Review of the Extended Play Album "Formation" by American Thrash Metal Band Bray Road

“Formation” is the 2019 extended play (EP) album by Milwaukee, Wisconsin based thrash metal band Bray Road. I have not been covering much of the newer US thrash metal bands but have decided to give this one a listen and see what these guys are made of. Formation is the first of two albums by Bray Road that we will review. But as of November 2021 we will only be analyzing the six song extended play album Formation in this article.

The band’s name comes from an actual road that is in the city of Elkhorn, Wisconsin where there are stories of the werewolf like creature the Beast of Bray Road tends to stalk humans in rural areas.

The EP is six songs for a total of less than 24 minutes of groovy thrash metal so for those of you that don’t have the patience to sit through long albums this one is perfect for you. Sometimes At Night starts off this mini album with a System of a Down type of acoustic part and there is narration about wolf like creatures living in the realm of psychology and Wisconsin. Note: EP is the shortened version for the words extended play which can also be used interchangeably with mini-album. The music on this mini-album is described as focused, fierce, and relentless. It is certainly heavy even for 2019 standards. Which might bring the question into some people’s minds as to whether and album can sound any heavier than this. The chorus of the title track sounds pretty similar to a more modern thrash metal band such as Annihilator which actually is a good thing because those Canadian guys have ended up influencing the style and sound of Bray Road. The title track is lyrically about an incoming revolution that is sure to mess up the minds of people. The song “Ties That Bind” is about what happens when someone is absorbed by hatred and he can neither forgive nor forget about any transgressions that may have happened. The song “Ten Faced Human Waste” once again tries to show that Kreator influence with the melody part in the beginning. Then as it gets further into the song it sounds like Individual Thought Patterns era death metal to a degree. Then there is a melodic tapping section as well. The song is about spreading waste and deceit upon the land. This mini-album ends with the song called “State of Execution” which is lyrically about a really bad person that is possessed by anger and rage. He is so determined to carry out his plan to corner and get rid of his opponents by using torment and agony to further his own diabolical schemes. Overall, Formation is a decent six song mini-album from these Wisconsin guys and adds a touch of decent modern thrash metal to the American music scene.