Nefarious - Addicted to Power ★★★☆☆

OLD SCHOOL THRASH METAL | JULY 2025 

FOR FANS OF: NASTY SAVAGE, HIRAX, EXODUS

        THRASH-O-METER        

★★★★★★★☆☆☆ SONGWRITING

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ LONGEVITY

★★★★★★★☆☆☆ THEMES

★★★★★★★☆☆☆ PRODUCTION

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ MUSICIANSHIP

★★★★★★★★☆☆ CHARACTER

★★★★★★★☆☆☆ THRASHABILITY

                SCORE:                   

★★★☆☆ GOOD SH!T

A gathering of veterans, fronted by the unmistakable voice of Hirax, Katon W. De Pena. On guitars, Rick Hunolt of Exodus fame and Doug Piercy from Heathen. Keeping the low end is Tom Gears from Blind Illusion and on drums Will Carroll from Death Angel.

Overpopulation, societal decay and good old fashioned greed. Addicted to Power is a relentless examination of corruption and rot of the system with an unflinching defiance; the world might be burning but a surrender is not an option.

A good home-cooked meal

'Mirror Death' lures you in with a foreboding tone and blasts off into the mid tempo thrashin' that sets the beat for the whole album - the thing is never frantically fast, and yet, its appropriately intense. The album's namesake song 'Addicted to Power' wails and displays what the band is capable of at its best: melodic, dramatically interesting and downright badass.

Unmistakably rooted in old school Thrash Metal, with equal measure Heavy and a dip into the Hard Rock territory. Taken as whole the album is a lively ride but the songs often tread far too similar ground - its a view from your childhood room's window that you really seem to remember well, but where things don't really stand for a closer examination. The home-cooked sound and old school rumble give the album a charming DIY spirit, and that's authentic as frack. It’s not amateur hour, nor is it some avantgardesque misery - it simply sounds unapologetically uncut.

The Nefarious lot

While Nefarious may not be a supergroup in the strictest sense, their collective experience and conviction to the genre of Thrash Metal ring true. This debut album bleeds passion and there's a lot to raise your fists here to (and with).

The overall experience, however, feels a little too musty, and risk free. The spark is there, but it never quite ignites into a full blaze - failing to deliver the fire that would truly rile you up and drive you over the very barricades the band seems to be rallying against.

PS. The AI generated cover has about as much appeal as the band's dime-a-dozen name. Fortunately I listen to everything under Thrash Metal.