Hallucinator must be having a bad trip—like, seriously dreadful. The Oakland blackened death thrash band pretty well suck the fun out of thrash, opting to agitate with its frantic pace above all.
Case in point: after a nightmarish intro, “Hiss in the Skull” practically trips over itself with speedy blast beats. That it comes alongside a Tom Araya-esque scream from the abyss is that much more appropriate. There are still influences from black thrash both proto (the aforementioned Slayer, Hellhammer) and precedent-setting (Aura Noir), but death metal bubbles to the top of this putrid brew. This change in vibe makes the song feel different, despite being a re-recording from 2015 debut EP Primeval Power.
Of particular note is the apparent lack of shared members with the killer Bay Area death scene. Acephalix, Necrot, Vastum, Mortuous and Ulthar have all shared members, so this being its own sect is very exciting.
The band reinforce the bad trip take via their own description of “Hiss in the Skull.”
“HALLUCINATOR takes you to a plane of distorted cruelty that you slowly realize is our own doomed timeline—shapeshifting psychedelic synth portals clash with visions of dark brutal thrash destruction.”
You can pre-order Another Cruel Dimension digitally and on vinyl via Carbonized Records. A cassette edition is set for release via Headsplit Records. It all releases February 14.
