Atrophy – Asylum – Album Review

Posted on March 17, 2024 by Chris Jennings in Reviews

We fackin’ love a good thrash comeback and, after 34(!) years, the return of cult Arizona thrashers Atrophy is a wonderful thing. Sure, we could get into the whole ‘this isn’t Atrophy with only Brian Zimmerman (vocals) of the original line-up now in the band’ (and we’d be remiss not to acknowledge the existence of splinter group Scars Of Atrophy, featuring original Atrophy drummer Tim Kelly) but such discussions are rendered moot via the fact that Atrophy do exist, and we’re not gonna ignore Asylum just because of a few behind the scenes line-up squabbles.

And, all that aside, you really need to know only one thing…. this is one hell of a comeback album!

Maintaining their core sound, the aggressive yet bouncy nature of much of Asylum makes this an album that perfectly follows up the much loved Socialized Hate (1988) and Violent By Nature (1990), with the likes of opener “Punishment For All” crushing it from the outset and “Seeds Of Sorrow” ably recalling Atrophy‘s late 80s / early 90s heyday. What’s not to love?

So, if you’re hankering for Socialized Hate or Violent By Nature Mk II then Asylum is definitely the album for you and any naysayers (and by that we mean gate-keeping elitists) can get in the bin. The rest of us are more than happy with this barn-storming release from these much-loved cult legends! 8/10

Line-up:

Brian Zimmerman – Vocals

Mark Coglan – Guitars

Nathan Montalvo – Guitars

Josh Gibbs – Bass