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SPEED\KILL/HATE is the brainchild of OVERKILL's Dave Linsk; having latched upon an infectious strain of time-straddled death thrash metal. But the core of the band's follow up record, Out for Blood (available now), begins with guitarist Linsk's drive to make songs come alive that could not be accepted under the auspices of his other band.

There have always been some problems in breaking into that band's songwriting circle, but one must also surmise that the blasted Out For Blood tracks were almost too potent and aggressive for that band's current musical direction. Indeed, Speed\Kill/Hate churn an earthy, no-nonsense fastback thrash that enigmatically grabs the best from the old school while adding production edge from the new.

Out For Blood tracklisting:

'No Remorse'
'Breeding Hate'
'Written In Blood'
'Behind The Mask'
'Deceiver'
'Slain'
'Mark Of Judas'
'Brotherhood Of Arms'
'Stains Of Callous'
'The Cleansing'

Speed\Kill/Hate's style definitely fits in with the thrash community, but at the same time trying to do something a little different. Bridging the old with the new and adding in some death elements into the mix. Some people actually are saying these guys have started up something new called thrashcore. But one of the most impressive elements concerning Out For Blood is its tight but evident versatility, the album sequenced for maximum headbanging blood-rushed playability, the band's obvious wealth of experience serving to make the record ebb and flow while still remaining uncompromising and hard.

Turns out that fan reaction has affirmed this stated sentiment, that a profusion of compositions spill forth when folks are surveyed for their faves.

"Absolutely, everybody has a different opinion," says Dave. "It depends on what style of music you really like best. If you're the straight-up old school thrash metal kind of guy, something like Written In Blood seems to hit home with a lot of people. If you are more of a SLAYER kind of guy, more up-tempo, maybe something like 'No Remorse'. I personally like the song 'Slain', which is kind of a hybrid of both. There's something different going on in each one that would have someone focus in on what they think is the best one. But then again you do hear that people like 'Breeding Hate ' quite often. Still, it's kind of strange to not hear the same song come out every time."

Indeed, 'No Remorse' itself is a microcosm of the album as a whole - the band's grooves are there, as well as the technicality and a cogent hardcore punk vibe.

'Slain' moves briskly like classic mosh-mad Slayer, while 'Stains Of Callous' mixes powerful militaristic beats with chord washes and locked-down rhythm guitar thunder. 'Breeding Hate' again stomps the sweet spot between hardcore and old school thrash, with a killer collapse into one of the album's most anthemic moments as Bob barks out, "I'm breeding hate for you" to a merciless machine gun riff 'n' rhythm from Dave.

Bob's razor lined bark serves as the perfect adjunct - even an anchor - to the noticeably spontaneous and fired-up performance boiling and roiling behind him. Dave agrees that there was a certain magic to the mayhem enclosed.

"There was some kind of... let's just call it hunger, in what went down."

And note with caution, this is a band on the move. Dave wants to emphasize that this is no project band at all.

"We want this band to escalate quickly and go as far as it can," says Linsk in closing. "There have been some necessary changes."

While Tony Ochoa formerly of the band SINDROME remains the backbone of the band, whose playing brings a true sense of brutality to the music. Bob Barnak, the new voice of S\K/H packs a much more diverse vocal style than his predecessor. Ex-RIPPING CORPSE bassist Dave Bizzigotti remains the glue necessary for keeping the recklessness together.