The Ones I Condemn is the result of yet another reformation of a kvlt 80s band and this time it’s Canadians Sacrifice who might have just made the best album of their career. The band was a decent if unspectacular addition to the heydays of thrash metal with one minor classic in the form of 1987s Forward to Termination. The band broke up in 1994 shortly after the release of their fourth album and returns now with the original line up and main man Rob Urbinati after a gap of 16 years with an album that matches the ferocity and conviction of Forward to Termination and maybe even surpasses it.

The album opens with We Will Prevail and right from that opening riff I was left in no doubt that this is as real as thrash gets. There’s no sense of referencing the past, being ironic or just reliving the glory days of a genre long past its sell by date. This is vital, old school thrash metal that will make you bang your head and raise your fist while still sounding modern and relevant. There isn’t a bad song on this album and the guitar duo of Urbinati and Rico pull of some absolutely killer riffs. Stand out tracks include the previously mentioned album opener We Will Prevail, the Exodus baiting The Great Wall, title song The One I Condemn and the awesomely heavy and mid paced Tetragrammaton. That isn’t all though as Hiroshima explodes with an opening riff that sounds like it’s the 80s all over again and is another heavy as fuck song. The Devil’s Martyr is a short sharp shock to the system with Urbinati adopting a slightly crossover style even as the band rage through 2 minutes of thrash metal mayhem and by the time Desolation Alive made its way through its labyrinthine seven and a half minutes I knew I’d heard something just a little bit special. The album rounds out with a couple of re-recorded songs from Torment in Fire and Forward to Termination.

The band sound terrific on this album. While the guitar duo of Urbinati and Rico kick immense amounts of ass, drummer Gus Pynn isn’t too far behind and bass player Scott Watts holds up the bottom end admirably while providing some pretty cool backing vocals. The band is playing on this album like the last 16 years never happened and it’s the 80s again. Like they have something to prove and are making up for lost time.

This is the best thrash album I’ve heard in a long while and while I don’t want to make comparisons to Exodus’s super comeback from a few years ago with Tempo of the Damned I am very tempted to. Give Sacrifice another chance. I doubt if I’ll hear a better thrash album this year.

Label: Marquee Records

Year of release: 2009