Dead Heat | Process Of Elimination | Metal Blade Records

Release Date: October 10th, 2025

Format: Digital/CD/LP

Genre: Thrash Metal

Country: United States

Dead Heat formed in Oxnard, California in 2016 and quickly became a name tied to the border where thrash and hardcore shake hands and start a fight. They have toured heavily across the United States, Europe and Japan, released splits, EPs and full length albums, and slowly pushed their sound into sharper and more forceful territory. Their move to Metal Blade puts them on a larger platform, and “Process Of Elimination” arrives as their most ambitious step forward, shaped by constant touring, growing musical skill and a louder voice about the world around them.

“Process Of Elimination” hits with raw energy, the sort that comes from a band that has spent years in tight clubs, sweaty basements and packed festival pits. The production keeps the band’s sound forward with strong volume and definition, letting the riffs crack and the vocals cut through without blurring the edges.. Dead Heat pushes harder here than on previous releases, pushing their thrash side to the front while keeping their hardcore roots alive. The songs come fast, loaded with tempo changes, sharp riffing and vocal attack without hesitation. You can hear the band drawing from Slayer, Sepultura, Kreator and Pantera, but also folding in the grit of Cro Mags, Leeway and other hardcore heavyweights.

Tracks such as “Perpetual Punishment”, “The Order”, “By My Will” and the title track capture the band at full stride. Dead Heat leans into aggression without losing control of their pacing, which gives the album a steady and satisfying pulse. You can sense the band’s increasing skill in the way parts lock together and how the heavier sections strike without turning muddy or confusing. Even when the band experiments with different vocal approaches or shifts in groove, they keep things tight and energetic.

Lyrically they speak plainly about frustration, resistance and the world spinning in the wrong direction. Their approach matches the music, straightforward and unapologetic, never wrapped in flowery language. Dead Heat writes from lived experience, from touring, from watching politics twist people’s lives, from seeing communities pushed aside. That grounding gives the album a solid foundation that supports the storm of riffs and shouts around it.

“Process Of Elimination” lands as the strongest Dead Heat album to date, a release built by a band that has grown tougher, sharper and more assured through constant motion. It hits hard, says what it wants to say and delivers the kind of crossover thrash that works equally well in a packed venue or blasting through headphones on a bad day. It is a step upward for them, both musically and in sheer impact, and it marks their Metal Blade debut with a strike that leaves strong impression.

Score: 8.5