Thrash Metal

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    Testament - Para Bellum (2025)

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    There are only a handful of bands in Thrash Metal that have legendary status and have continued to push the envelope with their music. Testament is definitely one of them as with each release they come refreshed and improved, never staying static and constantly evolving. With “Para Bellum”, the band continues to spread their devastating sound while trying new things and inducing massive amounts of headbanging.

    Opening with the brutal “For the Love of Pain”, we immediately had to make sure we were listening to Testament as this track is vicious and crushing thanks to its aggressive guitars and massive drumming. However, it’s the harsh vocals that got us confused, in a good way. Things come back to the band’s more ‘normal’ thrashing ways with “Infanticide A.I”, “Shadow People”, and “Meant to Be”, were Chuck Billy’s snarls come center stage alongside the vicious riffing of Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick.

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    Tsatthoggua - We Are God (2024)

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    As one of those bands that we never expected to have a comeback form, Tsatthoggua always stood up with their sadomasochist/bondage image. With a couple of excellent albums in the late 90’s, “We Are God” marks the return of this German outfit to the scene with a highly vicious mix of old-school Black Metal with some Thrash elements. For over forty minutes, the band unleashes a healthy mix of sleaziness and brutality on this one.

    Opening with all their fire-power, “Master Morality” shows a band that did not lose step and it means business. The fast-paced riffing perfectly pairs with crafty drumming and North Wind’s sinister vocals. The onslaught continues with the furious “Vorwärts Vernichter” and its incisive riffs, the weirdness of “The Doom-Scrawl Of Taran-Ish”, and the more melodic and engaging “I Drive My Dogs (To Thule)” featuring some intensely hellish drumming.

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    Sodom - 1982 (2023)

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    Breathing new life to older classics from the band, Sodom is ready to unleash on CD and vinyl, re-recorded versions of earlier songs and a brand new one on that style. However, they are not done in a modern and clean way, but rather have a retro vibe with crunchy guitars and the attitude of back in the day, creating a very pummeling and yet old-school vibe. Strictly for fans of the band and 80’s Thrash Metal, this EP is full of nostalgia.

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    Nervosa - Jailbreak (2023)

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    Unleashing one of the most intense and crushing Thrash Metal releases of 2023, today we have Nervosa and their latest opus “Jailbreak”. Prika Amaral and company return with a vicious vengeance and deliver over 45 minutes of crazy fast and extremely crafty music, filled with epic riffs, blistering drumming, and hellish vocals. Perfectly balancing an old-school Thrash vibe with a modern and clean production, this album sounds like a million dollars while beating the listener into submission.

    Opening with the thunderous “Endless Ambition”, the band means business from the start. Filled with fast Thrashy riffs alongside crushing drumming, and Prika’s aggressive vocals, this track nicely sets a high-octane tone that is greatly amplified by intense pieces like “Suffocare”, “Ungrateful”, “Seed of Death”, and the blistering album title track that fires on all cylinders. The band perfectly brings an element of melody and explosiveness to the genre that only a handful of bands can deliver, as heard on “Sacrifice” and “Behind the Wall”.

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    Amongst The Ashes - The Fabricated Monolith (2022)

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    Hailing from Finland, today we have Amongst The Ashes, a very interesting band that fuses Middle Eastern elements with a solid Melodic Death/Thrash Metal foundation. With a bit of an Orphaned Land/The Ottoman Empire vibe, “The Fabricated Monolith” provides the listener with a small sample of the band’s songwriting chops and solid execution.

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    Sepultura - SepulQuarta (2021)

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    Featuring guest appearances from the likes of David Ellefson to Devin Townsend, Sepultura unleashes the most star-studded release of 2021 with “SepulQuarta”. Conceived during the COVID-19 pandemic, this release features 15 Sepultura songs with a wide range of guests, creating a very unique and once-in-a-lifetime production. If you are a fan of the band, this release will be a very special addition to your collection.

    The release quickly sets a very high bar with David Ellefson playing bass guitar on one of our favorites, “Territory”. If that wasn’t enough, Scott Ian plays on “Cut Throat”, Danko Jones in “Sepulnation”, and Phil Rind in “Inner Self”, this sets a very nice trip down memory lane for some of us, while enjoying uniquely different versions of these songs. Pieces like “Hatred Aside” are very nicely enhanced by multiple guests, leaving them at some times even better than the original.

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    Sodom - Genesis XIX (2020)

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    Unleashing one of the most fierce and pummeling Thrash Metal releases of 2020, today we have the legendary Sodom and their latest effort “Genesis XIX”. With a new crew behind this release, Tom Angelripper manages to craft nearly 55 minutes of incisive music, split into ten high-octane songs that will have you headbanging from beginning to end. It goes without saying that this release is highly recommended for any Thrash Metal fan.

    The riffing onslaught begins with the short opener, “Blind Superstition” and nicely bleeds into the vicious “Euthanasia”. With new band members, since the last full-length, Yorck Segatz and Toni Merkel, the band shines with crafty drums and powerful guitar arrangements, when paired with Frank Blackfire (who was in the band at some point in the late 80’s). This revitalized core allows the band to rip through pieces like “Genesis XIX”, “Sodom & Gomorra”, and the sinister “Dehumanized”, all of this while delivering blistering guitar leads and superb drumming.

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    Macabre - Carnival of Killers (2020)

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    Back in the late 80’s Mortician and Macabre were two of the most extreme and yet crafty bands in the scene, we remember listening to all those horror movie samples just before the bands wailed with pummeling fury. Macabre has slowly evolved over the years and with “Carnival of Killers”, the band delivers nearly 41 minutes of music in 16 pieces encapsulating both their heavy and their bizarre side. While I am sure this will appeal to older folks like us, there are still some interesting and downright hilarious things to discover from this release.

    As their first album in nearly a decade, “Carnival of Killers” continues the band’s fascination with serial killers and delivers a wide variety of tracks that range from Grindcore to Thrash to plain weird, with some brilliant sing-along sections. Never as heavy as Mortician, tracks like “Your Window is Open”, “Richard Speck Grew Big Breasts” and “The Murder Mack”, do still deliver some powerful riffs and Thrash-tastic tempo changes, mixed with the band’s funky vocal melodies and funny lyrics.

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    Tsatthoggua - Hallelujah Messiah (2020)

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    Unleashing the most depraved release of 2020, today we have the return of Germany’s Tsatthoggua with their compilation mCD “Hallelujah Messiah”. As one of those bands that marked your youth thanks to their album covers and bizarre lyrics, we never would have expected the band to come back after more than 20 years of silence. If you are ready for a nostalgic dose of old-school Black/Thrash Metal with a knack for BDSM, check out this release.

    Starting with material from the band’s 1995 demo “Siegeswille”, the remastered versions presented in this release capture the band’s raw and punishing style while allowing the songs to sound updated and crystal clear. The gaudy keyboards of “The Belief - The Lie” (and the rest of the first 5 songs) is one of the elements that shows the band’s uniqueness as not just an appearance gimmick, but rather an experimental outfit. Tracks like “Heirs of Fire” capture that old-school timeless Immortal-style of BM which is furious and yet melodic enough for some headbanging sessions.

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    Sylosis - Cycle of Suffering (2020)

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    After a super busy touring schedule since joining Architects since mid-2016, Josh Middleton and company finally return with their crushing fifth full-length release “Cycle of Suffering”. Building up on their powerful Melodic Death/Thrash Metal sound, this release unleashes 50 minutes of crafty music filled with intricate guitars and punishing aggression. Like no time has past, this release continues the band’s legacy of well crafted brutality and melody.

    Quickly getting in the listener’s face, “Empty Prophets” delivers an exquisite balance of crunchy riffs and crafty guitar leads. Others might prefer the more melodic and mellow side of the band with tracks like “I Server” and the album title track delivering a unique mixture of Death-like guitars and intricate melodic passages. The headbanging value of the band’s music is unrivaled as we can enjoy sweeping transitions from dramatic melodic passages into brutal agressive onslaughts thanks to Josh Middleton’s harsh vocals.

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