Deathraw // Reduced To Ashes // EP Review

Deathraw is a band born fresh on the scene, but with an old school Bay Area Thrash DNA that has announced itself on the scene with its debut release ‘Reduced To Ashes’.

Emerging in 2025 and a project driven by guitarist Aurélien Gonzalez (Blackened), he has constructed a band with fellow Thrash enthusiasts Eric Walzer, bassist/vocalist and guitarist formerly of black metal band Draugen, along with technical death metal drummer Fabrice Goddi (ex Mindkiller, ex-Scurrilous) to drive home their blistering songwriting through a five-track EP to melt faces far and wide.

They have accomplished this with ease. When you delve into this EP, you know right away that it is a band of highly experienced, accomplished musicians who can flex their musical muscles with ease. The EP’s opening track, ‘Assembled With Wolves,’ is an assault on the senses as it rips and roars its way across 6 minutes 43 seconds of relentless Thrash that just tears at your flesh from start to finish. The way the band can turn on a dime from riff to riff, time signatures spat out like bullets, it really is a thing of beauty!

The EP’s title track is as frenetic as the opener, technically glorious with the opening salvo just capturing the imagination before the main riff grabs you by the throat, lifting you off the floor and slamming you against the wall! This EP is gnarly! The guitar work, along with the backline, is just banging, technically brilliant at every turn. You can’t help but have that stank face throughout the sonic rollercoaster that ‘Reduced To Ashes’ is.

‘The Last Testimony’ has a real old-school vibe that is comforting in every way possible before it launches into a tirade of its own. A darker-sounding track, it hits hard with every thrash of the guitar and pummelling drum work. The underlying riff has a haunting feel that gnaws at you throughout, and the track is beautifully constructed, showcasing the band’s breadth and depth in their songwriting.

As we approach the album’s finale, the penultimate track ‘Riot’ returns us to the frenetic, relentless fury of Thrash as its very best, with a blistering track that hits you at 100 miles an hour to drive home why Thrash is a palate cleanser we all need in our daily lives. The track twists and turns with cutting riffs that capture the imagination and feed the soul. The guitar work is sublime, the vocals hit hard, and the backline is savage as fuck. You can only imagine the intensity of Deathraw live. Another 6-minute 49-second beauty, but worth every second of your time.

As we reach the album’s closer, it is plain to see Deathraw has accomplished something pretty special here; they are clearly not here to make up the numbers but announce their arrival on the scene like a sledgehammer to the chest. ‘Post Human’ opens up like a ‘Shock & Awe’ attack on the senses, this one featuring Evile’s Ol Drake, is the perfect way to wrap up such an impactful EP.

You just cannot walk away from this recording thinking anything other than “Wtf did I just listen to?”

For a debut EP, you could not do any more. The band have crafted a killer recording that any Thrash fan will embrace with ease. As I stated earlier, ‘Reduced To Ashes’ is a thing of beauty, an album for the masses and one that should absolutely be on your radar.

Reduced To Ashes is out now via all purveyors of fine music.