Releasing their debut album under the title "Thrash Metal" makes it pretty clear that originality probably wasnt top of the list of priorities for Blood Tsunami, especially when you couple this with the wonderfully dumb manowar-esque artwork.

Sure enough, 'Thrash Metal' brings absolutely nothing new to the table, serving up a main course of Slayer and Kreator riffs, (one song is called "Let Blood Rain" for crying out loud) garnished with a sprinkling of Gothenburg flavoured melodic death metal a la At The Gates. There are a thousand other bands out there suckling at the swollen teat of Gothenburg death/thrash, so what makes 'Thrash Metal' worth listening to?

Put simply, its damn good fun. I bought this album for under a fiver expecting a healthy slab of dumb-but-enjoyable upbeat thrash, and that's exactly what it delivered. The drumming is perfunctory, although we can perhaps excuse ex-Emperor drummer Faust for being a little rusty as he only recently finished a prolonged jail sentence for murder. The screamed vocals, whilst perfectly enjoyable, are not hugely powerful, though they complement the riffs nicely. The album essentially consists of mid-paced chuggy thrash overlaid with Slayer-esque solos and is full of riffs that would not sound out of place on an early album by fellow Swedes 'The Haunted' although the songs here come across as considerably more upbeat. Its not hugely aggressive, and though it starts out farily fast, the album mellows towards the end, even resembling the more melodic parts of early In Flames in its more thoughtful moments.

As a package, the album is nothing this listener hasn't heard a thousand times before, but despite being pretty derivative the songs are well-written and still manage retain a charm of their own. Fans of Slayer, Kreator, Municipal Waste and The Haunted looking for some unpretentious, mid-paced thrash metal to bang their heads to are likely to get a kick out of this album, which whilst offening nothing new has enough enjoyable grooves, riffs and licks to stand up to multiple listens.

It can be picked up for around £6-7 on amazon and is well worth buying so long as you dont expect anything earth-shatteringly original!