Reviews list for Schizophrenia - Voices (2020)

I like my thrash metal to be rabid and as close to death metal as it can be without quite ever completely straying over the boundary for a whole track.  Sadus managed this really well back in the day, making extreme yet coherent thrash metal that borrowed nicely from the death metal rule book to make things feel that little more nefarious and imposing when needed.

Belgians Schizophrenia started out life as Hãmmerhead in 2010, playing straight up thrash metal before undertaking an adoption of not only a new band name but also a more extreme edge to their sound.  As the cover artwork suggests, Voices is a dark and terrifying affair that carries it's cloak of frenzied energy well over its broad shoulders that stretch to encompass all of the good bits of Demolition Hammer and layer on lashings of Death-like sonics for good measure.

First up, it's an EP.  This format is perfect for the band's sound and song writing style.  Clocking in at under twenty minutes (just), Voices shows an intelligent penchant for referencing the past and showing the Sodom and Kreator influences without just being worship of aforementioned bands, taking the furious pace of Kreator and mimicking that style well without simply copying it.  Likewise it is clear that more modern bands have a say in the direction of the record with more than one track reminding me of Warbringer.

At this stage they are five years to their obviously well-honed death/thrash hybrid sound and you have to wonder what the hell have they been doing for all this time to only just get an EP and a single out during the first four years but who knows what the death/thrash scene is like in Belgium?  Maybe there's hundreds of bands just queuing up to get signed and so Schizophrenia have had to wait their turn?  Or (more the likely) they exist as a rarity in a scene and country that doesn't get enough attention?

Either way, this debut EP is a joy to listen to.  Really straight-forward, no fucking frills thrash metal attitude delivered with a death metal blueprint that showcases rather than smothers the thrash element.  New album please.