Fortunate to already ingest the first two albums from Canadian thrashers Hazzerd for this site (and love them), it’s evident that the benchmark is high for album three in the aptly titled The 3rd Dimension. Five years may seem like an eternity in the metal realm for another studio record, but the band switched out second guitarists as Nick Schwartz (Tymo, Kill Witch) replaces long-time member Brendan Malycky beyond the slow pandemic shut down that took place mere months after releasing 2020’s Delirium. Vibrancy reigns supreme on this outing – intertwining a mix of heavy, hard-hitting material as well as an epic instrumental that showcases the four-piece know how to riff in musically appealing ways that can catch followers young and old.
Wasting no time “Interdimension” steamrolls with the similar viciousness of Havok against Megadeth – a blitzkrieg of powerful, explosive lead breaks while the momentum shifts between interesting mid-tempo / slightly faster riffs along a killer transition sure to get pit-mongers alert to active engagement. When the group wants to stretch some of their epic tendencies as far as longer arrangements fueled with melodic hooks, look no further than “Unto Ashes” – the back-and-forth gang vocals next to drummer Dylan Weserndorp’s natural raspy proceedings pogo next to a bevy of gallop-oriented guitar parts, ‘with a snap of my fingers, you will cease to exist’ a standout line as the momentum shifts into a headbanging rally cry for the metal masses.
Midway through the short instrumental “TTT” serves as a breather in the early Testament sense, neoclassical arpeggio runs abound – as “Pagueis” returns the band to their semi-sophisticated thrash platform, featuring Dylan’s adept double kick / groove skills along with some thoughtful dive bomb / shredding lead break action out of guitarist Toryin Schadlich. “ThArSh TiLl DeTh” reaches back to an early, raw sound that gets its punk-like point across in an economical 2:27, but the nine-minute plus “A Fell Omen” showcases all sides of the band on this instrumental – the acoustic ambiance, layered electric action, into a frenzy of musical dexterity and versatility that rivals Megadeth, Heathen, and maybe Sacrifice in their prime between attacking parts as well as deeper, melodic nuances.
Hazzerd knows their craft and continually develop material that bursts from the speakers in such a way that they showcase thrash in the best regard once again through The 3rd Dimension. While the old guard has plenty left in the tank, never discount the younger artists who can also write (and deliver) high quality material album after album like this.