Conjuration

Just realized this might very well be the first US 7" I've reviewed on the site, and with Khnud's ever-growing, doGly US Metal singles-project, I'm sort of intimidated to tread these waters, but this one I've been wanting to hype for years so here goes something...

The shorthand review of Indiana's CONJURATION reads simply: 'Fucking great brutal Thrash Metal that will please just about any fan of the genre!' ...but for a short but slightly longer track-rundown:
1. Opener "E.O.S." will have Morbid Saint-fans foaming at the mouth - perfect facepounding Thrash brutality all the way!
2. "Nightmare" is a bit more diverse, similar at times of Canadian cultsters like Dissection or Aggression's more eclectic moments, with both some neat crossover'y as well as tasty blastbeat bits.
3. The Canadianisms continue in the opening riffs of the B-side "Pendulum", as they could have been lifted straight off The Greatest Thrash Metal Album Of All Time (Killing Technology - duh!) though the major part of the song reminds us of such revered tape trading-era classics as Sindrome and even ye olde mighty Leviathan!

The fact that all 3 tracks clocks in about the 3-minute mark is on a surface level a cool thing, but I can't help thinking the sheer talent of Conjuration's songwriting would have benefited from some elaboration. The race for the finish mark sorta worked against them here and I'd imagine a 12" version of this EP with more developed 4-5 minute editions of these Thrash hits could have made them semi-legends in the Olde Kült Thrash bubble. Shortchanging aside, this is one of those truly underrated 80's releases that all Thrash fans should be quick about adding to their collection while the price/availability-ratio in bloody 2024(!) is still surprisingly low/high.