With one steel-toed combat-booted foot firmly planted in hardcore and the other just as solidly planted in metal, the Portland band Adversaries has enough throat-shredding intensity to please fans of both genres.

For any lover of heavy music, Adversaries’ latest album, “Wraith,” will bring back fond memories of not just one, but two classic decades from the history of all things loud and fast: The early ’80s, when the nascent thrash metal scene discovered punkish speed, and the ’90s, when hardcore finally embraced metal.

Vocalist Alex Aro is an anguished screamer who’s voice calls to mind the aforementioned hardcore heroes of the ’90s, be it Strife, Earth Crisis or fellow New Englanders Converge. And yet there are subtleties at work here too.

Aro shows a willingness to veer from the standard formula at times (albeit briefly), hinting at untapped reservoirs of vocal dexterity waiting to be unleashed. It will be interesting to see how his singing style grows and progresses on future Adversaries releases.

Guitarists Myles Kimball and DJ are the riff-masters, anchoring the sonic chaos to a firm metal foundation. Often, that metal foundation is of the good old-fashoned thrash variety, harkening back to the precision riffing of Exodus circa 1985, or to the chaotic speed of German thrashers Destruction.

There are none of hardcore’s trademark breakdowns here. Adversaries is opting instead to shift from all-out speed to dreary doom-metal passages that slow the pace but heighten the misery. All these influences combined create a sound that is uniquely Adversaries.

Be forewarned: If you are unfamiliar with the heavier end of the musical spectrum, you will no doubt hate this. But for those well-versed in the louder things in life, “Wraith” is a feast for the ears.

Catch Adversaries live at the Asylum in Portland at 8 p.m. Monday.

Rick Johnson is a local freelance writer.