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Bandcamp has become quite the tool for me as of late in discovering new music. Lich King is yet another one of these discoveries for me and what a discovery it was. I am an unabashed hardcore fan of Thrash metal. It is my favorite overall genre and so I tend to be a bit picky when listening to new bands (or at least new to me). Lich King kick out some of the best crossover east coast Thrash I have heard in quite some time.

Hailing from Greenfield, Massachusetts the band has been around since 2004 and The Omniclasm is their fifth full-length release. How I haven't come across this band before is beyond me but that situation is now certainly rectified.

The album starts with "Weapons Hot" and I have written an editorial on how much I dislike intros, but I have to hand it to them, this one actually works. It's a very nice buildup to the opening track, "Lich King V: Stalemate". This song is apparently a continuing story told from previous albums and as I have yet to go through the entire back catalogue, I can't say much about the story itself. What I can say, however, is this song just explodes out of the gate and lets you know exactly what you are in for from this band. Frenetic riffing Thrash metal played at a very high level. Track two, "Preschool Cesspool", brings up another point worthy of note and that is the very nice lyrical work. I usually couldn't care less about lyrics as there will never come a time where good lyrics will save a song that is bad musically, but a very good song musically can let you overlook bad lyrics (-cough- Children of Bodom -cough-). There are some genuinely funny lyrics here about the joys that children can bring into your life. I could do without the screaming kid in the beginning of the song but considering the lyrical content I'm going to assume that was done on purpose rather than an afterthought. Just be forewarned if you are listening to this with a headset. "Cut the Shit" is another great thrasher with a great solo. "Our Time to Riot" has an absolutely great driving main riff with more great lyrics and is instantly memorable. "Crossover Songs are just too Damn Short" is a fun quick hitter of a song that once again shows the band's humor. "Take the Paycheck" falters a bit. I like the lyrical sentiment and completely agree with it but the song itself feels like it's not finished. "Civilization" is hands down the most ambitious song on the album. It has some nicely crafted sections but ultimately it feels like they are very uncomfortable with the slower pace. It's like the song is the musical version of having to kiss your aunt when you were a kid. She always gives you really good gifts but has a large "Lemmy style" hairy mole on her cheek. No worries as the band fire back with "Offense" and they are back to what they do best with that great Thrash metal riffing to the core. The album closes with "Lich King VI: The Omniclasm" which continues the story set up earlier. This one really shows a very strong Anthrax influence and would have easily made it on any of their earlier albums. A very strong closer for the album.

If you go on Bandcamp there are a couple of bonus tracks that are also well worth mentioning. The first is an absolute brilliant cover of the Vio-Lence song "Eternal Nightmare". The song has NEVER sounded this good and it is already one of my favorite songs from that band. The second bonus track is my personal favorite of this whole album. If you listen to only one song on this album then by all means make it "I Quit". I will be absolutely shocked if this does not become a fan favorite at live shows. This could easily become Lich King's "Toxic Waltz". If you don't know that reference, you aren't a Thrash metal fan.

Overall this album was just plain and simple a good time. This is what really shines through on this record, these guys are really having fun. They are throwing a party and you are invited, so if you are looking for heavy crossover style Thrash with great riffing, awesome lyrics, shredding guitar solos with equal parts of a damn good time then look no further than Lich King. You will not be disappointed.