siLLy puPPy One of the many excellent bands to have emerged from the San Francisco Bay Area’s fertile thrash metal scene over the years however the band LACERATION which formed in the city of Windsor just north of Santa Rosa wasn’t around when bands like Metallica, Exodus, Forbidden, Possessed Death Angel were making their initial impact on the genre’s nascent style. These guys that formed in 2006 have been around now for 14 years but still haven’t released a bonafide full-length album of any sort. Instead they have left a trail of EPs and demos and have compiled all of the loose fodder as the 2019 compilation “Remnants.”

After releasing the “Demo ’08”, LACERATION followed up with its debut EP “Consuming Reality” but seems to be hard to track down for a listen so i’m making due with this second EP titled REALMS OF THE UNCONSCIOUS. This little gem of extreme metal follows in the footsteps of New York’s Demolition Hammer with a groove oriented bombastic thrash metal approach that mixes in elements of death metal, a rare yet satisfying hybridization if properly done. The band is very retro in its approach and the comparisons to “Tortured Existence” from DH are almost impossible to avoid.

This band has mastered its art quite well despite a lack of creative expressionism as heard on this short EP’s run of a mere three tracks that only amount to almost 17 minutes of playing time. The thrash elements are the most obvious with LACERATION exhibiting a firm command of the Bay Area thrash ethos that made the first and second wave acts so utterly brilliant with those galloping guitar riffs rampaging and soaked in adrenaline along with those tasty guitar solos that add the melodic underbelly of the meaty metal sinew. The death metal aspects come in the form of a more developed drumming style as well as a more guttural vocal approach that sits somewhere between classic thrash and old school death.

This tiny release that features Luke Cazares (vocals, guitars), Corey Toleu (bass), Joey Tabsharani (guitars) and John Haag (drums) is a powerhouse of top notch musicianship that is done so well and is so impressive that i cannot help but give it a well earned four stars despite existing anachronistically in the early 90s with bands like Demolition Hammer being the primary influence. This Bay Area band may not have experienced even an iota of success but clearly demonstrates a passion for the details of such a demanding tightrope act of a deathened thrash metal approach. I really would like to hear a full-length album with a bit more emphasis on adding some more artistic deviations from the status quo. Impressive.