[6.5/10] After laying low on the scene for the last couple of years, New South Wales thrash act Black Asylum are back with a new line-up and their debut full length effort Truths of the Blood (vocalist Troy Harris, guitarist Daniel Ford, bassist Pete Langford and drummer Daniel Hewling have welcomed new guitarist Travis Klerck to their ranks).

Unlike their three track Victims of the Fall EP from 2006, Truths Of The Blood shows a broadening of sound for the five piece act, with shades of melodic death metal creeping into their traditional thrash sound. But while it sounds promising, Truths of the Blood falls short of living up to expectations.

The album starts off promisingly enough, with “Beg For Mercy” boasting some huge riffs and some great tempo changes, while the faster paced “This Time We Rise” and the melodic live favourite “Victims Of The Fall” help keep the metal flowing in an impressive manner.

Unfortunately, the consistency tends to get a little shaky by the time “Bleeding Away” is presented. Sounding like an outtake from The Haunted’s The Dead Eye, the band is obviously trying to create something a little more atmospheric and darker sounding, but invariably end up sounding like they’re trying too hard.

To some extent, the same thing can be said for “Dawn of No Difference” and the instrumental “…Unspoken,” but the acoustic/solo work throughout the songs manage to elevate the tracks beyond the previously mentioned number.

Both “Then Shallow Eye” and “Dead to the World” are definite high moments around the tail end of the album, with the rest sounding good, but hardly memorable. Despite dragging a little after about eight tracks and with some filler toward the end, Truths of the Blood may not be perfect, but it is at the very least a solid debut from Black Asylum.

www.black-asylum.com