I have fond memories of my teenage years, in the wake of the thrash/speed metal explosion, throwing on my favorite Overkill t-shirt and going to see friends' bands play at Studio One in Newark. It would usually be a night headlined by some minor-league regional band who'd gotten one song played on WSOU, preceded by a stream of crappy garage bands with cartoon villain-sounding vocals and unimaginative low E-string riffs.

John and Donald Tardy from Obituary have released this "Bloodline" side project CD, which reminds me of those old Studio One bands. There are no standout songs, nothing really very interesting here, just a bunch of un catchy, simplistic riffs, boring song structures, and the same copycat thrash crunch we've been hearing since this genre started.

However, my preferences aside, I still might recommend you check this out if:
–You thought D.R.I.'s "Thrash Zone" album was the greatest thing ever.
–If you just can't get enough of the Florida Death Metal scene.
–Or if you're the world's biggest Obituary fan.

The Tardy Bros. definitely kick it old-school in every way, right down to the almost-refreshingly slow guitar leads. Unfortunately, this wouldn't even have been very interesting two decades ago. There are plenty of better options for retro-thrash.