ENFORCED

Thrash metal never gets old. No debate necessary. But a bit of generational rejuvenation never goes amiss, and the last decade has seen yet another wave of young bands breathing fire and fury into that cherished and reliably potent formula. Second only to the mighty POWER TRIP in the sensible person's preferred line of succession are ENFORCED. Already buzzier than a mountain of active beehives, the Richmond, Virginia quintet must surely now be on the cusp of bigger and better things. Their third full-length in four years, "War Remains", is so unabashedly commanding and ferocious that it's hard to imagine any other outcome.

ENFORCED's first two albums were both great. No debate necessary there either. Thrash comes in many forms, and while the hardcore elements in this band's sound can easily be overstated, there is a ruggedness and brutality powering everything the band have done to date that most comparable modern thrash rarely equals. On "War Remains", they simply go harder, faster and nastier. Produced to resemble a rapacious, concrete block of sound pulverizing everything in its inhuman wake, every one of these songs is a model of succinctness and maximized impact. And at a perfectly economical 33 minutes, "War Remains" is a welcome throwback to the days when bands only had 40 minutes to play with. Every song counts, every riff connects. ENFORCED are a fucking machine.

You can tell when a band have shit to do and no patience. "Aggressive Menace" is a controlled explosion: an opening song that erupts on beat one, keeps the intensity raging until the necessary components — neck-breaking bursts of speed, chug-heavy circle pit riffs — have been delivered, and then stops. Time for another battering.

In fact, it wouldn't be too generous to say that there is an air of "Reign In Blood" about this album. ENFORCED have occasional nods to death metal and hardcore in their sound, but this is primarily an insanely focused and destructive thrash record. "The Quickening" is both laudably direct and indecently exciting, with plenty of unashamedly unsubtle nods to SLAYER; "Avarice" repeats the trick, but with a darker atmosphere and hints of deathly intent; "Ultra-Violence" is a perfect, psychopathic ambush and, perhaps advisedly, barely scrapes two minutes. The whole flies by in what seems like a few minutes, ending in spectacular fashion with "Empire": a deceptively complex riot of interlocked grooves and mad-eyed vitriol that gets right to the heart of thrash metal's longevity.

Not every band gets it this right. Not every band hits this hard. ENFORCED are a formidable force and "War Remains" is destined to wreck a lot of necks this year.