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A lot of today's black/thrash bands owe a big debt to Venom's pioneering and unholy combination of NWOBHM, punk and satanic lyrics. I've heard a lot of black/thrash and Warlust by Black Mass comes pretty damn close to the sound of the Newcastle legend's early output. Fast, aggressive but melodic riffing with barely controlled vocals belting out dark lyrics are the calling cards of instantly catchy tracks like "Programmable Life Forms" and "Virgin Sacrifice." There is absolutely nothing new here, which is obviously by design, so Warlust should appeal to the black/thrash aficionado but if you don't dig the style, this is not going to change your opinion. Time to throw up some horns.