Algebra

Algebra

Chiroptera

Unspeakable Axe

Swiss thrashers Algebra have become one of the most reliable machines in metaldom over the course of their fourteen years of existence. Like the famous Swiss watches, their music is clockwork-precise. Several overlapping schools of classic thrash coexist in their songs, with the heaviness and directness of the classic Bay Area bands somehow not crowding out the weirder, progressive flourishes of countrymates Coroner or even modern, post-1992 extreme metal influences, à la latter-day Megadeth, perhaps. It all comes together into a pummelling, yet controlled, behemoth of a band without visible seams on its stainless steel outer shell. Their release schedule has been almost as reliable as their riffwork, with prior full-length albums Polymorph in 2012, Feed The Ego in 2014, and Pulse? in 2019. The latter two were their first outings for Unspeakable Axe Records, who is now proud to unleash their fourth album. Titled Chiroptera—with a suitably spooky bat painted on its cover, courtesy of the talented Adam Burke—this may be Algebra’s most advanced offering yet, without departing too greatly from the style they have been refining up ’til now.

Algebra

Pulse?

Unspeakable Axe

Swiss thrashers Algebra have flown under the radar a bit compared to some in the retro-thrash pack, but perhaps that’s for the best. What they have done on their two prior full-lengths, and continue on ther newest one, Pulse?, is not pitched at the casual crowd that briefly made silly lyrics about moshing and reheated Slayer riffs so popular. Algebra are more earnest and less fashion-forward than that, creating a mix of Bay Area thrash aesthetics with some taste of the technicality and intricacy of their countrymates in Coroner. Lyrics are serious and dark; songs are fully-realized explorations of their chosen genre, long after most bands stopped putting much effort into their writing. Pulse?, like its predecessors, is an excellent outing that would sit comfortably on shelves next to any number of genre classics as well as revered but lesser-known favorites of the ’80s and early ’90s underground.

Algebra

Feed The Ego

Unspeakable Axe