Merciless Death - Evil in the Night (2006)^{Release ID: 24945}

L.A. three-piece Merciless Death were part of the 2000's thrash revival and this was their debut album. Originally self-released it was reissued with much-improved cover art when the band was signed by Heavy Artillery. It features enthusiastic thrashing with some infectious riffs but, in truth, it is heavily front-loaded with the first three songs sounding much better than the rest of the album. By track four, Burn in Hell, the cracks start to show and, for me, this is the worst song on the album. The remaining tracks are kind of OK, but being brutally honest, they sound shoddy. The riffs get laboured, the solos are weak and Andy Torres' vocals become even more ragged - and they weren't great to begin with. The band just sound so enthusiastic that I feel bad knocking them, but ultimately they come across as just another Exodus, Exumer wannabe without the chops. the brilliant Ed Repka cover doesn't help either as it raises expectations for the music which it fails to fulfil.