At a time when the old guard of thrash and speed metal politico all appear in service to the ruling class as they reach retirement age it is refreshing to see folks still addicted to their music’d never lost sight of the bigger picture. In the case of Palermo, Sicily-based thrash metal quartet IREFUL we can see the universal truths of the powers that be and the actions that’d shaped the state of the world today within their decidedly authentic ‘old school’ thrash metal debut full-length album. That isn’t to say that ‘Agents of Doom‘ is an outright political themed album, in fact they’re definitely the type to have some fun with it along the way, but rather that their whole deal understands and worships the viably defiant spirit of the sub-genre and this shows in every aspect of this presentation. If you’re already familiar with the band and saw promise in their first EP no doubt you’ll find a serious record making good on that potential with a concise but memorable statement herein.

Ireful are a fairly new band from longtime fans of classic thrash and metalpunk having formed circa 2019. Their approach is somewhat mid-paced with a direct focus on 80’s thrash metal voicing rather than whatever modern revisions have taken place since, of course this style of heavy metal is dominated by the language of the rhythms and the muscle memory for their work has some 80’s hardcore punk tendency and muscle memory for riffs that speak to the early knack of groups like Exodus, (earliest) Vio-lence, and we could split the difference somewhere nearby the raw barreling rush of Whiplash‘s brilliant ‘Power and Pain‘ in getting the gist of their fairly plain debut EP (‘The Walls of Madness‘, 2021). I figure for the year it was released, a decent debut statement in terms of simple thrash rhythms without any notable interplay between the two rhythm guitar tracks. To my ear it’d all read a bit simple, plain but inoffensive apart from the fiery strike of “Rusty Nail” (ha, the lyrics…) where I’d gotten the impression of their sound as akin to a lot of late 80’s crossover/metalpunk that’d gone full thrash but hadn’t kept up with the dual-guitar arms race for speed and technical acumen of the late-decade peak.

It’d been hard enough to pin down just one point of interest per the set of five songs from Ireful‘s debut EP but as we stretch into the full ~35 minute rub of ‘Agents of Doom‘ the need to be reductive or plainly categorical fades for the sake of how well they’ve pulled off an honest, sharp-as-fuck ‘old school’ thrash metal record as a whole. Sure, I could peck at the riffs that build opener “I, Caligula” and find some circa ’87 Kreator runs, a tinge of ‘Beneath the Remains‘ in one transition or another, etc. but I’d come out of it appreciating the work these folks have put into their gig beyond ‘The Walls of Madness‘. They’re more-or-less swinging big on this record while keeping it street-level thrash, working in gang-shouts (“A.B. Normal”) and dual rhythm guitar fusion to keep their largely mid-paced action rife with classic intensity. Consider it an all-around improvement.

The first thing I’d tout here is the clarity, or, sharper enunciation of the vocalist this time around as he leans into the Souza-style snarl of the performance with a bit more coherence… at least whenever their lyrics seem to make their biggest, most clever points (see: “Agents of Doom”). Granted a few songs present a challenge in this regard, such as the faster snapped-out build of “Blackhearted Master” in its first couple of verses but that song is more about the walking n’ shot-gunning stomp of its movement beyond the ‘Seasons in the Abyss‘-esque opening. They’ve got the title of the song in the chorus in mist cases so you’ll never get fully lost; Why haven’t I lead with the riffs? Maybe I’ve heard it all (in terms of classic thrash metal and its worship, this isn’t an insurmountable goal) but to me this record is more about building up a defiant personality, punching upward, and testing their might in creation of an authentic mid-80’s thrash metal sensation rather than a purely inventive riff record. Again, much of ‘Agents of Doom‘ is mid-paced and uses double-bass drumming to give the sensation of speed but for all that a song like “Exiles for Metal” does it can’t help but trudge along and steadily make its point. I’ll trade a great song for a fast one any day and in this sense Ireful are generally winning the race.

The best thing that Ireful have done here to leave a solid second impression via ‘Agents of Doom‘ is present their work with a consistent level of quality throughout the full listen. Sure, it is fairly brief for a traditional release in this style but this means their thread is never interrupted by short shocks of filler nor does it find the time to lean into repetition or any dramatic indulgence or to step into extreme metal. By the time we’re hitting those chunkier grooves in the deep center of album-closer “Evil Genius” I’d definitely been ready for another ride and largely because they’d kept it succinct and only given up what’d been their best and most readied pieces. I get the sense that these guys are in it to have fun, of course, but also that the performance and arrangement of this album was something they’d taken seriously based on how tightly set the whole presentation is. From an obscure 80’s heavy metal perspective there is something charmingly arcane about the cover art and logo which add to the overall effect which doesn’t necessarily floor me but definitely speaks the right language for underground thrash. That’d be the biggest compliment I could give, these guys know their shit and the level at which they ‘keep it old school’ seems authentic in service to the defiant spiritus of thrash metal rather than some umpteenth generational bastardization of it. A high recommendation.

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