I kept expecting some muscle-lunged singer to interject throaty vocals at any moment when listening to songs like "Power Race" and "Numeration" for the first time. But then I gave a closer look to Lethal Legacy, the debut CD loaded with old-school thrash from the Toronto-based quartet Mastery, and realized that this is an all-instrumental outfit that doesn't need a vocalist to augment its aggression. Drummer Kevan Roy makes machine-gun blasts sound refreshing (especially on "No Tomorrow"), and dual guitarists Jeff Dormer and Markus Armellini play like seasoned veterans who wouldn't want a vocalist around, anyway. The title track is a thunderous call to arms, with spurts of shredding that'll make the hair on your neck stand up, and the complex "Nevermore" roars like Ride the Lightning-era Metallica.
Unfortunately, there are only six studio tracks here (including the 89-second intro "Behold"). At the end, Mastery tags on live versions of "Power Race" and "Numeration," which really aren't that different from the studio tracks. But if Mastery doesn't have enough material for a full-length disc, at least the band opted to give listeners additional versions of Lethal Legacy's best songs. Absolutely riff-tastic!
Track Listing:
1) Behold
2) Power Race
3) Numeration
4) No Tomorrow
5) Lethal Legacy
6) Nevermore
7) Numeration (Live)
8) Power Race (Live)
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