Portuguese thrashers Prayers of Sanity are back, and now with added veteran status as they cruise into their second decade as a band!

The Lagos trio don’t mess about on new album Doctrine of Misanthropy; rather, they lay down eight slabs of stripped-back, old school thrash metal that is about as straightforward as it’s possible to get within the genre. Truly this is no frills frash!

That doesn’t mean that there’s a paucity of material to get excited about; On the contrary, if the glory days of Slayer, Exodus and Sacred Reich are where you left your heart, then tracks like Hide Your Hate, with it’s rattling, Lilkeresque bass lines and meat and potatoes drumming, are going to get you pretty hot under the collar.

Talking of bass lines, it has to be noted just what a huge performance four stringer Carlos puts in here. As noted, PoS are a trio, and that means lots of space to be filled by the lack of a second guitarist. Carlos fills that space joyously at every opportunity, and it’s great to actually hear a bass taking up a prominent role in the mix for a change on a modern metal album.

The other guys in the band are no slouches, either; Tiao, who also offers up the hoarse-throated roar that accompanies the instrumental prowess, is a bit of a riffmeister on the quiet, and although the band keep things pretty lean and taut, there are plenty of opportunities for him to show off his fretboard wizardry. And drummer Artur? The man’s an octopus-limbed machine!

Best track Abomination is an absolute ripper of a thrash anthem; hitting it’s cruising speed early, it rams the ears repeatedly with wave after wave of well-thought out fury, unrelenting in intent and unremitting in impact. I feel tired just typing about it!

Great stuff then, recommended for anyone who loves thrash in it’s most primally accessible form.



Doctrine of Misanthropy is out now.