In the middle of the first pandemic lockdown of 2020, Japanese thrashers Straenge released their second demo, the ‘Thrash Medicine’ EP. Its five tracks demonstrated a brilliant, very technical approach to heaviness, often combining the speed of ‘Seasons In The Abyss’ era Slayer with the anger of early Kreator. On a musical level, the band sounded great. Vocally, things were a different matter: the material featured an ugly growl that fused the guttural edge of death metal with the power of hardcore, which, coupled with an obvious Japanese accent, made all of the lyrics inaudible. Assuming you could approach the material purely on its instrumentalists’ merits, of course, this underground band often sounded very cool.

Naturally, their 2023 full length – the band’s first “proper” release – shows a marked improvement. The nine tracks on ‘Filthy Microbes’ demonstrate some absolutely flawless thrash. This release has a much clearer sound than the aggressively DIY sounding ‘Thrash Medicine’, and the production sound calls back to thrash’s formative years during the 80s. A better production and bigger budget doesn’t necessarily make the material any more commercial, however.

The opening track ‘Thrash Forever’ is a brilliant celebration of a speed driven and still raw sound, and as the title suggests, finds the band in anthemic mode. At the faster end of the riff spectrum, the track recycles the kind of riffs that should have made Exciter one of the top bands of the day; at their most aggressive, the classic sounding thrash occasionally gives way to a technical death metal bridge or two, and after covering all of the important bases when it comes to sheer speed, the number’s coda slows to share a classic metal breakdown that shows Straenge’s power with something slightly weightier. The vocals on the verses go by in an angry blur, of course, but the gang vocals that shout the chorus hook really help this to become a modern anthem to a retro cause. If there’s anything here that ultimately catches your ear, you’re certainly good to go for the next eight speed/thrash workouts, shared over the course of a very tightly wound half an hour.

‘Uninhabitable Zone’ increases the tension by kicking in with a blast of full on death metal, before adding a hardcore vocal to a classic speed metal derived verse. Naturally, the drums and vocals are likely to be the elements that draw your ear first, but the guitar work is just as brutal. Eventually finding space to deliver some tight Slayer-esque riffs, Masanori Tomaru and Tatsumari Ishikawa lock into a particularly impressive sound, and although speed is of the essence, their sharp tones come with just as much force. When breaking into some fretboard melting leads, as you’d expect, everything is equally fierce, resulting in a slab of semi-extreme metal that shows off almost the full range of Straenge’s brilliant sound. Naturally, Katzua Aizuwa’s abrasive vocal tones might be a stumbling block for those who consider themselves more of a “purist” persuasion when it comes to thrash, but he fits the material effectively enough. A doomier intro promises a little breathing space at the beginning of ‘Psychopathic Smile’, and even when the main riff arrives, there’s much more of a melodic undertone. Proving that they can slow down, Straenge adopt more of a mid tempo, allowing some brighter sounding guitars to cut through. Having then warmed up, they begin to crank the gears around the ninety second mark, sharing another near perfect thrash backdrop coupled with a hardcore vocal that really captures the band’s crossover sound. At this point, you’ll also start to spot the different tones that Masanori and Tatsumari share, and here, the solo takes on a Judas Priest-esque approach of the two players alternating, creating a very effective, constantly shifting sound. Returning to a mid tempo for the close of the track, it’s especially thrilling to hear the band drop a few prog metal complexities into the lengthy arrangement, allowing bassist Takamori Tomaru to share some incredibly complex fills, before ‘Hammered Batallion’ delivers another mid tempo workout with some very prominent guitar work. A couple of minutes in, it feels like Straenge are in danger of repeating themselves, but things take a pleasingly dramatic turn when the trad thrash gives way to allow for a slow, doom-laden riff and an atonal, jazz influenced solo. This track may be short at just over three and a half minutes, but its padding-free approach leaves very little to chance, and a couple of plays suggests it’s an album highlight.

Taking a massive musical detour, the intro of ‘Space Cowboy’ presents a tapped cymbal marking out a jazz rhythm and a clean walking bassline. At the point where you think the band are about to go all arty and take cues from Mr. Bungle, a speed-centric, muted guitar riff drops into something much closer to ‘Ride The Lightning’ era Metallica, and Straenge get their thrashy boots on once again and fill the next three minutes with the kind of riffs that sound like the ultimate tribute to various 80s heroes. There’s an odd quirk within the tight as hell thrash when the two lead guitar breaks deliver something a little more atonal, but this merely accentuates the band’s edge, before everything drops into several bars of melodic death metal, complete with some rather impressive pneumatic rhythms. Bringing the jazz back to close gives the track a pleasing feeling of fullness, and although this feels a little short overall – the first fifty seconds of the 3:50 are taken up by the jazzy detour; Metallica used to stretch to twice this length on tunes that were less deserving – it’s definitely an album highlight.

When Straenge do stretch out, though, it proves, like some of that old Metallica fare that the genre doesn’t always need a bigger canvas to sound more impressive. ‘Atom’ doesn’t really achieve anything in six and a half minutes that it could’ve managed in four. Nevertheless, there’s some gold buried within: it opens with a tight but crashy riff that sounds like the best elements of ‘Seasons’ era Slayer, ‘Rust In Peace’ era Megadeth and an angular prog metal band have been looked to for inspiration. En route, there are a few more prog metal flourishes in comparison with the bulk of the Straenge sound, and even a slow, doomy interlude introducing a much dirtier sound whilst the bass embarks on a slightly jazzier riff. The best moments, however, come when a slightly slower riff underscores some really sharp sounding lead work, but some listeners will certainly find pleasure from the proggy stops and key changes that occasionally pepper this complex work. The playing is as tight as hell throughout; despite the lead guitars doing their damnedest to be the dominant force, full credit must be given to drummer Walker Petersen who absolutely hits the mark whether he’s attacking at classic thrash speed, tackling complex rhythmic shifts as if he’s in a progressive death band, or merely dropping in with some slower, heavier beats.

With the remaining three numbers working a similar blueprint, this album is a genuine treat for the hardened thrash fan. Assuming you can make it past a relitively hardcore vocal that is never too fussy about giving the lyrics room to breathe (there isn’t much beyond the shouting of the titles during various choruses that comes through with any clarity), then ‘Filthy Microbes’ will present nine tracks of high octane enjoyment. What these Japanese lads lack in finesse, they make up for with extreme gusto, and the music is first rate, with a little extra force injected into something pleasingly nostalgic. For those who still reach for old Kreator, Destruction and Epidemic records with any regularity, this will definitely be worth hearing.

September 2025