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Raw and dirty barebones blackened thrash, nearly a full hour of it is what Twilight Hammer proposes on Taken by the Others. I usually balk at such lengthy albums in the genre, but they actually pulled it off with this one as it doesn't get boring. The magic happens with some cool harsh vocal work that brings to mind some work from Scandinavian bands back in the '90s mixed with German black/thrash from roughly the same era.

While the music is often pretty fast paced like an 18-wheeler going full speed on a busy road and pushing everything out of the way (in other words, pretty fucking cool stuff), it is the mid to slow-paced parts that are the most remarkable with hints of classic '80s heavy metal (think some early '80s Maiden on steroids), pretty catchy stuff in the middle of the faster, dirtier songs on offer. Taken by the Others is quite the rollercoaster ride of no-frills blackened thrash with a twist, and you get some cool covers of Sepultura's "Troops of Doom" and Sadus' "Torture" as a bonus. Nicely done.