This is some good stuff here – and what’s even better, obviously something a bit more different and refreshing for a change. ALTERED BEAST, this 4-piece group coming from Amiens, France, has found a nice way to melt elements from Thrash Metal, Heavy Metal and pure Rock’n’Roll into one solid sounding package, the main emphasis being on those Thrash elements though. This bunch’s debut album, "Living For The Sin", containing 14-tracks all in all, is actually a pretty fun ride to go through, basically having no dead or seriously dull moments even if we talk about a pretty fuckin’ lengthy record here after all. The songs are – for the most part anyway, kinda simple structure-wise but supposedly that’s the thing that let their songs be even catchier and easier to digest that way. These four French lads know how to have fun with their stuff, and create one heck of a frenzied and wildly moving vibe that goes through effortlessly their entire album, from the beginning to the very end. They do have pretty much a similar type of smoothly rocking and jamming vibe going on this record like, let’s say, DEATH ANGEL had when they recorded their 3rd studio album, "Act III". Niclaus on guitar can surely sound entertaining with his 6-string axe – so does Olaf on bass whose bass lines have beautifully placed on the surface in the production. Franck also proves to own some special diversity in his vocal delivery that somewhat perfectly serves the band’s little hard rockin’ Thrash Metal rippers. Some of their song titles also tend to reek of not-your-ordinary Metal band, like ‘All I Want Is Sex With You’ or ‘Jesus Christ And My Motorcycle’, which, by the way, is ended exactly the same way like one known TESTAMENT song. All in all, I did enjoy the heck out of this record, and also want warmly to recommend it for you. More about ALTERED BEAST can be sneaked at: www.myspace.com/alteredbeasthard, label: www.greatdanerecs.com