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With the passing of seasons comes another release from the Infernal Tyrant camp, who I've been closely following since I was given their full-length Fallen from Grace roughly a year ago. I can't say any one release of theirs is great, but they always have something interesting to offer and show signs of improvement along with an ambition I don't often see in thrash. I thought their Spring EP was a big step up for them, so I was hoping they would do the same here, but while it definitely has plenty of quality and ambition, it's not quite as good as I was hoping.

This is best explained with the opener "On Valkyries Wings," which, on the one hand, has a stodgy verse with clumsy vocal lines trying too hard to cram lyrics as they try to keep up with a fairly standard thrash riff, but then the bridge comes and lets the vocals catch up as they build to a chorus with strong lead work and Billy Lynn really pushing himself as he slides between his regular grunted style to something cleaner but still rough and back again as he's multitracked with his clean singing, all of which has really improved since last time. I don't really know if this all works together, but it's definitely an interesting approach I wouldn't mind seeing refined in later releases. The real prize, though, is the oddly titled "Virus With Shoes" (was "The Wandering Plague" already taken?), which is a killer instrumental where Mike goes nuts with his lead work while giving the rest of the composition room to breathe. Closing track "The Final Chapter" is probably the most direct and typical song I've heard from the band, which isn't a bad thing by itself since it has some strong riffs and a great performance from Billy along with the expected lead work, which has always been the highlight of this project.

That might make it sound like I'm down on this release, but I honestly like it quite a bit, as it has everything the project should be known for and doing it just a little better like always. I'm still waiting for this project to reach its ambitions, and I still believe they can do it, but if they always end up making albums at least this proficient and daring as they try, I'll certainly keep listening.