ten extremophilic thrash metal songs. With that sparse backstory and no reputation built just yet it’d be fair to approach this gig with some reservations but rest assured this is elite-level thrash metal authenticity in the sense that they’ve put together an ‘old school’ thrash full-length experience which doesn’t shy away from its referential and riff-obsessed sound.

The rare nowadays thrash metal fan with any real sense of ancient mid-80’s wrath in skull should immediately get what this record is all about, maybe two riffs into the first song at most. There is no mistaking the direct inspiration taken from pre-‘Extreme Aggression‘ Kreator on ‘System Shock‘ but they also suggest Dark Angel and Sodom (probably ‘Persecution Mania‘ on prime) sticking within a pre-’88 level of morbid thrash as their spirit animal. There is of course decades of lineage attached to that sound and its relation to early extreme metal, an aggression which die-hard fans should have loaded in mind already as we suggest Morbid Saint and Merciless (Swe) kinda built themselves up on a similar approach, especially with some heavier kicking on the drums herein. This sound should have broad appeal with folks as it forms a strong basis for death-thrash metal/80’s death metal be it Protector or (the first) Massacra and if we look to retro (before it was trendy) bands like Hypnosia who’d brought on their own revival of this style a couple decades ago the right attack rarely misses. While I would suggest it is mostly black/thrash metal bands that get it wrong it is rare in general that a band takes inspiration from this particular font and ends up going awry… though some bands have proven over the years (Eternal Evil, certain Deathstorm records) the reference isn’t always a free pass these folks have gotten it right while proposing some of their own ideas along the way.

Desolus are out to make a point as they cut through Side A with five ~four-minute rippers in a row, stabbing hard at this raw and noisome recording with opener/title track “System Shock” setting the tone of their attack in a purely classics-minded mode. This means Frost‘s vocals offer a barking, laughing and shrieking nuclear hiss to start before some familiar full-sent grooves hit. The song feels exactly right from the start but doesn’t hit its point of memorable mastery until around ~2:24 minutes where they pull out this wild riff where the second guitar performs this sort of delayed follow of the first for a maze-like rush. There are only a few points on the album that extend a fresh, crazed riff idea out of the ordinary into the mix but it helps that most of them spark up in the early moments of the album, helping that first impression to stand out even if their whole deal reeks squarely of that good ole ‘Pleasure to Kill‘ informed realm of post-‘Hell Awaits‘ era proto-death most of the time; The harried speed and raw sound the first few pieces had me thinking of some of my favorite records up front, specifically ‘Final Holocaust‘, per the style of riffcraft but I guess the real test is how well they pull of ten songs of this stuff without tiring out, running out of riffs, or pulling some annoying shit along the way.

It is a small gripe, and I would generally argue that “Metal Fetishist” is a great song, but it does hit upon the first of a few spikes of stuff that annoyed upon repeat/return listening. Specifically the intro sample to the song kinda ground the gears of the album’s focus after a while especially when they bring it back even louder upon transitioning into the song’s first solo. We can balance that negative with a positive, though, as it suggests Desolus not only have competent lead guitar skills but any time they cut a wail, dive, or semi-melodic solo they make sure it fits the song and (usually) lands at an opportune time. Few thrash metal bands today manage reasonable placement or relevant tonality within leads anymore so, these aren’t necessarily choking on their own personae per se but they fit and they function; Otherwise the mid-album transition into Side B is my favorite part of the album as we touch upon the fevered peak of the pacing on the record and some of their biggest riffs between a few Destruction-esque trade-off riffs via “The Arrival” and the even more balls-heavy riffs on the slower to rise but still blazing “The Invasion Begins” as the Satanic sci-fi theme of the album appears to hit its firestorm and the trade-off between vocalists reaches its most active scourge.

In crossing over to the second half of the sitting without losing the plot ‘System Shock‘ narrowly avoids feeling front-loaded despite the initial six song run on the track list being a mostly complete thought. By the time we get into the rabid groove of “Sea of Fire” it does feel like Desolus are taking an opportunity to show what else they can do with this sound at a different pace and/or with their dual vocal setup (“The Sigilite”) but they’ve already kinda done the work of the album at that point and gotten me on board. Not everything they try on the last two or three songs adds anything vital to the run, same goes for the interlude which doesn’t match up with its surroundings in any profound way, but on the flipside none of it hurts the rep gained overall. My thoughts kinda match the energy of the album in this sense, it is a great time and a solid take on a certain tradition of unholy thrash metal but they’ve only just started to work in their own gear that convinces the die-hard ear to keep listening. Of course my own heavy bias in favor of bands that sound like old Kreator records still applies, so, your results may vary. A high recommendation.

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