Rhythm of Fear - Fatal Horizons (2022)^{Release ID: 47022}

With the furore around Power Trip over their years of existence, bands such as Rhythm of Fear seem to have slipped under my radar completely when it comes to modern crossover thrash metal.  Upon hearing this, their sophomore release a few weeks ago, I was immediately impressed with the Florida four piece's blend of Cro-Mags meets Leeway meets Testament.  As such, Fatal Horizons has found itself on regular rotation here in my lair and whilst it lacks some of the memorability (and perhaps publicity) of Power Trip, it is no less of a quality release than Nightmare Logic was, for example.

Capable of playing with rabid pace and razor sharp skill, the guitar work of Cody James when combined with the gruff vocals of Jay Santiago make for a solid and capable combination to be reckoned with.  The chugging engine of Rhythm of Fear being kept running in no small part by the consistent drumming of Logan Miano, leaving the bass of Justin Styron as the only real casualty of proceedings as I struggle to hear anything but fleeting moments of his work during the frenetic yet very clearly produced duration of Fatal Horizons.

Anthems such as Alien Synthesis, Parasomniac and Insidious System give the album some hooks to sink into the listener's memory banks but this is not to say the rest of the album is filler (there most definitely is some of that here).  Whilst some tracks, such as the title track, do need rescuing by some crisp and blistering lead work from Cody, they are all built on solid foundations and in the end only suffer from a lack of development of ideas overall.  With thirteen tracks to go at, there are three interludes/instrumentals that do not bring anything to the album for me and act more as interruptions in all honesty that disrupt some sense of flow.   Still a fine modern crossover thrash metal album by all means that carries a lot of energy from start to finish.