PREHISTORIA
“Cryptic Halo”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

10/10

Prehistoria are a heavy metal band from the USA formed in 2020 releasing the bands debut E.P. ‘Cursed Lands’ in 2022, and debut full length album ‘Cryptic Halo’ in 2025…

…featuring nine songs across forty five traditional come power, thrash and groove metal minutes – the five piece outfit from Indiana proudly straddling a multitude of genres. Prehistoria – comprising vocalist Alonso “Zo” Donoso (Powerthrone, Words Unspoken), guitarists Shaun Cothron (Heavy Lies The Crown) and Max Otworth (Choking, Well Of Night), bass player Ian Bender (Zephaniah), and drummer Cody Johns (Zephaniah), are on fire with their first full length, powering through every song on offer with a tonne of energy and oomph, ‘Futile Invocation Of Cosmic Acknowledgment’ a one minute eerie and tension fuelled instrumental leading straight into (album opener proper) ‘Rise’. And what an opener, the band shuddering the ground with immense force as ‘Rise’ rockets outta the blocks at an incredible speed, the head of every listener rocking back and forth fairly vigorously! And vigorously is where the head rocking nature remains for ‘Salvation Denied’, the band roaring through the gears to increase the pace – the hustling, bustling barrage of traditional come thrash metal wreaking havoc all across the land as Prehistoria pound seven bells out of everyone on the planet!

A brace to raise the interests of every metalhead and thrasher everywhere, ‘Cryptic Halo’ marches on at an even faster pace with ‘Obsidian Gateways’, the band fully fuelled and insanely intent on keeping the hammer well and truly down – the worldwide mosh pits going fucking loco for this one! The band are on a roll gathering huge momentum, the all conquering metal onslaught continuing apace with ‘Everlasting Legacy’, the already high level of head bang ability rising even higher! So high in fact, I think I just saw the International Space Station! And that’s two hundred and fifty miles straight up! I tell ya readers, there’s just no stopping the band when they’re in this mood, ‘Paradise Lost’ maintaining the albums overall pace but bringing a gear changing, tempo changing swagger to the fore, the full throttle speed punctuated with bouts of slower, mid paced melodic majesty.

And talking of mid paced, ‘Crown Of The Resolute’ enters the fray with the hardest hitting attitude of any song on offer, Prehistoria shuddering the ground with an almighty anthemic edged march, the iconic gallop of the legendary NWOBHM evolution making its weighty presence felt as the band conquer the land with a genre hopping, boundary breaking bruiser! Definitely more up front and in your face than anything heard so far, the band are still fired up and raring to go, the endless energy of the American five-piece propelling ‘Cryptic Halo’ along at a mesmerising pace! And lighting up the album with a breath taking turn of speed, ‘Crucible Of Shadows’ roars straight through the heart of thrash metal territory, the levels of aggression and ferocity rising off the fucking charts as Prehistoria invite every single thrash metaller to come aboard the crazy train called ‘Cryptic Halo’ – the crazy train reaching the end of the line with the longest song on offer ‘Dreamchaser’. Clocking in at over seven minutes in length, ‘Dreamchaser’ is immediately into its stride, powering forth at phenomenal speed to become the fastest song on the album – the band sending every mosh pit into overdrive! What a great start to 2025 ‘Cryptic Halo’ is, definitely one of the best albums I’ve heard so far this year!

Overall, a thunderous rampage of pace and power, ‘Cryptic Halo’ is rammed to the rafters with a wide array of traditional come thrash metal songs.

TRACKLIST

Futile Invocation Of Cosmic Acknowledgement
Rise
Salvation Denied
Obsidian Gateways
Everlasting Legacy
Paradise Lost
Crown Of The Resolute
Crucible Of Shadows
Dreamchaser

https://www.prehistoria.band/
https://prehistoriaband.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/prehistoriaband

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