Cranium

Speed Metal Satan (Necropolis)
by Scott Hefflon

As a 20-minute mini-CD, this is fine. Any more of this retro-speed metal production and I’d be reaching for a fly swatter. If you don’t get my meaning, you never listened to treble-heavy ’80s thrash. The bio references Destruction, and those of you who remember them will understand what that means. Cranium is a chuckle a minute, if not more. I’m not even sure you’re supposed to take them seriously. Using every cliché in the book of thrash (chainsaws, panning delayed vocals like “hate” from speaker to speaker, and, while I didn’t hear it, there must be an octavized demon roar in there somewhere), Cranium roar and yelp and jackhammer and shred and scream their way through the ages to the (good) old days of speedcore.