There's nothing like wearing your influences on your sleeve, and Moscow thrashers Manic Depression definitely wear their influences well. Seventh song Legacy of The Past runs through some of the bands that have influenced them by name-dropping album and song titles, and there's very few surprises. The Big Four of thrash are obvious, as well as other American bands such as Testament and Exodus, and bands from the Teutonic scene. It is perhaps bands such as Kreator and Destruction that play the strongest influence on Impending Collapse, with most of the songs on the album having a very Kreator-like feel in the way they are written and played. Certainly singer Max Layko is no Mille Petrozza - but then again, who the hell is? There's a few key variations from this thrash template, such as the big, atmospheric guitar solo on Global Collapse, and the very melodic, alternative rock influenced Phobia (not to be confused with the Kreator song of the same name). This is all played and produced to an excellent degree - Manic Depression have more than met the standards of their heroes, and had it not been for their obscure origin (there aren't many successful thrash bands from Russia), they'd probably be better known in the West. The only real flaws are perhaps Max's vocal style, whose delivery is perhaps a bit gruff even for thrash, and some of the lyrics suffer from poor translation. Otherwise, this is an unexpected and delightfully strong release.