The Bay Area Thrash Metal rules – and each and everyone of us surely knows that already, right? So do these Slovenian Thrashers named PANIKK whose debut album titled "Unbearable Conditions" pretty much follows some of those strong traditions that bands like FORBIDDEN, DEATH ANGEL, HEATHEN, EXODUS and especially VIO-LENCE, started well over 25 years ago or so. Violent, heavily riff-orientated, fast, old school and gang shouts-driven Thrash Metal is what people are about to get from PANIKK’s debut – and in that particular sense you can expect a sweet ear candy of all things Bay Area sounding Thrash Metal. PANIKK make obviously most of us mistakenly – yet so easily even to believe they could be some yet undiscovered Thrash gem from the vast Bay Area Thrash scene. Gladly the Bay Area tinged Thrash Metal can be created in some other parts of the world too – just like in Slovenia. The PANIKK camp has very well realized what it takes to make an album like "Unbearable Conditions"; they surely have worked their asses off to get this high quality and mesmerizing Thrash record put out. It’s actually VIO-LENCE’s name (and mainly the "Oppressing The Masses" era) that tends to pop up from PANIKK’s material more often than just occasionally. For an almost VIO-LENCE fanboy that I kinda consider pretty much myself, I was absolutely stocked by hearing "Unbearable Conditions" for the first time. I thought I would never get tired of hearing this record over and over again – and how right I was eventually. "Unbearable Conditions" has definitely been one of the most pleasant surprises for me during this ongoing year 2013. If you love the Bay Area Thrash, then you’ll undoubtedly love Slovenian Thrashers PANIKK as well. This is true THRASH!!! PANIKK can be found at: www.facebook.com/panikkofficial, label: www.metaltankrecords.com

So far, the already saturated retro Thrash market has been beaten over and over again like a dead horse. And for real fans of the style, today it’s harder than ever to find a band that plays honest music with the required attitude, so to speak. I was really surprised by "Unbearable Conditions", the debut album from Slovenian outfit PANIKK. I can’t deny that the first thing that crossed my mind upon that first listen was "Damn, they sound like an angry version of early FORBIDDEN". And after 3 or 4 spins, I got stuck on that thought. Vocalist / guitarist Gašper Flere sounds similar to a young Russ Anderson. But, and here’s the big but, these guys have a lot more influences than the aforementioned band. There’s traces of DEATH ANGEL, ATROPHY, MORDRED and a bunch of other Bay Area bands with hints of ARTILLERY and ASSASSIN. So there’s a little European feel to it too. And by no means PANIKK is a copycat at all. I’ve waited years for an album like this one to come out. Actually, since 1999 I haven’t had such a great listen from start to finish. These guys know what they are doing and they do it with such conviction and honesty that I immediately set them apart from all the other bands. And I may include some old classic bands that came back in the last few years. "Unbearable Conditions" has it all. The overall punchy yet heavy production that sent me back straight to 1989, the rawness, the attitude, the "in your face" leads and tons and tons of tasty riffs. Maybe the only downside is variation. Half way through the album the songs tend to sound similar due to the non stop Speed Metal attack. Even though there are enough heavy headbanging parts included. Bonus points for the excellent instrumental song ‘Away From Reality’. As excellent instrumentalists, all the performances are top notch. I can’t deny that this album has been on constant rotation for the last week. Thank you PANIKK guys for a job well done. Amazing album! Do I still need to recommend you this album or to support the band? Well, go ahead and do it (this re-release even comes with an additional bonus track, the first ever recorded version of the track ‘Dismay’ – Frank)! These guys deserve it! So aim for their official page here: www.facebook.com/panikkofficial. And get their album from the label here: www.xtreemmusic.com