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I first reviewed Tetrarchate's Symposium of the Tetrarchs EP several years ago and found it to be full of decent, if unremarkable thrash. Fast-forward to 2021 and I now have their second full-length album, With the Sole Acquiescence to Lead Us. I was thinking the verbosity of the title was hinting at a move toward technicality but thankfully the music here is not "math" metal. Sure, the band's skill is on display and being thrash there's a certain amount of precision expected, and Tetrarchate deliver. The guitar tone is sharp and crisp, and the drum rolls exact, but the production has a warmth to it almost like a live setting, eschewing the cold, sterile production so many bands and producers seem to favor. The vocals are a deep growl, a little too croaky for me, but low in the mix and do not blast you in the face with blaring volume. But what really impresses me about With the Sole Acquiescence to Lead Us are the riffs. Tetrarchate have piled a heap of them into this album, all catchy and just a little daring, giving every song a touch of the unique and a reason to break out the air guitar. The mix of the album puts the guitars in prime position to show what the band had created and, while not ignoring the drums, not allowing them to bash their way to dominance over the songs either. This is a nice step forward for Tetrarchate.