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I didn’t know anything about Connecticut’s Sonick Plague when the album What’s the Purpose showed up in my email. All I could think was that this sounded a lot like the early East Coast Thrash Metal I knew from the 80s. After a bit of research, I found the reason for that was Sonick Plague started out in 1984 (in West Virginia a well known non-hotbed for Thrash) and What’s the Purpose is their debut (and thus far only) album from 1988, now re-recorded with the current lineup.

Enough of the history lesson, What’s the Purpose is authentically old school Thrash that takes a lot of cues from the East Coast style of staccato riffing that dominates over melody. That isn’t to say the songs on What’s the Purpose aren’t melodic just that the sound of guitar seems more important that what is actually being played. This stuff is refreshingly not overly influenced by the Bay Area sound and Sonick Plague throws in some weird stuff like acoustic intros, Gaelic guitar/drum passages and even a riff not unlike the "oompa loompa" song from the Gene Wilder version of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. The vocals are heavily influences by the punk/crossover bands of the 80s and as a result are my least favorite aspect of What’s the Purpose.

What’s the Purpose isn’t a lost classic or anything. Sonick Plague chose to re-release it as a way to build some momentum for new material they are working on. We obviously won’t know what that will sound like until it is released but if you like Fistful of Metal-era Anthrax, Feel the Fire-era Overkill and even Killing is My Business..-era Megadeth and don’t mind a heavy does of crossover in the mix you might get some mileage out of What’s the Purpose.