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Black/thrash is a genre that's become quite overcrowded in the past couple of years. I remember getting tired of melodic death metal in the early 2000s and I never managed to get back into it. I haven't grown tired of black/thrash despite everything that's being thrown my way. To the Dogs, formed in 2020 in Milwaukee, is the latest entry in my sizeable collection of the genre and while their demo is not that different from so many other bands I've heard, it kicks ass. I think the simplicity (for lack of a better word) of the genre plays a role here. It's all about kicking ass and taking names and sounding dark and evil, and To the Dogs manage that on this demo. There's lots of speed that takes me back to mid-80s German thrash with the knob set to 11 and I find the harsh, shouted, fast vocals add a lot of power to the music. The vocalist shows that even this vocal style can be delivered without sounding like a hundred others. To the Dogs aren't revolutionizing the genre (not sure that would be a good idea anyway), but their fast, in-your-fast, heavy delivery coupled with those vocals certainly show that they've got the genre nailed down.