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With the whole Thrash renaissance thing that has been going on over the past few years, it's no surprise that a few bands who were originally around in the 80's that didn't light the blue touch paper first time around, re-release their old material in the hope of getting their recognition 2nd time around. In this instance we have German Thrashers Wicca, who have re-issued their one and only album - 1989's Splended Deed.

Of course, it's re-assuredly old school in style and sound, with spades of both the teutonic and Bay Area sounds splashed throughout all 9 tracks (with the added bonus of a tenth track in the form of an old demo track tacked on for this re-issue). There's quite a lot of Kreator and Slayer worship for the most part, with a few riffs out on loan from the likes of Forbidden and Sodom as well. With such a glut of excellent Thrash coming out around the time of its original release, as well as the uprising of Thrash's uglier little brother Death Metal, it's no surprise these guys got overlooked by many. However, the naughties have already seen hundreds of great new bands emulating classic Thrash, so why can't these guys get a 2nd bite at the Thrash apple too? The guitars churn and pound, underpinned by a highly audible springy bass guitar and solid, but unspectacular drum work. Pädde's bark is also reminiscent of Mille from Kreator — again, nothing groundbreaking or original, but certainly decent enough to keep your interest.

This new edition also sees a re-mastered production job to bring it more comfortably into the here and now, and that, alongside the news that Wicca have re-formed and are writing material for an as yet untitled EP can only be good news for Thrash in general.