Canadian thrash unit Hazzerd lay their cards on the table early on  with new album The 3rd Dimension; They are here to thrash, in each and every sense of the term…

Comedic crossover anthem ThArSh TiLl DeTh aside, this proves to be quite a grim-faced experience, in the sense that the band clearly take what they do very seriously. Tracks like Scars and Plagueis show that the band has what it takes to make straight-up thrash sound as fresh as ever in 2025; The epic penultimate track A Fell Omen, which weighs in at over nine minutes in length displays another, more progressive edge to the band that they sound equally at home with.

The album sounds bright and punchy, but bassist David Sprague plays with enough bello-ing presence to ensure the bottom end gets a good hearing, with the result being an album that is really up there both in terms of sound and songwriting, with any genre favourites still producing the goods as thrash approaches it’s middle-aged years.

Hazzerd’s consistency over the course of three albums marks them out as being a band worth watching over the long term; they don’t appear to be interested in faddism or indeed over-egging the longstanding, tried and trusted tropes of the genre. Indeed, only the semi-barked vocals of Dylan Westendorp really belong in the ‘that sounds like’ folder, and even then he attacks the job at hand with such savagery that you wouldn’t really have him adopt any other method. Thrash is as thrash does, and a cleaner, more ‘metal’ vocal delivery probably would not do classic material like Deathbringer any justice.

In the final analysis, The 3rd Dimension stands as an, erm, testament to Hazzerd’s allegiance to thrash metal’s flag of hate. In this writer’s opinion, Slayer, Anthrax and Metallica all released their best work over the course of their first three albums – but I’ve a feeling there’s a bit more left in the tank yet with this band. Onward and upwards to greater things!

The 3rd Dimension releases on January 17th.