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Seizure caught me by surprise with their last album, Born in the Dark, by being a faithfully Bay Area Thrash act that made up for their derivative nature by being really fucking good at it. Now, barely a year later, they've come back with their sophomore release, Forbidden Tales, and the leaps taken here are deeply impressive. For one, the songwriting is much more technical and inventive than before, now reminding me of Paradox just as much as it does Megadeth in the complexity and precision on display. Secondly, they've further refined their performances and sound even more furious and proficient than before, especially Joey's razor-bladed riffs and snarling, Mustaine-esque vocal delivery. Most importantly, however, they've gone from strictly following in the footsteps of their forefathers and have stretched their songwriting out much more than Thrash often bothers with, most evidently on the oddball "Tongues of Fire" and the ominous epic "Interior Castle". All in all, Seizure have gone from a promising act to one on their way to becoming one of the modern Bay Area greats, and the fact they did so in such a short time span makes it all the more impressive. Great shit.