I approached the end of my teens during the thrash metal revivalist wave that started in the 2000s. That era spawned a lot of garbage, but also some very good bands that pushed me to really discover the golden era of the genre. Some of those bands have endured, and Vindicator is apparently one of them, even if they slipped under my radar back then.

Whispers of Death is their fifth album since their formation in 2005, and I dove into this having zero expectations. Vindicator play a brand of thrash metal that, to me, evokes Exodus on Tempo of the Damned, particularly on tracks like "Thirst for Violence" and "Merry Evenings Make Sad Mournings." The riffs pummel, the drums drive relentlessly, and the gravelly, commanding vocals flirt with death metal territory. They bring a shit ton of attitude through gang shouts, and add some additional sting with the occasional nods to punk as heard on "Exhaustion."

The first half of the album flies by, featuring standout tracks like "Charnel Pastures" and "Thirst for Violence." The halfway line is marked by instrumental interlude "Novocain" and while I do like "Bleed Between the Lines" and "Merry Evenings...", "Battle Box" through "Obsoletion Complete" fall short of the standards they set early on.

Still, there's plenty of high-quality material here, and for fans of thrash that doesn't hold back on riffs, aggression, or attitude, Whispers of Death is well worth a spin.