Bay Area underground thrashers IMAGIKA have been fighting an earnest battle for the better part of two decades to keep their timeless brand of Metal alive, and it shows on "Portrait Of A Hanged Man", their seventh full-length album. Unencumbered by the temptations of METALLICA-level stardom and the seductive allure of mass radio play, this disc is everything you'd expect from a band free to revel in their roots. Put simply, it flat out rocks.

The band's expert blend of Thrash and Power Groove is infectious, and has the listener headbanging within the first few seconds of opener "Scared To Death". A rock solid rhythm section keeps things moving at a swift and sexy clip throughout, accompanied by molten chainsaw riffage and a torrent of wailing solos courtesy of axeman Steven Rice. There are more than a few moments guaranteed to inspire some serious anthemic foot stomping, particularly the title track and "Simple Servant". There's something for everybody in the vocal department; frontman Norman Skinner alternates with fluid ease between clean melodies and Bruce Dickinson-style air raid siren operatics, punctuated with low-end Death Metal roars in the vein of TESTAMENT's Chuck Billy.

Perhaps the most admirable thing about "Portrait Of A Hanged Man" is the band's ability to deliver the Thrash goods without drowning in over-the-top aggression; this owes much to their seasoned pedigree as scene veterans. While today's young retro-Thrashers set out to prove themselves by unleashing a bloody racket on the listener, IMAGIKA rely on their long-honed chops and experience to focus on crafting solid, memorable songs that stand out from one another. In their deft hands, no two tracks sound quite alike.

IMAGIKA deserve a much bigger platform than they've managed to secure since their 1993 formation, but perhaps their underground status is part of what makes their music so compelling. Their fellow Bay Area contemporaries MACHINE HEAD fought a similar battle to sustain Thrash in the '90s, but their mainstream popularity nudged them into an ill-advised period of experimentation in search of a wider audience. They have since recovered, and may have taken a lesson from IMAGIKA: Metal is a passion, not a fashion. Trends come and go, but the music you love - if treated with care and respect - can be timeless.