This is a very good sound and yet another reason the 'Big 4' moniker annoys me. That label means that bands like F&J, Exodus, Annihilator and Testament don't get recognition and they've all done so much for the genre. Frankly many of them are producing far better records of late than at least 2 of the so-called 'Big 4'.

I suppose this isn't officially a re-issue. All band members of the original album lineup are present.

The guitar wizardry, particularly on 'Misguided Fortune' is some of the best I have ever heard the genre produce but this time, perhaps with a bit of new technology, there is a slightly cleaner tone to it which for me made it more enjoyable.

The record has been produced with the same classic thrash sound in mind and is a little polished, perhaps cleaned up to make the riffs easier to distinguish. Very heavy bass sounds from Troy Gregory who returned to the fold last year. Heavier than the original in that respect.

The cover of 'Saturday Nights' Alright (For Fighting)' is better than it was on the original. I also think that the overall vocal performance is better. Maybe because more than 25 years on Erics voice has matured but not wavered. Where there are some shortfalls in the shrieks that are not present on this re-recording, he has adjusted his vocal performance in a way that makes it work. For me it's even preferable to the original recording.

The album is a tiny bit longer, because it's a very tiny bit slower, but I only noticed that from looking at the original run time of about 55 minutes if I remember rightly, whereas this is 59. It's negligible - it really doesn't notice.

This will divide opinions among fans who prefer the original album and those who prefer the remake, but this is not a Star Wars film and hopefully people won't get uptight about what is still a damn good album and one of the finest examples of thrash metal - whether you are talking about this or the original.

At the time I write this review, F&J are touring Europe. Check their website and see them if you can.