The Italian black/thrash metal band
Bulldozer may have been inspired to re-form by the Polish label Metal Mind's 2006 box set of their late-'80s work,
Regenerated in the Grave. It certainly wasn't because they'd made a quantum leap in musicianship and wanted to share it with their old fans.
Unexpected Fate sounds almost exactly like their old stuff did -- a jackhammer blend of
Motörhead and
Venom, with some German thrash (
Sodom,
Destruction) thrown in. There's nothing subtle about the ten songs on
Unexpected Fate, though some of them are at least slightly catchy. Vocalist
A.C. Wild possesses only the most rudimentary growl, but he puts it over with conviction, and his bandmates chant the choruses emphatically behind him. The few sonic surprises (like the clean guitar that briefly pops up on the
Suicidal Tendencies-ish "Use Your Brain") only serve to emphasize the classic/retro feel of the rest of the record. This is a pretty good album, as comebacks by '80s thrash also-rans go. It's inessential, but it has its moments.