The peak of thrash metal appeared to be the mid- to late '80s, when bands such as
Metallica,
Megadeth,
Anthrax, and
Slayer issued what many metalheads consider to be the best work of their respective careers. But it's not any of these aforementioned thrash bands that
Red Right Hand model their sound after -- instead, it's second-wave thrashers
Testament -- as heard throughout their 2009 release,
Plotting Your Death. This is especially evident with Chris Kozdra's vocals (which are quite Chuck Billy-like), while the twin guitar team of Tim Koukos and Pete DeMaggio has no trouble coming up with crunch riffs that could have resided comfortably on
Practice What You Preach. As cases in point, such tracks as the album-opening "Dead to Me," "Do You In," "All About Me," and the title track all recall the sounds of vintage thrash. ~ Greg Prato