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Thrash Metal 5-piece Home Style Surgery hail from the municipality of Pello in the Lappi region of Finland, which probably makes them the northernmost Thrash band in the country. That factoid may only be interesting to me, but I promise you it's not the most interesting thing I have to say about this band. They've been around since 2008 and have a couple of full-lengths and smaller releases under their belts, and I have their 3-song promo on my hands at the moment, which they're currently using to shop for a label. After several listens, I'd say that any label that passes up on them are foolish bastards, because this is some of the most inventive Thrash I have heard in a while.

Brain Drill Poetry is very much a complex and technical bit of Thrash, but more in that old-school sense like you'd find with Forbidden or maybe Atheist if they leaned more on Thrash. This kind of sound demands serious technical proficiency, and the band is more than qualified to make it work, whether it be the masterful guitar duo of Jussi and Joonas with their intricate, skull-piercing riffs, the heavy, virtuoso drumming of Joni, or the first-rate performance of new vocalist Kami, whose varied performance recalls past greats like Russ Anderson and even one Metal God when he screeches (see "Fade into Gray" for details). These would all go to waste if the songwriting were lacking, but whether it be due to the lineup changes since Trauma Gallery or simply the band as a whole maturing, it's been refined and tightened to a startling degree, with every track being played at tempos that range from fast to very fast while never losing anything in the details and being played with conviction and aggression throughout.

It can be hard to stand out as a Thrash band, especially with all the acts that have recently been popping up like mushrooms after a summer rain, but Home Style Surgery have managed to do it through sheer musicality and dedication to their craft, and I wouldn't be surprised if their names started being passed down in hushed whispers once they a proper new album out. Absolutely recommended.