XANADOO, Mindless Purge  (2007, demo)

The skull:
An X-ray image of what appears to be an alien skull, or an advanced case of hydrocephalus. It’s incredibly simple, and we applaud that, but there’s hardly anything else to note other than this (and I would like all but the most dedicated Skullologists to leave the room now): Note that this skull (104), as well as skulls 102, and 98, all feature a skull with the left eye blacked out, or perhaps it’s the right eye that’s somehow illuminated. Yes, I have a life, and I know you do too, but…isn’t that weird? Class dismissed.

The music:
Singapore’s Xanadoo plays mindless thrash, hence the demo title, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s wholly derivative but not lame enough to call it Xanadoo-doo. Darn. This is for sure: whole lotta early Tankard goin’ on. It’s hard to find any more appropriate reference point for this than Zombie Attack — same frenzied speed, minimal distortion on the guitars, infectious riffs, vocals blurted out in earnest, frivolous lyrical concerns, titles like “Combat Thrash” and “Metal Mania.” The guitar solos are not all that improvised-sounding, rather kind of thematic and pretty memorable. Since this demo was released they’ve got a bunch of other material available — demos, splits, self-released albums and whatnot — but I’m surprised these guys aren’t on a label like Heavy Artillery or Punishment 18, considering there’s some kind of market out there for re-thrash. Case in point, an album title like Black. Death Grind. Shit! They know what they want and know how to play it.
— Friar Wagner