Leech – Cyanide Christ

Quite why I have never heard of this band I will never know since it consists of three current members of Carnal Forge, one ex-member of Carnal Forge who is currently in Skineater plus one member of Nightrage. Also this album was recorded in 2003 but was not released until 2013 by LL Productions. Fast forward to 2017 and Polish label Defense Records has decided to reissue it on CD and I for one am extremely glad they have because I probably wouldn’t have known about it unless I had stumbled across it by accident during one of my trawls through the internet looking for new music.

However, whilst the band has a core of Carnal Forge members the musical similarities ends there as this album is entrenched in traditional thrash the moment 'Barely Alive' starts, with the vocals having great clarity. The guitar work has a sharp razoring tone and highly melodic as the riffing teems from the opener with the rhythm section being snappy with high impetus. Upping the aggression is 'Piss ‘N’ Spite with its savagery focused on the initial riff as I really do like the sound on this album; it has such a crystalline aura to it as the drum work has a workman like posture with the clean vocals being particularly good here. When you listen to this album each song offers such contrasting riffs and density that knit together so well as 'Hollow Eyes' is considerable denser with a punishing double kick incursion that is very reminiscent of latter era Testament and so damn powerful. I absolutely loved the riff break and lead that cleave the song in half before returning the track to its weighty chassis.

The formidable riff that starts 'The Real Me' is a stomp on the throat, a jugular piercing stab as the vocals dive into deeper tones but still have a clarity in enunciation and contrasts with the speedy workout in 'The Avenger' with its colossal shift in tempo. The track threatens to career into oblivion but is kept from plunging into the abyss with a well-executed riff and cymbal smashing breaks that are pin point and maintain momentum. Slightly longer is 'Chaotic' which has a Bay Area like approach with the drums being sharp, high energy driven as the song slickly transitions from one phase to the next with various tempo changes incorporating lead breaks but also the slightly eerie guitar hook that is situated in the mix of the song, but it is the pristine lead work that glistens in the track.

I love 'No Exit', a no frills thrasher, heads down, swing that head, stretch that neck, down a few cans or bottles and enjoy the music or the show that’s what it’s all about and I would sincerely hope that the guys in the band could hit the road and play a few shows in support of the album on a tour somewhere; well I’m hopeful. This is a great thrash album and if you don’t own it then you should as I intend to do as soon as possible.


  1. Barely Alive
  2. Piss 'n' Spite
  3. Hollow Eyes
  4. Condemned
  5. The Real Me
  6. The Avenger
  7. Chaotic
  8. Bleached Gods
  9. Distorted
  10. No Exit
  11. Unsurpassed