If you love your heavy metal – or, more specifically, thrash metal – unvarnished and without a hint of studio-sanitised sophistication, then it’s just possible that Ghost Keeper, from England’s North West, might well be just about to become your new fave band!

Their new album, The Dread Legion, ain’t exactly packed with ear worm melodies or chest-beating, fist banging choruses, but that’s not really what these Mancs are about. If, however, you want superbly executed heavy metal dripping with sincerity and the sort of DIY mastery you thought only people like Nick Knowles truly possess, then tracks like Brain Rot and the coruscating Acid Infected Grin are going to get you up and about pretty damn fast in search of your wallet and a hotline to this band’s web page (that’s enough mixed metaphors – Ed).

‘RECORDED AT HOME’ it says in the press release that comes with the album – and if this was the case I can only feel sorry for the neighbours as, once the band get rolling into top gear it’s hard to envision anything other than piles of steaming rubble flanking Ghost Keeper Towers. This is storming, top notch stuff, as raw as you like and red-hot to the touch, with the sort of devastating kill power usually only wielded by the genre’s true masters.

All jesting aside, folks – if you consider yourself a thrasher of any degree you need – no, you owe it to yourself – to give this album a spin as soon as you can. You won’t regret it, believe me.

The Dread Legion releases on May 13th.