J-Man Hailing from the “mile-high” city of Denver, Colorado is Havok, a thrash metal act that has existed for less than a decade, but already has quite a legion of fans praising them as one of the States' best modern thrash exports. Largely thanks to Candlelight Records signing the band for the release of their debut LP in 2009, Havok has had the opportunity to share their music with most of the thrash metal community, and as one would expect, their classic approach to the genre has resonated with plenty of listeners. With 2013's Unnatural Selection, Havok hasn't made any major changes to their sound, but they've offered a slice of thrash metal solid enough to have your head banging for weeks!

Like most of Havok's other material, Unnatural Selection sounds like an updated version of classic Megadeth, Exodus, and Testament - although the production takes advantage of modern technology, the music here is old school to the bone and fans of thrash metal from the eighties' will feel right at home with Unnatural Selection. I suppose that Havok hasn't done a whole lot to set themselves apart from the pack this time around, but the top-notch musicianship and generally excellent songwriting (the first trio of songs is especially killer!) has kept Unnatural Selection in my musical rotation. If you've been sleeping on this band, it's time to lend an ear!