Review: “Degeneration Chamber” by Condition Critical

Oddly time signatured riffage brings “Hydroponic Mutation” to life in the petri dish before the band change the angle of attack, returning to their trademark stylings, the almost bluesy soloing in the first half nothing short of incredible. There are points throughout this high intensity record where the band reach into the void towards Death Thrash and with Donato pounding the war drums in the finale of this one, that is true here as well. As a four piece the band are nothing if not consistently uncompromising in their vision of what the heavier end of Thrash looks like in their eyes and that is always a refreshing approach, as it the absence of a Metallica cover. A long instrumental introduction to “Postmortal Simulation” gives a almost 90 seconds respite from Taylor’s fierce vocal onslaught before the cycle of violence continues with suitable bark and bite. You can just picture Tony Foresta cracking his skull to this, such is the nature of the beast and when the breakneck speed of “Psychological Epidemic” hits its like being broadsided by a truck on the freeway. Menacing and sinister, the tale is an urgent one that would make for a script starter for a low budget horror film about a homicidal scientist conducting experiments of questionable morals due to a chemical imbalance in the brain.