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Raise your hand if the mix of melody and mayhem perpetrated by Exciter and Overkill back in the 80s is sorely missing from your modern existence. OK, put your hands down because you'll need both to grab on to the beast that is Italy's Iron Jaws. Their second album, Guilty by Ignorance, is just the kind of fast, melodic and furious Speed Metal album you've been hoping for since the days of Feel the Fire and Long Live the Loud.

Italy isn't really known for Thrash Metal, to say nothing of the Speed Metal variety, but Iron Jaws is out to change that situation. Deep, growling riffs, flashy solos, anthemic backing vocals and the absolutely throat-rending screams of singer Mixy permeate Guilty by Ignorance. I love that the band opted for simple, "Heavy Metal" lyrics, adhering to the conventions of the old school, with track titles like "No Speed Limit," "Witch Hunters" and "Speed Metal Command." Not that there is anything wrong with being socially conscious but sometimes you just want to bang your damn head! The cover of Hallow's Eve's "Metal Merchants" is pure Speed Metal ear candy with its double-kick drums and fantastic riff while the band hits their original composition stride with "Nuclear Disaster." Mixy backs off the screams a bit, the riff is sharp and mean and the chorus is wickedly catchy, especially when you mix in the band's innocent mangling of the word "nuclear" (and not that I blame them, we've had fucking Presidents here in the U.S. who can't say it right).

If you enjoy classic 80s Thrash/Speed Metal, especially of the variety NOT associated with the "Big 4," Guilty of Ignorance is an album you will not want to miss.