The American thrash metal band Atrophy is one of the many bands that had a brief career in the 80s and have recently seized the opportunity to reunite. The history of Atrophy goes all the way back to 1986 when the band began under the name Heresy. Already the following year, they changed their name to Atrophy and released a demo. In 1988, the debut album “Socialized Hate” was released, followed by the sequel “Violent by Nature” in 1990. These two albums were released on Roadrunner Records and were quite good, so it was a shame that the band disbanded so early. Fast forward to 2015, and some of the band members decide to reunite. Three out of five members reunite, and the band embarks on a tour. However, in 2020, vocalist Brian Zimmerman throws in the towel when the pandemic hits and stops the ongoing tour. The remaining members then find a new vocalist and change their name to Scars of Atrophy, releasing an EP in 2022. Brian Zimmerman plans a solo project but soon changes the name back to Atrophy and finds entirely new members for the band. This brings us to today and the album “Asylum”. This album is thus a version of Atrophy with only Brian Zimmerman from the original lineup. It’s actually quite a sad story, and who knows what happened behind the scenes for the band to split into two camps. But at least “Asylum” sounds very good. This is old school thrash metal of the tough kind. Well-produced, yet rough around the edges, not unlike the first two albums. In fact, the cover gives a little nod to the debut album where they have brought back the jester. So the entirety of “Asylum” is very solid. This has become a well-crafted thrash metal album of the old school.
Release March 15th, 2024 on Massacre Records.
Hell on Earth Metal Zine 