Vigil have put Primordial Rites up in full the day before Shadow Kingdom release it, which for a debut is a confident thing to do.
Nine songs, about forty minutes, from Nocturnal Hunger through to Abhorrence, and the one previously heard track was the opener. The rest has been held back until now.
What the label reaches for says a lot. Not Metallica and not Slayer, but early Exodus, Whiplash and Sacrifice, with Blood Feast, Hallows Eve and Znowhite alongside. Those are the records that thrash bands who actually listen to thrash cite, and naming Znowhite in particular is a signal to a specific kind of buyer.
Five people from Richmond, with Jessica singing, and an approach the label calls direct: fast passages, mid-tempos that hold their shape, solos where solos belong. Physical editions are the usual ladder, four hundred on coloured vinyl, a hundred on black, five hundred CDs with a black playing surface. A debut on a label like this one is not a gamble either party is taking lightly.