Back in the mid to late 2000s, in response to the dominance of emo and metalcore, there was a resurgence of interest in thrash metal, dubbed the "thrash revival." In some ways, it was hoped by its followers that thrash would be an effective alternative to those prevalent genres, much as it had in the eighties when glam was at its peak in the United States. The reality is, only a handful of these bands were really worth your time, such as Evile, Gama Bomb, and of course, Suicidal Angels. While some bands of the era faded away or broke up, the Greek quartet continued and now in 2024, they unleash their eighth album, "Profane Prayer."

One of the problems that the thrash revival had was the generic nature of a lot of the tunes and, unfortunately, that's a problem this album faces straight away. "When Lions Die" is listenable, but is completely unmemorable, from the stock melodic intro to the consistent tempo which doesn't change much, if at all, it's a completely standard thrash song. The same could also be said of "Purified By Fire," which is very fast but very generic, and becomes less interesting once the breakdown comes into play. Closing number "The Fire Paths Of Fate" begins well with absolutely stunning female vocals, but soon suffers the same fate, which is a shame as it's nearly ten minutes long.

That being said, there is a good amount to enjoy, most notably "Deathstalker," which is a solid thrash epic that contains some excellent melodic passages. It's an eight-minute track that makes superb use of its time, not letting anything go on too long. "Guard Of The Insane" and "Virtues Of Destruction" also stand out among the other songs for being well-written, refined thrash metal pieces that tap into the excitement of the genre, with the former providing a great chug when it comes to the guitar, while the latter offers a really good rhythm.

Honestly, decent thrash metal is the order of the day when it comes to "Profane Prayer" as a whole. The title track is a vicious one that has more to it than just speed and was a good selection for the title track. "Crypts Of Madness" is also pretty straightforward, but enjoyable, as is "The Return Of The Reaper." If you're familiar with Suicidal Angels, you won't find anything to surprise you when it comes to this album, and if you're not but just want some thrash to listen to, this is it.

"Profane Prayer" isn't a bad album at all, it's just not particularly great. As discussed, there are things to enjoy and at other times, it's boring or just forgettable. Suicidal Angels has done better than this before, and I'm sure they will again, but the formula definitely feels tired by now. They're talented enough to create something special and I genuinely believe that they can, but the band needs to crack this nut soon because the best form of recommendation that can be given to this record is, "Do you want some thrash metal? This is some thrash metal." So with that in mind, if you're just after some fast metal with some melodic passages here and breakdowns there, give it a try. It's not a waste of time by any means, but just not something that will stick with you.