Album Review // Maniacal Device // Kill Your Masters

Self-released

4/5 stars

Erie's elder statesmen of metal are back with 18 minutes of face-melting mayhem, all nicely delivered within 13 tracks on their fourth EP. Maniacal Device are staying true to their thrash- and speed-metal roots, while continuing lyrical themes of beer-drinking, cinema, and society. The song "Cult Band" opens up Kill Your Masters and serves as a hype track, telling its listeners to "Join The Cult Today" and going on to state, "We don't worship Satan / Satan worships us / We will crush you like a Metallica tour bus." This lyrical sense of humor is blended together with niche cultural references and mimics the style of their previous releases. Standout tracks include "Henry Krinkle" which is rife with references to the 1976 film Taxi Driver and "Butcher or the Meat" which has D.R.I.-influenced riffs and lyrics asking the age-old question "are you a leader or follower?" Kill Your Masters holds up as a thrash must-have for anyone who slams to Municipal Waste, S.O.D., Vio-Lence, The Accused, or Iron Reagan, and with a running time of under two minutes for each song, Kill Your Masters proves that it's not about the length of the songs, it's how you play them.