THIS IS A PRE-ORDER PRODUCT AND WILL SHIP OUT ON/AROUND November 11th 2025

If you have pre-order items in your cart, your entire order will ship when all items are ready to ship 

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Raw and intense Crossover infused Thrash Metal from 1987 that any 80’s Thrasher must know.

1987 was a big year for Canadian Thrash. Bands like Voivod, Razor, Piledriver and Sacrifice had already done the groundwork over the previous few years but 1987 would be there year that saw the local scene taking the next step in its evolution with a new generation of bands making their initial forays into the world of recorded music. Amongst them were outfits like Slaughter, Infernal Majesty and four-piece Montreal Thrashers D.B.C. (otherwise known as Dead Brain Cells).

D.B.C. had only formed in February of the previous year but had wasted no time in delivering their self-titled debut album in partnership with well-respected New York metal label Combat Records who had already made quite a name for themselves in the underground scene. Combat brought in experienced campaigners Steve Sinclair & Randy Burns to handle the production & engineering duties; each possessing some imposing resumes. It almost sounds too good to believe for a young Canadian band that had yet to make a name for themselves but such was the scenario D.B.C. saw themselves in when they made their way into the studio for the first time.

As with so many 80’s metal releases, the cover artwork for “Dead Brain Cells” is a cheap & nasty affair that was drawn by bass playing front man Phil Dakin. It would likely be the main contributing factor to D.B.C. not having made the commercial impact they deserved. Thankfully these aesthetic issues are not representative of the musical quality contained within.

Sinclair & Burns’ production job is actually very good & presents DBC in a very positive light. “Dead Brain Cells” certainly sounds of its time however there’s a great energy to this music that gives the band every chance of impressing the listener.

D.B.C.’s musical direction is made up of several components. Firstly, you have a very sophisticated & mature modern Thrash Metal sound that’s been built on a love of aggressive American Thrash like Slayer & Nuclear Assault. D.B.C. are a fucking tight outfit and I regularly find myself being surprised at just how accomplished the composition & arrangements are considering that this was only the band’s first studio outing. There’s an impressive complexity to some of this material that sometimes even hints at the tech Thrash direction the band would take for their second & final studio album “Universe” two years later.

There are no weak tracks included on “Dead Brain Cells”. It’s an extremely consistent album that starts with a real bang as the opening three songs represent the strongest part of the album. This is some top notch Thrash right here which sees “Dead Brain Cells” sitting very comfortably under the undiscovered gem banner. There are a lot of second tier Thrash bands out there that can only wish that their music had this much impact.

Tracklist:

1. Deadlock
2. Monument
3. Lies
4. Power And Corruption
5. Tempest
6. Public Suicide
7. Negative Reinforcement
8. Outburst
9. M.I.A.
10. Terrorist Mind
11. The Vice
12. Trauma X
13. Final Act

Release date: November 14, 2025