Further proving how globalization is continually shaping the world’s musical taste, Korean thrash metal band Mahatma come out with a sophomore release that is well worth the time of anyone into Testament, Metallica, Exodus, Slayer, and Megadeth. Basically the essentials we collectively drew succor from during our musical infancy.

Titled ‘Perseverance’, the album begins with a lone voice reciting a haunting litany about something perverse and uh, metal. Afterwards, the band gets straight to business with crackling riffs and drumwork to make Slayer proud. Since the band does thrash close to their influences, ‘Beginning of the End’, ‘Unseen Enemy’, ‘Violence’ and ‘Falling to Hell’ are more speed metal infused, all frantic guitars and rapid fire drumming layered with singer JK’s meaty shouts; it sounds like he’s using his mouth to throw a punch. With songs like ‘Having Hope’, ‘Reform’ and ‘The Road I Must Follow’ the band slackens the tempo a bit to put more emphasis on slam and delivering stronger hooks.

These are the parts where the usual speed gives way to thick, muscular heavy metal that makes you want to grunt a couple of times. As for ‘Stormrunner’, it could very well be a song off Megadeth’s ‘Countdown to Extinction’. In fact, listen to the album a lot more closely and Dave Mustaine’s influence can be heard on several other tracks.

It’s a plus that the band knows how to keep their music interesting with a few choice solos, furious drumming and a complete moratorium on boring guitar duels. For all its strengths, this is not a strong record, just a very good one- with an interesting cover too.

To finish the album, Mahatma goes down a well trodden path with their own version of Judas Priest’s ‘Painkiller’ (let’s see now, how many other groups have had their take on the song? Death, Angra, Biomechanical . . .) and a semi ballad in the Metallica/Pantera mold where they play mellow at first only to get real heavy on the latter half. Very familiar, polished yet imperfect, Mahatma’s ‘Perseverance’ should be recommended to all devout fans of the genre.