Municipal Waste are a thrash metal band from the USA formed in 2001, renowned for their uncompromisingly fast and ferocious style. The band has released seven albums to date – ‘Waste ‘Em All’ (2003), ‘Hazardous Mutation’ (2005), ‘The Art Of Partying’ (2007), ‘Massive Aggressive’ (2009), ‘The Fatal Feast (Waste In Space)’ (2012), ‘Slime And Punishment’ (2017), and 2022’s ‘Electrified Brain’.
The band’s brand of thrash is fast, aggressive, and in your face – all played at a blistering breakneck speed, with the new album just thirty-three minutes in length, yet boasting an incredible fourteen songs – the longest of which chimes in at five seconds short of three minutes, and the shortest at just one minute and thirty seconds! So strap in and prepare for a pulverizing, as Municipal Waste get their latest album underway with the blistering title song ‘Electrified Brain’ – rocketing forth like a speeding bullet! The raw energy of the band is blunt and in your face, and very much to the point. The opening salvo is explosive and very fiery, the album moving swiftly on with ‘Demoralizer’, punching hard and kicking harder. There’s a definite traditional metal feel to ‘Demoralizer’, with the world-famous “foot on the monitor” style making its presence felt. A cracking opening double becomes a triple with the lightning-fast ‘Last Crawl’ – and the first chance to really get those neck muscles moving and headbang hard! Mosh pits are gonna love this one!
With no time for a breather, Municipal Waste storm on with more old-school flavor, this time courtesy of ‘Grave Dive’ – a mid-tempo thunderstorm, full of electric energy and raw power. Think bands such as Nuclear Assault and Anthrax, and you may just get some idea of the band’s sound. Accelerating violently, ‘The Bite’ is a super fast thrash metal attack, whacking you round the head with extreme power. What an absolute blast! Living up to its name, ‘High Speed Steel’ is a ferocious foray of fast-paced and aggressive thrash – head bangingly addictive and another mosh pit friendly rampage. What a time the mosh pits are gonna have when the band tour this album – definitely the place to be! And holy shit, the fire, and brimstone have just been ignited – ‘Thermonuclear Protection’ is the fastest song heard so far. Necks are definitely gonna be reaching breaking point with this one. Best get the number for the local A&E department – just in case!
Decreasing speed and increasing heaviness, ‘Blood Vessel/Boat Jail’ is a menacing foot stomper. And at halfway when the vocals kick in, all fucking hell breaks loose – the metal is mental, the band going wild, delivering chaos and mayhem! With no let up in intensity, the band change gears and flies at high velocity, ‘Crank The Heat’ a rattling rampage of all-out aggression and menace. Not to mention thunder, fire, and brimstone, Municipal Waste firing on all cylinders to deliver a fast-paced, totally head bang-able album. They say there’s no rest for the wicked, the band refusing to relent on the intensity and pace – ‘Restless And Wicked’ powering on with urgency and attitude not heard previously. I tell ya, this album is gonna stretch your neck muscles to new limits!
Maintaining the blistering pace of the last few songs, ‘Ten Cent Beer Night’ actually finds an ounce more speed! Incredible! Really incredible! The pace, power, and ferocity of ‘Electrified Brain’ (the album) is just phenomenal, the band not giving an inch with regards to an all-out thrash metal assault. ‘Barreled Rage’ lives up to its name – a raucous rampage of roaring rage melded with the sensational streak of ferocity running through this album. And I reckon the album ought to come with a speed warning – for excess speed is achieved ever so easily. And incredibly, Municipal Waste gets even faster – ‘Putting On Errors’ becoming the (new) fastest song on offer. What an absolute scorcher, losing none of the album’s aggression and menace. With the final song now upon us, it’s amazing how quick the last half hour has gone – a simply breathless gallop of great thrash. ‘Paranormal Janitor’ brings the album to a close in a feisty fast-paced frenzy, the head bang ability as high as it’s ever been, with levels of energy, aggression, and menace remaining off the charts.
Overall, speed and aggression come together with a bang – a thunderous bang, resulting in fast-paced, head-bang-able thrash metal.
TRACKLIST
Electrified Brain
Demoralizer
Last Crawl
Grave Dive
The Bite
High Speed Steel
Thermonuclear Protection
Blood Vessel – Boat Jail
Crank The Heat
Restless And Wicked
Ten Cent Beer Night
Barreled Rage
Putting On Errors
Paranormal Janitor
Municipal Waste: Facebook
Release Year: 2022
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Category: Album
Country: USA
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire, and Metal-Roos.
