Blood Feast is a band I perhaps undervalued or appreciated in the past, I had mixed feelings on their first two records and Face the Fate EP, but have occasionally dived back to them and occasionally gotten a little more enjoyment than I remembered. Their first 'comeback' album, The Future State of Wicked, sort of paralleled Possessed's Revelations of Oblivion (though two years earlier, and a full decade after this band had started playing together again). It was tighter, faster, more musically engaging for me, and occasionally came across like a revival of the sound from the amazing Rigor Mortis s/t debut. With Infinite Evolution, they've shifted to the long-time guitarist Adam Tranquilli performing vocals, and he replaces his predecessor's harsher, snarled vocals with a style far more similar to Jeff Becera, more splatter sounding, maybe more crossover, more 'thrash', where the intonation is a bit edgy and filthy and sustained.
Despite the fact that it'll draw huge comparisons to that more popular band, it works for me better than the vocals on the last record. Coupled with some fast, driven, choppy guitar work, wiry leads and raging kit work from their new-ish drummer, Infinite Evolution is really entertaining, with just enough variation and riff quality to keep me heading back to its well of carnage across many spins. Yes, I won't obfuscate, this is essentially East Coast Possessed, there are a few differences in how some riffs are imagine or leads structured, but if you enjoy Seven Churches or Revelations of Oblivion, this will be like Christmas for you, because it's on such a similar course. Like that band, they also have the focus on horror film lyrics; sometimes with similar themes like demons and possession, but also dipping a little more into the gore alongside the blasphemy. It's always an appreciated combo, and as the band busts out numbers like "Ravaging the Loins of Mary", "Of Hell" and "Outbreak", I am thinking this is easily the best album of their career...
And when they try something more ambitious like "Eye of Glass", I become assured of that opinion, an epic number with cool robotic vocals in the intro. A tune like this instantly reminded me of Deceased, who also craft more elaborate horror narratives with the thrash and speed metal influences, and another band whose fans would probably LOVE this (and probably already do). I think a future Blood Feast record could kind of embrace this idea, with the longer song lengths and unique mechanics, and help distinguish themselves from their West Coast brethren, but Infinite Evolution is a banger of a listen for me regardless, and one easily recommended to fans of any of the above or really any black/thrash or death/thrash hybrid, which are myriad over the last 20 years. Smokin', evil thrash metal that honors both its cinematic and musical influences with class.
Verdict: Win [8.25/10]
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