FLOTSAM AND JETSAM

It is practically a farce that an established, highly respected American thrash outfit like FLOTSAM AND JETSAM has to look to other territories to play live. Something has to be off; maybe it's the band's circuitous label situation, from Metal Blade to the now-defunct AFM to the sizable Napalm Records. Or it could be that the 1980s thrash generation didn't follow FLOTSAM into the 1990s when they were releasing subpar albums. Whatever the case, people on this side of the pond continue to miss out on a late-career renaissance that shows no signs of abating. "Rats In The Temple" is now the fourth consecutive FLOTSAM album that proves its considerable mettle.

There's not a great deal of divergence from 2024's "I Am the Weapon" on "Rats in the Temple". The songwriting unit of guitarists Steve Conley and Michael Gilbert, along with drummer / producer Ken Mary, continues to assemble potent, modern thrash volleys that belie a band well into its fourth decade. The speedier assaults of opener "Harvesting the Hate", "Damnation" and "Absolution" lead off the record and are less about winging 80 riffs into the wind than they are about being in control of the arrangement and deploying clever transitions, notably on "Absolution", which is off to the races with a darting lead riff and volcanic chorus.

The pattern unfolds to an even greater degree on the stalwart title track, which conjures up a mini-opening drum solo from Mary (who is wisely placed high in the mix, he's excellent) and a minor-key, spooky melody over top syncopated riffs. While twin guitar melodies hover over "The Ghost Behind My Door", "The Edge of Nowhere" breaks off into a miasmic bubble of frenetic riffing and "Her Blood Your Pain" ties on harmonized guitars and yet another round of speed in the chorus.

Founding member and vocalist Erik "A.K." Knutson likely cannot hit those ungodly highs as he did during "Doomsday for the Deceiver" and "No Place for Disgrace", but his animated, yet hardly comedic vocals routinely do the trick. He's in the perfect spot to succeed since nearly the entire running order of "Rats in the Temple" follows the standard verse-pre-chorus-chorus structure, allowing him to effortlessly glide from one part to the next. And, really, there's no secret formula to what Knutson is doing — he's riding the melody he came in with and driving it home.

Debate continues on whether some veteran, classic thrash metal bands need to release new studio albums. Some can play out the string, doing just the hits; others, like FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, clearly have the prevailing need to create. All things considered, "Rats in the Temple" is tireless, firebrand thrash from a band that is getting better with age.