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While it initially seemed as if the neo-thrash explosion was to stay within the confines of the US and Europe, Brazil's Machinage (along with countrymen Violator) have expanded the scene with their crystal clear yet aggressive version of Megadeth-styled thrash. Their debut full-length, It Makes Us Hate has landed them with a full US tour and a new legion of well-deserved fans.

I really feel that when thrash is done well, it defies description. While other genres, like doom or power metal, there are various descriptions to be had. Good thrash is simply that. It pumps you up, doesn't let you down, and keeps you moving and entertained. It pisses you off, miring you deeper into your own self-righteousness and me against the world mentality.

Machinage play that card to a T. The riffs pile up on top of each other, blistering through each song, sometimes fitting four or five into a single track. Solos blaze and drums blare, never slowing down for the no-so obligatory ballad. It Makes Us Hate is nothing less than a politically fueled, even enraged slab of thrash. Sounding more like the Bay Area than the grittier Brazilian innovators, this is a trip back in time to sweat-drenched thrash.

Machinage aren't ever going to break any new ground with their sound. They aren't trying to, and they shouldn't be either. Here's the way thrash should sound in 2011.