Aspid

***With this installment in its Eastern Bloc Obscurities Series, NWN! resuscitates Aspid's (Аспид) first and only album, "Effusion of Blood" ("Кровоизлияние"). Originally released in a pressing of 1000 vinyl LP copies on the Latvian label Ritonis in 1993, this masterpiece of Russian dirty technical thrash never received the level of exposure that would have elevated the band to the status of upper-tier thrash that it clearly deserves. On the other hand, those who have explored deeper than the surface of Eastern Bloc extreme metal have granted it the cult status that more than merits this reissue. "Effusion of Blood" moves from the ominous, two-minute-plus instrumental intro, performed by vocalist Vitaliy Kholopov on a Roland-W30, into some of the most evil, technical thrash ever recorded. Steeped in precision riffs and unconventional time signatures, the album showcases the skillful fretboard mastery of Aleksander Sidorchik throughout, ending with the instrumental title track, which clocks in at over eight minutes in length and also demonstrates Sidorchik's versatility in a variety of performance contexts. Given that copies of the original pressing typically fetch around three hundred dollars each, NWN! has rightfully seen fit to finally make it available to the masses.