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For most of us, Onslaught will be remembered as the '80s thrash band that released the highly respected album The Force in the magical year of 1986, then shifted gears dramatically by bringing in former Grim Reaper singer Steve Grimmett for their third album, In Search of Sanity. While not a terrible album, it was so different from the Slayer/Metallica thrash of The Force that most of their fan base lost interest and the band didn't release another album for 18 years.

Generation Antichrist is Onslaught's fourth album since they started up again in 2007 (and seventh overall). It is in the same vein as their previous albums, fast, modern thrash that slices through eardrums like a scythe through a field of wheat. Original singer Sy Keeler is once again gone, replaced by a gent named David Garnett, who is cut from the same cloth as his predecessor. He's got a powerful and gritty shout not too far removed from Keeler's, if a bit less unrestrained, and the guitar tone is the aural equivalent of walking on broken glass with a sharpness impossible to ignore. The songwriting follows the same formula as on the previous album (VI), giving it a sound familiar to anyone that has experience with the band's recent output. It's also a little "safe," for lack of a better word, and Onslaught seem satisfied mining their current vein of ideas for another album.

Generation Antichrist reminds me of current releases from '80s acts such as Testament, Death Angel and Exodus, so if albums like that are in your regular rotation, Onslaught's latest effort is going to fit in nicely.