Album Review: Witchgrinder - Haunted

Melbourne thrash metallers Witchgrinder have followed their impressive 2013 debut with something even better, tightening up the four-piece's savage vocals, powerhouse kitwork and brutal guitar chugs into a sleek, structured foray into the dark that still assaults in all the right places. Rigor Mortis waxes lyrical on the horrors of its namesake while breaking things down with neat riffs and '80s guitar lines. Bloodlust's urgent pulse and clipped motifs echo a bit Ministry, while links to Rob Zombie are unavoidable in Travis Everett's brute vocal onslaught on When Devils Speak. There's little "second album syndrome" to speak of here.