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I really dug Hellspike’s last album, Lords of War, finding it to be a damn solid slab of classic Thrash that made up for its derivative nature by beating the snot out of anyone who treated that as a bad thing. Their follow-up album, Dynasties of Decay, is about as good in a slightly different way, as the band leans a lot more on old ‘80s German Speed Metal in the general vein of Grave Digger and old Running Wild. The music is straightforward, stripped down, and catchy as sin, perfectly capturing the spirit of classics like Heavy Metal Breakdown and Branded and Exiled. Hell, vocalist Rick Metal even sounds a lot like Chris Boltendahl with this release, which does a lot to sell the comparisons made here. Hellspike aren’t going to change the underground, but they’re a lot of fun to listen to, and serve as a reminder that sometimes, sticking to the tried-and-true formula pays off more than trying too hard to sound deep and intricate in a misguided attempt to come across as professional. If you love the glory days of Speed Metal, this is an album you’ll want to get to pronto.