Agent Steel

If late '80s thrash is what you crave, get The Omega Conspiracy, Agent Steel's first record in over 12 years. The California thrash combo disbanded after two classic albums when original singer John Cryiss went AWOL (some say his belief in the extraterrestrial life went a little too far), but surprisingly the band is back with an album chock full of speedy riffs and air raid siren-like vocal wailing. Even from a production point of view, the album has the necessary '80s vibe to it. New singer Bruce does his best to hit the higher register, but he has a bit more lower end than Cryiss had. While there are a few songs that become tiresome quickly, overall this is a great comeback album from the band once dubbed "Iron Maiden on speed."