J-Man If you like your thrash metal to be uncompromisingly brutal and violent, yet still thought-provoking and intriguing, the debut effort from Canadian thrashers Dischord may be right up your alley. With Casualties of War, their debut full-length album, the band dishes out an impressive serving of technical thrash/death metal with enough quality riffs and jaw-dropping slabs of musicianship to satisfy any fan of the genre. Dischord may not be shattering any boundaries with this debut, but it's a strong and extremely promising starting point for this Canadian quintet.

Obvious points of reference on Casualties of War are Death, Dekapitator, and Pestilence, but Dischord doesn't ever come across as a rip-off of any of these bands. Dischord's impressive abilities as musicians keep them from ever sounding second-rate either, and I'd say all of the players in this group are extremely talented and gifted on their respective instruments. The killer riffs and solid compositions also keep things interesting throughout all of Casualties of War, and this album is generally devoid of weak sections. The only fairly significant complaint I can think of is related to the raw and unpolished production. Although the sound itself suits the music pretty well, the sound of the drums (especially the annoying snare tone) makes this one a bit tough to digest.

Casualties of War is generally a stellar debut album from Dischord, and I'll be very curious to hear where they head in the coming years. They've created one of the year's better extreme thrash albums for sure - fans of the genre should definitely take notice. I'd say 3.5 stars are well-earned here.