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Home Style Surgery have been on my radar for quite some time now. I thought their debut full-length, Trauma Gallery, was a promising if flawed album, and the promo sampler I reviewed earlier this year led me to believe that this was going to be a massive leap forward in quality. Well, here we finally have the full release of their sophomore album, and it absolutely meets all my expectations.

As you’d expect based on the promo, Brain Drill Poetry is a high-caliber assault of highly melodic and technical Thrash Metal in the same vein as Forbidden, Heathen, and even Coroner. This isn’t what I’d call an accessible sound, consisting of very complex arrangements and challenging musicianship whose relentlessly fast pace makes it difficult to get everything out of it on a single spin. However, repeated listens will reveal this to be a richly rewarding album filled with sharp, flesh-ripping guitar work, relentless, acrobatic drum work, and the all-powerful voice of Brainthrash belter Kami, who sounds a good bit like David R White if he had a mighty high-pitched screech. I’d pick highlights, but every song fights for that honor, and they’re all inventive and exciting enough to make that decision impossible.

The biggest complaint I can think of is that this is too damn short at only 33 minutes, and that’s probably just me wanting too much of a good thing. I expected greatness from this band, and now they’ve finally reached it with a sound that’s startling and innovative while also being aggressive enough to tear your damn face off. One of the best Thrash albums of 2021.