The 1989 Canadian Thrash Metal classic, raw, relentless, remastered and re-issued! Progressive Thrash Metal from 1989 that any 80’s Thrasher must know. “Universe” defies expectations because it is not only two different albums, but two different bands. The story is thus: a Canadian Thrash band in the three-letter tradition of D.R.I. and C.O.C. is forced apparently by an unusually harsh winter into its practice space for an extended stay, and emerges with new instrumental prowess. A lot of the speed/Thrashing bashers (Destruction, Deathrow, Living Death, Voivod, etc.) from the mid-80’s stopped to look around at some stage, asking themselves whether they really liked this interesting primal noise they were producing or if they were actually capable of creating much more engaging and challenging music. Our “brain donors” here were one of them. It’s not that their energetic, uplifting Thrash/crossover debut was a weak effort by any means; it’s just that they knew they could do more within the metal boundaries, and contribute more fully to the overall expansion of the Universe. The word “auteurs” simply begs to be used here to describe the unique approach to music applied on this “universal” opus. In a manner quite reminiscent of Voivod’s last two (at the time) the delivery transcends the borders of Thrash and embarks on a journey around the progressive metal kaleidoscope without following any rigid canons. The experimentation is not as ostentatious as the one on the works of their compatriots as Thrash is still featured prominently giving a nice dynamic flavour to the complex mosaics, a more belligerent edge. The Thrash Metal fanbase would still be bemused by what the guys had cooked here, but bewildered faces would be more than just an isolated phenomenon in the crowd. On the other hand, one won’t get tired of it as the whole panorama clocks on under 40-min, and everything flows quite smoothly and effortlessly, with a weird airy spaced-out feel. Mentioning spacing out, there was by all means more room for more eccentricity and eclecticism to be applied to this exciting amorphous musical formula, but while the audience were anticipating the band’s version of “Nothingface” or “No More Color”, they announced the end of their spell with the music industry.