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It's hard to say when the black/thrash/speed metal bubble will burst and bands emulating early Venom, Hellhammer and Slayer will stop crawling out of the woodwork. But for now, those of us that enjoy this ongoing resurrection of the style get to keep head banging to albums like Absolute Power from Indiana's Wraith. Buzzsaw riffing and bashing drums, played at top speed, with oh so evil lyrics are what you expect and what you get with cuts like "Acid Mass," "The Hunt" and the title track. The formula for this music is simple, but easy to screw up, something Wraith avoid with their second full-length. The maliciously croaking vocals give the songs an unholy atmosphere while the riffs just hammer away at your eardrums. I like how Wraith branch out in terms of their influences beyond the usual suspects. "Devil's Hour" has the melody and thrash sensibility of Metallica's "Hit the Lights," and "The Hunt" sounds like it could almost be a leftover from Wolf's The Black Flame recording sessions (albeit with blackened vocals).

Absolute Power is another solid black/thrash/speed album that doesn't break any of the "rules", it just kicks ass and kicks it hard.