Short Reviews [Thrailkill - 2024 - "Unperson"]

One of the continual joys of writing about music for so long is that I am contacted by musicians and bands I would not otherwise have come across and that is what has happened here when guitarist Wes Thrailkill asked me if I would like to hear his latest album. Now, from what I can gather from my research, Thrailkill released four albums as Mammoth before changing their name and becoming Thrailkill for 2018's "Everything Is You". However the group has had a fluid line-up, normally working as a trio, with Wes being the only constant. But a reunion in 2019 means that what we have here is the same line-up who released "Polymorphism" in 2014 with Wes again joined by bassist Chase Bryant and drummer Aliyar Kinik. It is no surprise to hear that Thrailkill have toured with Haken, as here we have complex prog metal which is being taken to new heights. Animals as Leaders are another obvious influence while Protest The Hero also get a look in alongside Steve Vai. This is guitar-driven instrumental music with weird and strange time signatures which sees them take influences like Allan Holdsworth and ram them into a totally different mash-up. Unlike some bands, their take on mathcore is also highly melodic and they don’t shred just for the sheer sake of it but when it makes musical sense, which means this is an album which is highly enjoyable and listenable to on the very first playthrough. Apparently, the trio first met when studying at Musician's Institute in Los Angeles back in 2013 and have played hundreds of shows together over the years, and it shows. They can be going down one musical path and then suddenly turn, and it feels like we are listening to a totally different outfit altogether, yet while Wes is dominating out front it is the work of Chase and Aliyar which provide the foundation for the twists and directions the band are undertaking. I am somewhat surprised to have not come across these guys before, and the lack of reviews on PA demonstrates that these guys are flying well under the radar – hopefully that will soon be corrected and they get the attention they deserve, as this is some album.