Dead Heat Endless Torment 12”
Adding to the ever-growing list of killer crossover releases dropped recently, DEAD HEAT’s Endless Torment features five tracks of gnarly thrash that recall the best qualities of “the big four” of ’80s, while sitting comfortably next to modern classics by bands like FUGITIVE, POWER TRIP, and ENFORCED. Title track “Endless Torment” wastes no time in laying down the groundwork of what DEAD HEAT is all about: fast and fun riffs-on-riffs, never-ending drum fills, and inspired touches of authenticity throughout. Lead singer Chris Ramos has a perfectly raspy growl, tearing his way through each track and even stopping to flex his clean vocal ability on “Tears of the Wolf.” It’s a great example of DEAD HEAT’s ability to be over the top without teetering into corny, which can be a difficult feat considering this style can easily become parody. “Smite Thee” is a quick ripper which reminds me a bit of IRON MAIDEN in its intro, while closer “Hard Reset” boasts a moody acoustic intro and some righteous guitar solos, once again being pulled off expertly with just the right amount of cheese without being too cheesy. If all of this whets your appetite, wait until you get a load of “Eyes of the Real,” a truly impressive showing which features, amongst other things, a bell toll, rattlesnake rattles, heavy echoing gang vocals, and a drum intro that sounds like it was recorded in a steel mill. This is the kind of album the metalheads you went to high school with could only dream of. Fantastic stuff and highly recommended.