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German Thrash Metal is alive and doing well. We know the history of German Thrash Metal and their tradition of thrashing their hearts out. These young Bavarian thrashers, named after an Exodus song, have been pumping Thrash through their veins since 2009 and released their debut album, Decades of Pain, independently back in 2014. Unlike so many other German bands, their sound is far from your typical Teutonic Thrash. Toxic Waltz prefers the Bay Area (Exodus, Forbidden, Heathen, etc.), with hints of Slayer's severity thrown in for good measure.

It's easy to hear how much time these young German thrashers have taken with these songs as they don't sound rushed and have enough aggression and melody. Masculine and meaty riffs are all over this album and the lead work is more than decent even for the demanding fan of guitar solos. Vocalist Angelo sounds a bit like Exumer's Mem V. Stein with his rough delivery, both the good and the bad, I would add. However, his vocals fit well with Toxic Waltz's riff-orientated Thrash and these guys have the promise of becoming better recognized in the international arena.

There's only a minimal amount of flaws to be found on Decades of Pain but I really don't want to go into them because it's the whole that truly matters and Decades of Pain is the kind of record Toxic Waltz can be proud of.