Thrash Metal

  • Destruction – Spiritual Genocide (2013)

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    With the current Thrash Metal revival, it is quite sad to hear bands going on their last hurrah with very mediocre releases. This is 100% the case for Schmier and company with a very uninspired “Spiritual Genocide”. Bands like Accept, Kreator, and Death Angel have managed to evolve over time and incorporate some more ‘modern’ elements into their sound, Destruction on the other hand has managed to stay exactly the same for the last 10 years.

    Opening with the insipid “Exordium” this album instantly feels like the last few of the band. Tracks like “Cyanide” and “Spiritual Genocide” are typical Thrash Metal songs that sound like they arrived 10 years too late. The riffing is predictable and the vocals are so-so, there is a lack of viciousness and aggression here, and bands like Kreator and Death Angel are now clearly superior to this band that peaked years ago.

  • Haiduk – Spellbook (2012)

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    Arriving from Canada in full force, today we have Haiduk and their debut full-length release titled “Spellbook”. As a one-man project, Haiduk is one of those bands that deliver simple yet powerful music that will send you into a headbanging rampage since the first listen. Featuring ten tracks filled with guitar acrobatics blended with Death and Thrash Metal influences, this album packs a lot of punch in its short duration.

    Opening with the catchy “Lich”, Haiduk immediately showcases a furious speed that only a handful of bands can pull off and not sound extremely pretentious. The overall atmosphere of the track is intense and very melodic but aggressive at the same time. The growls are pretty standard, but sometimes sound a bit uninspired when contrasting the powerful music. In another Death/Thrash 101 lecture, “Stormcall” is a very straight forward track that has an entertaining bass guitar line and efficient drumming.

  • I Lied – World Insane (2013)

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    Arriving from Violent Journey Records, today we have Finish outfit I Lied and their super catchy Death/Thrash Metal in “World Insane”. Originally a self-financed EP, this release is too catchy to pass and we are quite glad that the band got a label to release it to a wider audience. Delivering five tracks covering 19 minutes, this album features tons of catchy riffs and a very old-school attitude behind its music.

    Opening with a Mortician-style intro, “Beaten Zone” immediately delivers powerful guitars and super catchy hooks. The vocals are very typical of the genre and they are very well balanced between growls and screams. Moving on to a more melodic approach, “Total Self Hatred” keeps the riffing onslaught alive with incisive guitars and tight drumming. There are plenty of superb headbaning moments in this track as well.

  • Transgresión – ..de sangre y represión (2012)

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    Arriving today from Puerto Rico we have Transgresión and their two-song crushing demo “.de sangre y repression”. With a very old-school vibe, this band delivers around 10 minutes of no-bullshit Thrash Metal with some Speed influences and social commentary behind their lyrical approach. We love releases that manage to capture the sounds of the past while not being copies of any other bands.

    This demo opens with the crushing “Guerra Civil” and its heavy riffing surrounded by a very old-school Sepultura vibe from the “Arise” era. The vocals are very traditional and surprisingly delivered by a female vocalist named Estrella Sola. While sounding a bit flat at times, they actually fit very well the overall vibe of the music and are greatly enhanced by the additional vocals of some of the male members of the band.

  • Show Your Face - Afraid (2012)

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    Nailing down three solid and very catchy tracks, today we have Show Your Face and their EP titled “Afraid”. Hailing from Greece, this band nicely combines Groove Metal with Core elements to create very engaging tunes that will appeal to a wide variety of people. With a somewhat unique sound, this band is a worthy representative of the recent Core-with everything movement.

    Opening with the razor sharp “Afraid”, this track delivers a hefty dosage of powerful riffs that sometimes feel a bit Deathcore, but the band’s Thrash influences pulls them apart from sounding like another The Black Dahlia Murder clone band. The screams are very typical of Core-stuff releases, but the emphasis on catchiness really makes this song quite enjoyable.

  • Mandibula – Sacrificial Metal of Death (2012)

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    With a crushing and think as fuck sound, today we have one-man army Mandibula and the CD release of their 2010 demo “Sacrificial Metal of Death”. The band plays homage to the greats of the 80’s namely Celtic Frost, Venom, Bathory, etc. with a very retro and dirty sound that will wake the dead from their graves. Featuring nine eardrum crushing tracks, this release is as raw as you can get while still being able to distinguish everything that is going on.

    Opening with an intro similar to Mortician releases, the band sets a very dark and disturbing mood since the get go. Once the riffing comes through, you can hear that this is not your typical ‘pretty Metal’ release since everything is very raw and a bit garbled up, thanks to some cheap (or intentionally cheap) production. The raw vocals remind us of Hellhammer at times, and ultimately add a great deal of authenticity to the bands killer old-school music.

  • Midnight – Complete and Total Hell (2012)

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    After not getting enough of Midnight with their debut full-length release “Satanic Royalty”, this compilation delivers 21 catchy songs that spawn all their pre full-length debut years (eight years and several EP’s and splits). Hailing from Cleveland (WTF), this band is one of the catchiest and most engaging Black/Speed/Heavy Metal bands these days, no other Black’n’Roll band comes close to them.

    Covering their complete early catalogue (minus few tracks), this release shows an interesting progression in the band’s sound (and recording quality). Track like “All Hail Hell”, “I Am Violator”, “Long Live Death”, and “Endless Slut” have that nasty sound and a very sleazy vibe to them, just like one would expect from a truck driver hanging out at a high-school female volleyball game.

  • Sylosis – Monolith (2012)

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    Greatly improving on their already impressive 2011 release “Edge of the Earth”, today we have Sylosis and their latest album “Monolith”. In this eleven track beast of an album, the band further refines their killer ‘Melodic Thrash Metal’ sound with even better crafted songs and heaps of killer guitar riffs. The band’s mastermind Josh Middleton has done a great job in crafting a very unique sound that is familiar to Metal fans, but it is also completely different from everybody else in Metal.

    Setting a melancholic mood with the opener “Out From Below”, Sylosis quickly delivers the usual dosage of Thrash Metal riffs that nicely transform into brilliant melodic passages, particularly the brilliant closing to this song. There are a few hints of ‘Modern Metal’ included in tracks like “Fear The World” and “What Dwells Within” that give the band a Gojira kind of edge, not bad, but maybe alarming in the future.

  • Septic Christ – Infected Existence (2009)

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    Today we have Septic Christ and their killer debut full-length release titled “Infected Existence”. Delivering an eight track dose of Bay Area sounding Thrash Metal, this Germany band manages to capture the essence of real old-school Thrash and brings it into a more modern and clean sounding stage. “Infected Existence” is one of those releases that feature brilliant riffing from beginning to end and every track should be heard at least one million times to be fully digested and enjoyed.

    The album title track delivers the first dosage of killer riffs, reminding us a bit of old Metalica in the pre-“Black Album” era. For a two and a half minute long track, this is one hell of an opener. The tempo changing “W.D.W.F” mixes interesting ‘slow’ sections with the typical Thrash speed ups. The vocals of Bobby Shortleg are pretty solid, but the solos and riffs of JxNothing take the cake in this release. The bass guitar abuse on “Walk” make this sound very devastating and feature an excellent opening section before all hell breaks loose.

  • T.C.F – Where Madness Reigns (2011)

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    Arriving through Malevolence Records, today we have T.C.F a Dutch band playing some very well crafted Thrashcore. If you didn’t know the band is from the Netherlands, you would easily mistake them for any band from the late 80’s, early 90’s from the USA. Delivering thirteen tracks of balls to the wall Thrashcore, “Where Madness Reigns” is a pretty solid release for any fan of the genres.

    With a very authentic vibe, the band opens with hateful riffs and powerful drums on “Face the Truth”. Keeping the initial vibe rolling, tracks like “Slave to the Suit”, “Mass Hysteria” and “Where Madness Reigns” feature very typical song structures that will have you jumping up and down immediately. It is quite funny to think that this is a fairly young band since they nail 100% the atmosphere needed to pull off this kind of music.

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