'Bonded By Blood' is widely hailed as a thrash metal classic, but viewed outside of the hype it's actually a rather standard offering. As a thrash debut it fares better than Metallica's 'Kill 'Em All' but doesn't come close to Testament's 'The Legacy,' and its punk energy and repetitive riffs make it distinctly average. Paul Ballof is the star here, his alternately shrieking and yelling vocals summing up the aesthetic and ideology of the genre, but the other performers seem to be too comfortable in their niches. Songs such as the title track are led by enjoyable guitar riffs that begin to grate after a while due to the repetition, and there's very little ...  Read the complete review