Already on this scribe’s radar in the early days through their self-released debut EP Deaf Nite back in 2018, Polish thrash band Pandemic arrive on the Dying Victims Productions roster for this second full-length Phantoms. Gaining Filip Worek on drums in 2022, the band continue to develop a sound that can be very forward-thinking in terms of power and speed, injecting the best elements of melody and hooks yet never wavering in its main thrash stance. As such, these eight songs pack a mighty wallop thanks to a hefty, beefy bass propulsion that next to primal rhythms and heroic lead breaks should keep followers headbanging incessantly while chanting in unison to the slower segments that harken back to traditional European/NWOBHM-oriented aspects of the early 80s.
When the quartet throw in progressive stop/start riffs, Filip’s tempo control injects that foundation to allow guitarists Marcin Konieczny and Wiktor Lobarzewski ample space to drive the riffs to the stars, beyond circular runs that contain Angel Witch / Iron Maiden-esque twists (bassist/vocalist Gniewko Jelski a third key musician to up that ante). Check out all the musical exploration within “Bane of Brook Hall” which features a guest vocal assist from fellow Polish speed metal singer Mayheer of Pursuer, a gallop-fueled affair rich in harmonic, epic textures – the leads elevating excitement in the right spaces, while Gniewko’s main vocal delivery carries the right energy in mid-range to slightly higher spots. A Latin musical intro soon gives way to more driving triplet rhythm riff madness for “Santa Muerte”, the gang background vocals aiding the dynamic musical underpinning while the semi-blasting spots work next to this adventurous, winding progressive-oriented arrangement. Smartly mixing up the track listing to execute more straight-ahead bashers like the title cut and the anthem-oriented “The Last Road”, boredom will be the last think on one’s mind taking in this material – there’s plenty of information to absorb from a multitude of angles, even at its modest 37 minutes playback.
Not commercially driven when it comes to influences or execution, Pandemic combine a lot of speed, power, and throwback traditional aspects into the mix that makes Phantoms probably a record for more of the deeper thrash maven than one who has dabbled in the genre. Nevertheless, the quality can’t be denied – so dare to plunge into a more adventurous sound as the payoff could be massive.