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This is the self-titled debut EP from the US band Terrible Old Man. At first, I thought that this was a metalcore band simply because of their singer. But when I paid attention to their music I found that this is actually a good old fashioned death/thrash album. Speed is the order of business here, as the band subscribes to the "faster is better" school of thrash. Throughout the course of the three-track demo, I can hear their various influences in their sound, from Slayer and Kreator to Necrophagist and Decapitated.

These guys have a good sense of where they want to go as a band. They also have the chops musically to carry their songwriting ideas, it's just that they aren't quite there yet. But by listening to this I can tell that they are headed in the right direction. However most of the riffs aren't as good as the solo section on the songs, but I think if you give them time they can produce better riffing. That brings me to the one dud in here and that is their vocals. When I stated before that it reminded me of a lame metalcore act, I wasn't kidding. The main reason is that he a yammering high-pitched delivery and for this genre, I simply don't think it is the best way to go.

Terrible Old Man is a good demo; by keeping things simple and effective they manage to stand out from the crowd. Given that this is a three song sample, it shows the tremendous amount of potential that this band has at this stage of their careers. If you can ignore the singer's limitations then this is actually a good listen. For future recordings, I strongly suggest for the singer not to employ such a style or at least have him not stand out as much as he was here. I'll just hope that they'll get signed soon because if they're not then it will be a waste.