Afforded the opportunity to digest numerous records under the catalog of Rezet, it’s evident that this German thrash act have been very uneven in terms of their overall appeal to the scribes on this site. Be it the over bloated hour-long album for 2016’s Reality Is a Lie, the slightly leaner/beefier effort with 2019’s Deal With It!, all the way to the mixed results veering into melodic hard rock/power metal meets thrash pastures through 2021’s Truth in Between, you can always know growing pains take ahold even in an outfit who is approaching 20 years on the scene. With ex-Agent Steel guitarist Nikolay Atanasov providing some youthful exuberance to the lineup (24 years young), the band move to this self-titled record – the sixth full-length that contains 11 main tracks (beyond the brief “Opus 1984.2” intro) that steer the ship back on familiar thrash-oriented waters.
Most will be very impressed with Nikolay’s impressive shredding abilities right out of the gate for “Time to Die” and “Unholy Grail” – certainly adept at injection for key velocity runs that spring from the well of 80s heroes like Yngwie Malmsteen, David Chastain, and thrash masters like Dave Mustaine to Alex Skolnick. Properly diversifying the tempos between more anthem-like gallops beyond the speedier terrain ensures better hook retention – as if the later day Overkill/Metallica records have influenced the band’s style in spots. What can still be a stumbling point to overall listener enjoyment is the main vocal delivery of guitarist Ricky Wagner. He still possesses that semi-whiny warble in spots that doesn’t compliment certain musically sharp riffs best – especially evident in the otherwise killer “Burning Prophets” that features a bevy of exciting transitions or entertaining kit work from drummer Bastian Santen, although the subsequent power ballad “Together Apart” explores sides of his range that are thoughtful, touching, and better suited to his voice.
The second half of the record contains some jackhammer action fueled by tantalizing rhythms through “Killing Spree”, while Lips of Anvil adds his seasoned lead licks to “True As Lies” – a straightforward power banger that could have easily appeared in 1984 as much as it does in 2024. Eike Freese of Hammer Studio once again mans the boards for Rezet – first working with the group back in 2017 on the You Asked For It EP, and it’s another solid performance on that end. Cover artist Pär Olofsson (Exodus, Unleashed) presents a chilling destructive scene, probably well worth vinyl inspection for all those little details that corollate to the themes on the record.
Where does this put the self-titled record for Rezet in the end? Another solid outing, great for some entertaining hooks, riffs, and spell binding lead breaks – but probably will not be that album most will return to for those deep dive listening sessions three months to a year or more down the road.