Thrash Metal

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    Fanthrash - Apocalypse Cyanide (2013)

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    Is it Thrash? is it Groove Metal? is it modern Death Metal? Those are the first things that come to mind when we started listening to Fanthrash’s crushing EP “Apocalypse Cyanide”. Featuring three songs filled with killer riffs, punishing vocals, and massive drums, this EP is one of the most dynamic and entertaining albums we have received in the last few years from an unsigned band.

    The release opens with the powerful riffing of “Apocalypse Cyanide”, a track that gives a slight Death (the band) edge with some more modern elements of bands like Gojira and Hacride. The riffing is quite heavy, but the song structures are Thrash-esque in nature, making it quite interesting to listen to. The vocals are quite varied and very aggressive, perfectly fitting the devastating nature of the band’s sound.

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    Destractive – Gospel of Warheads (2013)

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    Delivering their fourth demo release, today we have Finland’s Destractive and their very unique and cohesive combination of Death/Thrash/Black Metal. Featuring four destructive tunes, this demo release shows the band’s maturity and how well they manage to blend all their influences in a very solid and powerful way. With a traditional line-up of two guitars, a bass guitar, drums and vocals, the band focuses more on effective musical structures than any gimmicks, making this release quite solid from beginning to end.

    The demo title track delivers the first wave of aural assaults with some Thrashy riffs and pummeling drums. The band nicely changes the temp into a more run-and-gun situation with excellent catchy sections and brutal speedups. This track has both Death and Thrash elements with some Black Metal-esque vocals, making a very solid combination and delivering sheer brutality to the listener. “Blood on the Soil” changes the pace a bit with incisive drumming and a slower tempo, giving more of a Black/Death Metal vibe at first, reminding us of Inquisition and even Watain at certain moments.

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    The Jasser Arafats – The Aftermath (2013)

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    With a very engaging modern sounding Death/Thrash sound, Finland’s The Jasser Arafats deliver their latest EP titled “The Aftermath”. Featuring four tracks of catchy and heavy Death/Thrash Metal, the band showcases their solid songwriting skills and knack for aggressive guitar work fused with Thrash Metal roots. With a very well defined sound, this relatively young band shows that they are here to stay and make a mark for themselves.

    “Koma” opens the release with an in-your-face guitar onslaught. The melodic elements in the music make it very accessible, and the diverse riffs and tempos make it more enjoyable than your average release. The Death Metal roots are quite evident, but since the band’s sound is more dynamic, you will not find the repetitive groove sections that many bands rely on; a perfect example of this is “Traitors”.

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    Ulysses Siren – Above the Ashes (2003)

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    With Thrash Metal being born back in the 80’s in the Bay Area, it is not surprising that many bands just didn’t get enough attention when they should have. Ulysses Siren is the perfect example of how a very high-quality band didn’t get a fair shake and ended up in relative obscurity. Being at least 5 times better than Dark Angel, Testament, Metallica, etc., this band delivers seven riff-driven tracks that represent the band’s early demos. With “Above the Ashes” we have a testament of a band that could have been something else if the right things would have worked out for them.

    Opening with “Terrorist Attack” we immediately feel the Bay Area Thrash vibe with the intense riffing and the crushing vocals. The band’s spares nothing and delivers a brutal riffing assault that only a few bands those days would have pulled off. Showing no mercy, “The Reich” keeps the intensity levels super high with some epic melodic passages and devastating solos. Rounding up their 1985 demo “Terrorist Attack”, featured in the first 3 songs of the album, “Lake of Fire” is the best track in this release, with a heavy Death Angel vibe mixed with some classic Kreator.

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    Arceye – At First Light (2013)

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    Any album that has more than one wolf in the cover has the potential of being amazingly great or total shit. Luckily for us, “At First Light” is one hell of an interesting release spawning from the UK. Arceye delivers in their sophomore full-length album ten tracks of very intriguing Thrash infused Death Metal with hearty melodic elements. If you like dynamic music that keeps you guessing from start to finish, this is one release you don’t want to miss.

    The band starts pounding away with a very catchy melodic passage at the opening of the album title track. As the guitar solos appear we immediately see a 180 degree switch into old-school Thrash Metal in the vein of Kreator and similar bands. Tracks like “The Storm” have that cool modern Death Metal vibe with a retro flair to them, making the band quite versatile while retaining their own signature style.

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    Darkane – The Sinister Supremacy (2013)

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    Featuring the return of the band’s debut release vocalist, Lawrence Mackrory, today we have Darkane’s latest opus “The Sinister Supremacy”. Keeping the Swedish Death/Thrash Metal flame alive, this release is packed with a 14 massive tracks (on the digipack version), that will have you headbanging since the opening riff. With a scene filled with band shifting to the annoying (at times) core-like screams, it is quite refreshing to have manly vocals in this release.

    After the dramatic orchestral opening, the album kicks off with the pummeling album title track. Darkane immediately shows off their power with powerful melodic guitars and very fitting vocals. The band took 5 years between releases but they still deliver very effective and engaging songs. We particularly like the catchy chorus sections and mixtures of clean and harsh vocals. Other tracks that have more elaborate opening sections like “The Decline” nicely keep the album fresh and change the flow of the release very effectively.

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    Gökböri – Balbal (2013)

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    With a very interesting sound mixing old-school Thrash with Black’n’roll. Punk/crust, and even some Doom elements, today we have Gökböri and their debut full-length “Balbal”. Featuring members of Daylight Dies, Pagan, and Sun Descends, this is one of those albums that is quite good, but very hard to peg down since every track offers a wide palette of sounds and influences.

    As the album begins, the opener “Sarp Geçitler İçinde/Balbal” is a very cool retro-sounding track that reminds us of the riffing power of Vreid and the old-school Black’n’Roll bands like Midnight. The same continues with the catchy “Ulu Dağlar, Atalar”, which really engages the listener with very effective riffs. The vocals are quite fitting for the music and also have that retro-vibe. However, there are some questionable clean vocals on this last song, luckily some solid growling remedies the situation.

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    Aratron – The Recovery (2013)

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    With the costs of professionally producing demo’s and releases getting lower by the day, we are glad that bands like Aratron can showcase their quality and have a powerful and lively sound on their demo’s. “The Recovery” is the band’s latest demo and it features five crushing tracks with a timeless Thrash infused Death Metal sound that is quite powerful and well crafted.

    The starts leads with guns blazing on the song “The Recovery”, a very direct and brutal track that combines relentless riffing with excellent vocals. The band’s sound reminded us of early days Grave and similar Swedish DM outfits that rely on Thrash Metal foundations. “Imprisoned” keeps the album flowing with another dosage of solid riffs and very tight drumming. The band’s musicianship is quite good and they are not afraid to show it with their incisive tracks.

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    Alter Self – Seven Deadly Blessings (2013)

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    Hailing from Athens, Greece today we have Alter Self, a killer Death/Thrash Metal band that delivers eleven punishing tracks on their debut full-length release “Seven Deadly Blessings”. For this release being the band’s debut full-length, their sound is very mature and the songs are perfectly executed. Mixing Thrash and Death Metal, the band achieves a timeless sound that is quite catchy and appealing.

    After the traditional intro track, “My Sober Reflection” has a very Sepultura-esque ring to it and it also showcases the band’s ability to craft catchy and brutal songs. The drumming is quite impressive and the guitar work is pretty well crafted, allowing the song to flow naturally. The band’s songs keep getting more and more interesting as the funky riffs/bass guitar sections of “Fovea” make for a very cool track.

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    Sodom – Epitome of Torture (2013)

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    Constantly releasing relentless albums since 1981, Sodom returns today with another fine example of in-your-face German Thrash Metal with “Epitome of Torture”. Contrary to normal patterns, this German outfit keeps getting more punishing with age and on this release they deliver an intense 40 minutes of crushing music. Keeping things simple and direct, Tom Angelripper and company are at the top of their game and they make a very clear statement with “Epitome of Torture”.

    Breaking in new drummer Makka in the opener “My Final Bullet”, the band shows the same ferocity and intensity they have since the 80’s. This track is quite direct and at some points (on the song and album) Tom even sounds a bit like Tom Araya from Slayer. For all familiar with the band’s sound over the years, tracks like “S.O.D.O.M” and “Epitome of Torture” are the perfect example of the high-octane Germany Thrash Metal that the band has been perfecting with each release.

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