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Are you of the opinion that Slayer's career went downhill after Hell Awaits? Do you miss the insanely fast songs like "The Final Command" and "Haunting the Chapel?" The ridiculous evil-ness of Show No Mercy, which, when originally released on vinyl, had one side labeled "6" while the other was "66?" Then Serbia's Toxic Trace has an album for you.

EBM Records has made it their mission to bring back old school Thrash and, for old time Slayer fans anyway, they have a winner with Toxic Trace's Torment. Singer Dushman has a blackened shout that is much deeper than Tom Araya's voice, but otherwise Toxic Trace are musically similar to the U.S. legends at the start of their career. Torment may be highly unoriginal, but Toxic Trace plays with enough energy to power a small city and they do it with unrelenting, lightning fast playing. These guys can probably squeeze an hour-long live set into about 35 minutes. Song titles like "Witch from Hell," "Against the Cross" and "The Antichrist" should leave little doubt concerning the band's lyrical stance. The naked, dead nun on the cover seals the deal.

Torment looks and sounds like it should have been released in 1985 and that is a good thing. This kind of furious Speed/Thrash Metal is just what the doctor ordered when you want to shut off your brain and start wailing on the air guitar. Toxic Trace plays the old school style and they play it well. And they don't give a shit if you've heard it before.