Fatality is back with a vengeance! The Canadian thrash metal band has pulled into full gear this summer with the launch of their new album Psychonaut, the all new music video release of “Thoughts Collide” and the announcement of their 2013 tour. If you haven’t gotten the message that Fatality is ready to blow your metal-listening senses away then you’ve been clearly living in a hole, under a rock, or covered by the sea.

The ever-active “thrash monsters” have successfully completed a 30 day campaign through indiegogo.com to raise funds for their 70 day North American Tour. Their campaign concluded at midnight on June 4th and left Fatality with a pocket filled with over five grand in contributions from faithful fans. Starting off in Oshawa, Ontario and making their way down to the southern states of the U.S., Fatality will rock stages, melt faces and, undeniably, party hard!

This tour will unleash Fatality’s new album, Psychonaut, to metal heads all around. I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek of the album before its release. Ripe with heavy riffs, fast drums and, my personal favourites, bass solos, Psychonaut is an album that you want to headbang to every track and chant along to every chorus. Psychonaut reminds me of a mix of Slayer and early Death but with a distinct twist. If you’re a thrash fan you are in for a treat, but the versatility of this album brings in all metal fans alike who will not be disappointed. Having been previously acquainted with Fatality’s debut album, Beers from the Grave, an album that was described by Decibel magazine as an album where you can “practically [hear] the beers being cracked,” the darker themes that are dealt with in Psychonaut came as a surprise.

Psychonaut is a more mature album with a more mature sound, showing just how much this band has grown since its formation in 2003. Fatality has found their niche in thrash metal and exploits it in every track of this song. With songs that explore more serious themes like their single “Thoughts Collide,” to tracks that bring back that traditional thrash sound like “Enter Purgatory,” to the continuation of the instrumental marvel from their debut album “Thrashterpiece II,” Psychonaut is an album that brings you in for a quick listen and keeps you there until the very end.

There’s always that one song in an album that you can just put on replay time after time and hope that the band will play it live: for me that song was “Monstrous”. This fast paced track has the catchiest chorus of the album (and the easiest to chant along with even on a first listen). The punk-ish style that was frequent in Fatality’s earlier songs is reborn in this track but is transformed into a more sophisticated song by including a tasty guitar solo and more active arrangements. If head banging is your thing then “Before the Collapse” is the track for you. “Before the Collapse” brings in that good old thrash sound that makes you want to whip that head of yours around. All in all Fatality did a good job with this album. Psychonaut definitely shows that Fatality is making a stance as a more serious thrash metal band, not to mention that the band are now in full throttle in getting the word out.

Along with their album release, Fatality has just released their first official music video on the song “Thoughts Collide”. Having previously seen some sneak peek screenshots of their new music video I was more than intrigued to see what kind of mischief Fatality has in store for us. Released on Thursday, June 13th, I saw the video when it was fresh and once again I’m glad to say I was surprised and pleased. The music video emanates the themes of the song in a surreal way by taking the viewer into singer/guitarist Spencer LeVon’s medically tortured mind. Through dreamlike flashbacks and shots of Fatality playing with or without LeVon, the video paints a disturbing picture of the slow degradation of a psychotic mind.

All maturity and seriousness aside the band you love to party with is still very much alive. Though Fatality has grown in their sound and image, they still won’t say no to partying with friends and fans. On June 28th Fatality is having a CD release party for Psychonaut at Sneaky Dee`s in Toronto. Sharing the stage with Shotgun Cure and Call of the Wild, Fatality will finally unleash their creation upon us all. I for one will be there, front and center supporting some good local metal. Come out, have a few beers and listen to some good music!