I’m not sure I’ve seen pretty much anyone discussing this record since its release, so I’m taking it upon myself to do so, because to my mind, it deserves to be spoken about. Stress Test are a 4-piece crossover thrash band from Portland, Oregon. They feature Colin and Brandon from unto Others, though Brandon contributes guitar and vocals here as opposed to his bass role in Unto Others, and then Dylan Morris (Iron Scepter, Unhinge) on bass and Adam Jennings on guitar as well. Given Colin and Brandon have also been in a ton of bands before now as well, this isn;t a million miles away from being a Portland supergroup. But I don’t think they see it like that.

The primary reason I say this isn’t anything to do with quality or even modesty. It’s more to do with the fact that this record, all 11 songs and 17 minutes of it, is just the sound of 4 dudes cutting loose in the best possible way. The riffs and grooves are absolutely unrelenting. The vocal hooks are no less contagious and the tangible sense of wilful abandon is utterly intoxicating. Listen to “Bastard Behaviour” and tell me that the drumming in that song doesn’t make you want to boot a hole in the wall. Or the main riff in “Suffer”? It’s a hip-swinging, axe murderer with a bag of meth of a riff. And These guys play fast. And hard. They do not stop, with the exception of the audio clips that punctuate many of the songs (and a fake stop, also in “Suffer”) and I know this is probably more a ‘me thing’ but 17 mins? Yup. I’m all about it. I don’t need a record like this to run for 30 minutes. When I hear the ‘Nobody fears god anymore!’ At the beginning of the aptly-titled “God Sucks”, I know I’ve got maybe 45 seconds of a sweet, percussive riff, a big ol’ freakout and then we’re onto the next tune. I love it.

But don’t get me wrong, this record isn’t dumb, it’s just wild and yet concise. There are lead guitar lines that are complex and beguiling, some of the drum fills are unbelievably technically impressive and the record finishes on a c.3-minute song (that’s long for this kind of record, ok…) which has harmonised lead guitars, speed metal licks and some of the best high-register vs low-register scream trading one could wish for.

I just hope that this is a going concern and not a one-and-done project from a group of friends. Because there is something here. It’s damn close to the proverbial lightning in a bottle, to be frank. And given the riffs are presumably written by a guy with no history being in a band and/or the bass player from Unto Others…? We need these guys to keep cookin’, so to speak.