Brainmaze is a groove/thrash metal project from Bulgarian musician Ivan Shishkov. Apparently, it has taken him a decade to put this album together. It’s pretty darn good! If you love a bit of technical thrash and power groove – think Annihilator meets Prong and you will get an idea of the huge sound of Brainmaze.

I have no idea who the other musicians are or if there are any. The album still sounds very cohesive, as if there has been some genuine collaboration. I could be completely wrong though! It could be AI…who knows these days? Let’s hope not…

Regardless of that, Shishkov has put something special together here. Crunchy staccato riffs, answering double kick drums, atmospheric solos, odd time signatures and some gnarly vocals make for some great heavy metal. The opening track ‘Fear’ kicks off the album with style. ‘Spite’ could be something unreleased by Jeff Waters, it screams ‘90s Annihilator – absolute quality. The entire album continues in this vein, it’s very well done. The production is huge. It sounds fantastic through my headphones with a perfect mix.

‘When Your Demons Come’ is a superb piece of work. Shishkov has done a wonderful job of combining heaviness while sprinkling some prog on top of his creation. It’s a great listen from start to finish. I’m off to listen to it again!

Buy Here

Author: Kenny Kendrick