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I've been putting off reviewing this CD for nearly a year. No matter what I want to write, I just feel – and know – that I won't do the album justice. But I've decided that it's time, so here we go. After their Bastards of Mayhem EP, Bastardator present this first full-length album, armed with a vocalist that fits the band's music even more than the previous singer did. Identify the Dead, simply put, is a high octane piece of Thrash Metal with some punk influences. It kicks off fast and heavy and never really slows down to give you time to figure out what the hell just happened to you. Insane, unrelenting speed applies to all concerned here – guitar, bass, drums and vocals. The new vocalist simply shines on this. He spits out the words at full speed, keeping up with the often very fast beat, and manages to make his way through that thick wall of music to make himself heard, yet without taking center stage, leaving the music do most of the talking.

I rarely notice the bass much while listening to music. I hear it but I usually focus a lot more on the guitar playing – exceptions being when listening to bands such as Motörhead or Iron Maiden, of course. Here however the bass is quite audible and often takes the front row and I found those parts are pretty damn catchy – though this can be said of most of the album. I'm always amazed by the fact that there is only one guitarist in this band – he shreds like a fucking maniac and the riffs are just fucking amazing, and you can really fuck yourself up just trying to air guitar at this – I shit you not. I don't know how many times I found myself listening to some of the guitars parts over and over – good thing this isn't a tape, or I'd need a case of them – there's only so much rewinding a tape can take. :) On that note, the album is also available on tape (I think it did end up being released.) And we're left with the drums, which keep this aural orgy in sync cruising down the autobahn at full speed. This is one of those albums where I find it easy to enjoy every instrument.

I can't really compare these guys to another band, as they draw their influences from a good variety of bands and they really found their own unique style. Don't get turned off by the short length – it's only a little over 32 minutes, but even if you had to stop half way through you'd still feel you got your money's worth. I'd give this a 5/5, but the guys tell me they can do better, so I'm keeping that for the future. ;) Oh and, by the way, if you don't like this, you're a fucking wimp. And that, my friend, is the truth. Can you handle it?