Solstice - Casting the Die (2021)

olstice was formed in 1990 by Rob Barrett, Alex Marquez, and Dennis Munoz in Miami, Florida. Soon after their first demo, the band signed to Steamhammer/SPV, the German label that released their first two albums. However, after Rob left to join Cannibal Corpse and with Alex increasingly busy with Malevolent Creation and Demolition Hammer, the band went into a long hiatus. After a few hints to reunite, the third album finally saw the light of day in 2009. Now, powered with the new blood brought by Taylor and Marcel Salas, Solstice is back in full force, with an impressive display of power in the form of the fourth album, Casting The Die.

Hostile and belligerent, Solstice give their thrashy death metal a rigorous showing on this brand-new album. Noisy and in your face, the old-school head-banging vibes are very strong and across 11 tracks, Solstice spit a ton of fire. In a very raw and unrefined way.

The first two tracks, The Altruist and Transparent pull absolutely no punches in regards to thrashy heaviness. It’s Who Bleeds Whom that really gets things going and that’s in part, thanks to the killer guitar solo that bursts forth from it.

With that having got the juices flowing, Solstice are cooking properly now. Lifeline, Ignite, Outlast, Seven, Embellishment Exposed… the middle portion of the album keeps things tight and frenzied. Solstice know exactly what they’re doing and refuse to leave any room for a listener to get distracted. It’s scornful and spitting fury, easy to get along with even if variety isn’t exactly important here.

That does mean it starts to get a little cloying come the latter part of the album. Not unenjoyable by any stretch but the feeling that you’ve heard the best that Solstice has to offer is there. The trio of the title track, Eyes Sewn Shut and Scratch stick to the formula so expect plenty more reasons to head-bang away.