Manipulate – “Becoming Madness” [EP] [Album Review]

Becoming Madness, the new EP from crossover thrashers Manipulate, starts out a little slow with an intro reeking of the sort of thing you’d hear on a Slayer or Metallica album. Thankfully though, this isn’t the path the band follow as, by the time the EP kicks up a notch on first proper track, “Beaten Path,” all hell breaks loose.

Stomping, pummeling crossover thrash is the order of the day for the rest of this EP and while it may get a little samey throughout, you know what, there is very little to fault this EP on, especially if you were around at the time bands like DRI were causing all sorts of carnage in moshpits across the globe.

Furthermore, while there is no denying that the chaotic, groove-drenched thrash of tracks like “Slip Away” has one foot planted firmly in the ’80s crossover thrash scene, it would be unfair to label it as a mere clone because, as tracks like “Sin Upon Sin” relentlessly drill home, Becoming Madness is a cracking release in its own right, so much so that, even only running at a brief twelve minutes, the band pack enough in there to guarantee you a bloody nose at the very least.

Track Listing:

01. Becoming Madness
02. Beaten Path
03. Sin Upon Sin
04. Slip Away
05. Time Marches On
06. Manipulate

Run Time: 12:46
Release Date: February 12, 2016

Check out the album ‘Becoming Madness’ here.