The Thrash Metal Thread

Power Trip - "Nightmare Logic" (2017)

There’s something to be said for limiting your scope & focusing on execution rather than experimentation & Power Trip’s 2017 sophomore album “Nightmare Logic” is a prime example of what can achieved by taking that approach. I first encountered it shortly after release & was blown away within seconds of the first track kicking off due to the stunning quality of the production & performances. You see, the Dallas-based thrashers don’t try anything remotely different here. They simply nail the shit out of the classic thrash metal model & present it in a wonderfully energetic & vibrant fashion.

Power Trip may have begun life as a crossover thrash outfit but “Nightmare Logic” sees them veering well & truly over towards the thrash side of that equation on this occasion. The aggressive hardcore-style vocals of Riley Gale (R.I.P.) are still one of the major drivers in the Power Trip sound & I find them to be very effective indeed but the instrumentation is more in line with that of Toxic Holocaust, Nuclear Assault & particularly Exodus. There are still certain sections that take a punky route but those parts inevitably line up with the less significant moments on the album so they don’t play anywhere near as important a role as classic thrash does in the grand scheme of things.

The musicianship on show here is phenomenal, despite the band staying well within their limitations & focusing on a tried & true style of metal. The rhythm guitar work is as tight as you’ll find in thrash & benefits from the brilliant production job which is the best I’ve heard in a long time. The real heroes of the record are the rhythm section though, particularly drummer Chris Ulsh who proves himself to be a powerful & talented skinsman. I’d suggest that Chris has spent a decent amount of time at the Dave Lombardo School of Thrash Drumming too as he does a fantastic job at highlighting what were already some fantastically thrashy riffs. The tendency for Power Trip to get a little simplistic & generic in their riff structures is certainly a valid observation but the execution of the band as a tight-knit unit is so on the money that I find it really hard not to get into those moments nonetheless. I can probably take or leave the guitar solos as they're more serviceable than they are dazzling but they serve their purpose nonetheless.

There isn’t technically a weak track amongst the eight on offer but it has to be said that “Nightmare Logic” is a top heavy record because the quality of the A side is much stronger than the B side. In fact, I’d argue that all of the four tracks on the A side are better than the remaining four, particularly the two true thrash metal classics in “Soul Sacrifice” & “Firing Squad” which unapologetically slay this old high-school thrasher. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy the latter part of the album by any means though so this shouldn’t be regarded as any sort obstacle for your appreciation of what is one of the better modern thrash records you’re gonna find. “Nightmare Logic” well & truly lives up to the hype as far as I’m concerned & I’d suggest that some of our members should give it a second chance because it seems to be a little bit underrated in these parts in my opinion.

4/5

King Gizzard and the Wizzard Lizard - PetroDragonic Apocalypse (2023)

Genres: Prog Thrash Metal

Subs: Speed Metal, Stoner Metal, Psych Metal

Let's be honest: King Gizzard are a bunch of dorks, despite the quality of their music.  For years their clever usage of garage-rock and punkish monotony took the musical underground by storm.  two-hour long psychedelic albums would make this "projects" band comparable to The Grateful Dead, and they were one of those bands you only listened to if you were a "real" music buff.  And then they became a thrash metal band.  I was surprised with the good reception of Infest the Rats' nest, but I haven't gotten around to it just yet.  I figured the thrash thing would just be a gimmick rather than a serious new side of them.  And then PetroDragonic Apocalypse gets ALL the ladies  I may be a Christian, but I love album covers with giant dragon motherfuckers telling the world it's his bitch.  With reception on par with a classic-era thrash album or a Vektor album displayed on the internet, how could I refuse and stay true to myself?  I'm a thrash and prog fanatic, and I can't get enough of it because there ISN'T enough of it, at least not enough that's good.  So I put this on.

Son of a bitch.  That Motorhead influence TACKLED me.  The album is filled with repetitive but engaging progressive structures that leave the rest of the work to the charisma of the band harmonizing their vocals and jamming like hell.  Even when playing a melody properly, these guys KNOW HOW TO JAM.  And it isn't just because they've always been jammers due to their psych rock history, but they revive a side of metal that has been consistently overshadowed by the extremities of black and death as well as the surreal behavior of many modern acts like Oranssi Pazuzu, Krallice and Blut Aus Nord: the side of metal that jammed back in the days of 80's speed metal.  This made the album stand out among the rest of the metal crowd.  And because Gizzard also made sure to keep their fuzz factor in mind, this prog-thrash album also has stoner and sludgy undertones working with the Motorhead influence to further empower the jam factor.  Thus, the personality is usually more engaging than the actual progressive structures, which themselves offer only a few surprises and may not be so enjoyable without the KG vibe. There are even some trippier moments scattered around that heavily recall the psychedelic side without falling into the genre.  So the band is balancing out Motorhead, apocalyptic surreality, metallic jam factor and punk monotony all with their signature vibe fully intact.  That's pretty ingenious, and almost fully justifies the occasionally lacking proggy structures.  But get this: they saved the best for last.  The nine-minute Flamethrower shows all the best of the previously mentioned aspects in the roughest display of heaviness on the album with abnormal consistency.  It even includes the only actual psychedelic rock riff on the album, and it fits in no problem.

So maybe the individual tracks of PetroDragonic Apocalypse aren't the "best" thrash songs ever written, but they certainly are fun.  Any aspects that shouldn't be very surprising are made much more surprising because King Gizzard implemented their psychedelic garage essence and personality into the thrash genre so well that this album, while being a completely different genre, still remains a King Gizzard album.  The album didn't reach my lowest reasonable expectations.  It was a little higher, but not the masterpiece the internet made it out to be IMO.  But it seriously proves that Gizzard can pretty much do anything, assuming they aren't putting out six albums a year for the online rep.  I feel that thrash fans should listen to this potential modern classic, but you'll get more out of it if you're already familiar with a few classic garage or psychedelic King Gizzard albums.  This album represents one of the most effortless genre transitions I've ever seen out of hearing nearly 12,000 albums.  But if you really wanna know what a prog Motorhead sounds like, then listen to this as soon as you can.  King Gizzard have always been masters of monotony and personality through repetition, and their second thrash outing does their wacky catalog full justice.

92/100.

I haven't checked out any of King Gizzard's releases since 2019's very solid "Infest the Rats' Nest' album. That release is consistently labelled with the thrash metal tag but I didn't hear much in the way of genuine thrash to be honest. It was more of a stoner metal record in my opinion. Is this one more obviously a thrash album?

No Daniel, it's even less of a Thrash album than Rats' Nest in my opinion. I've personally labeled it as Progressive Stoner with a few flashes of Thrash-like riffing here and there. 

I'm not a Hall of Judgement kind of guy but Thrash would definitely need to be removed from the main genres in my opinion. 

I like it better than Rats' Nest (see my rather lengthy review) because it leans into King Gizz's jammy, psych tendencies in a way that produces something pretty exciting and unique for Metal, so it's definitely worth a listen, but a Thrash album this is not. 

I think it's more like Gizzard's take on thrash.

Poison - "Into The Abyss..." demo (1987)

This German death/thrash outfit's seminal third demo tape which has gone on to become somewhat of a cult classic over the years. I picked it up in my early tape trading days & recall quite liking it but don't remember it blowing me away in similar ways to what many seem to claim these days, perhaps because extreme metal was travelling forward at such a rate of knots  that the scene had already moved past this sound by the time I got to it in the early 1990's. My opinion on the merits of "Into The Abyss..." hasn't changed much either as I don't find it to be much more than a pretty decent (if quite aggressive) Teutonic thrash demo with some unusually intimidating death metal vocals that offered a similarly deranged edge to Dead (Morbid/Mayhem). The musicianship & production are very good for this type of release but I wouldn't say that they're anything particularly special. The riffs range from chuggy (& often generic) thrash-by-numbers to the more visceral up-tempo thrash of Teutonic contemporaries like Kreator & Sodom to a doomier sound that reminds me of the slower moments on Death's "Scream Bloody Gore" album. It's really just the psychotic vocals of front man Virgin Slaughter that differentiates Poison & makes them so influential with the more extreme death/black metal artists to come in my opinion. "Into The Abyss..." is definitely worth a listen if you want to hear the transition from the thrash metal of the early 80's to the death metal of the late 80's openly playing out before your eyes with Sweden's Merciless, Chile's Pentagram & Australia's Slaughter Lord being pretty good points of reference.

3.5/5

Suicidal Tendencies - "How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today" (1988)

1988’s “How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can’t Even Smile Today” album represents my first experience with Venice Beach crossover thrash legends Suicidal Tendencies who initially came to my attention through the classic opening track “Trip At The Brain” which I heard on a late-night underground metal program some time in 1989. I’d certainly seen their name around while associating with a group of skaters from the year above me at high school but hadn’t taken the time to explore them until that moment. This admittedly very impressive track would prove to be the catalyst for further exploration though with Ben & I would soon picking up “How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can’t Even Smile Today” on cassette. It’s a release that I've held vague but generally fond memories of over the years yet I can’t say that I remembered too many of the specifics going into this revisit as I haven’t returned to it in decades. I’ve recently found myself asking why that is as I certainly remember a lot more of its 1990 follow-up “Lights Camera Revolution”, an album that I regard as being the pinnacle of the crossover thrash movement. Well... we’re about to get some greater transparency on that so let’s dive right in.

I don’t have much time for Suicidal Tendencies’ 1987 sophomore album “Join The Army”. It was more of a transitional record than a genuine crossover record with the rhythm guitar tone still remaining firmly in punk territory. I really struggled with Mike Muir’s pitchy & generally inadequate vocal performance too which made the album a bit of a chore to listen to if I'm being honest. The introduction of new lead guitarist Rocky George was the source of great promise though as he brought with him a metal focus & an instrumental competence that gave Suicidal a noticeable lift in potential. “How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can’t Even Smile Today” may only have landed a year later but the differences in approach between the two albums become apparent very quickly after pressing play. The production job is much thicker, more cohesive & generally much more focused on a metal sound rather than a hardcore one. Also, you’ll struggle to identify much in the way of hardcore on the first four tracks which see Suicidal now sitting firmly in a metal space. Hints at hardcore will eventually appear once you reach the middle of the tracklisting & there are a few legitimate crossover thrash tracks included (“The Miracle”, “The Feeling’s Back” & CD bonus track “Suicyco Mania”) but I think it’s fair to say that crossover is more of a secondary component than the primary one as Suicidal simply feel more like a genuine metal band at this point. The classic heavy metal influence that was evident on “Join The Army” is once again clearly visible here with songs like “Pledge Your Allegiance”, the title track & “One Too Many Times” sitting very much in that space while “Surf & Slam” & “Sorry?!” see the band hit on a sound that could only be described as speed metal in my opinion. It’s (perhaps unsurprisingly) the undiluted thrash metal of tracks like “Trip At The Brain” & “If I Don’t Wake Up” that have the most impact on me though.

Rocky George’s lead guitar work is a definite highlight as he builds on the concepts he’d started on “Join The Army” & takes them to another level with his tendency to contribute a continuous layer of shredding lead work over the course of entire songs becoming somewhat of a trademark at this point. His chops would improve further on “Lights Camera Revolution” but he was already very capable & pulls it all off with relative ease. Muir’s vocals are another story altogether though & I’d have to suggest that my nostalgic memories of the album hadn’t prepared me for the fact that Muir simply can’t sing. The instrumentation is generally very consistent across the entire tracklisting but it's Muir’s contribution that either makes or breaks each song & unfortunately I’d have to suggest that there are more misses than hits on this occasion. He absolutely destroys songs like “Hearing Voices” & “Sorry?!”, making potentially quite fun (if fairly generic) thrash & speed metal songs into cringe-worthy disappointments that fail to live up to their potential due to some clumsy execution & some very lazy chorus hooks. The consistent use of hardcore-style gang vocals doesn’t help all that much either it has to be said.

It's funny that (other than the obvious highlight in opener “Trip At The Brain”) not a lot of this material sounded very familiar at all so I’ve had to question whether I really did rate this album all that highly back in the day. I tend to have a very strong memory for music so, based on this experience, I'd have to suggest that I may not have spent as much of my formative years with “How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can’t Even Smile Today” as I thought I did. It’s been good to finally get some clarity on its qualities now though & I’ve subsequently realigned my position on the album. It's a very inconsistent release that serves mainly transitional purposes as the first genuine thrash record Suicidal released on their journey towards their career-defining follow-up album. If you go completely nuts for bands like D.R.I., Municipal Waste & Dr. Living Dead then you’ll definitely want to give it a few spins though, if only as a point of historical reference.

3/5

I still maintain that Suicidal Tendencies have never topped their debut and as such were a better hardcore band than a thrash band. I still spin that album quite often (even though the Reagan stuff is outdated now) but almost never play any of their later material.

I still maintain that Suicidal Tendencies have never topped their debut and as such were a better hardcore band than a thrash band. I still spin that album quite often (even though the Reagan stuff is outdated now) but almost never play any of their later material.

It's harder for me.  I have a very strict ruleset for albums I will regard with the highest respect on an artistic view.  I've had a difficult time finding a crossover thrash album I hold with this regard, because many of the best albums still show the bands making at least one of the biggest mistakes in making an album that's brilliant front to back, and this mistake is usually sameyness and the lack of variety to keep things original.  So when the best album by the best band in this genre doesn't even qualify, it just feels so awkward, unlike the difference between Pogues' Rum Sodomy and the Lash and If I Should Fall From Grace with God, which are both IMO flawless and tackle their respective different genres (celtic rock and celtic punk), without blemish.  For Suicidal Tendencies, the genre switch here happened right after the band had used up their best ideas.

It's harder for me.  I have a very strict ruleset for albums I will regard with the highest respect on an artistic view.  I've had a difficult time finding a crossover thrash album I hold with this regard, because many of the best albums still show the bands making at least one of the biggest mistakes in making an album that's brilliant front to back, and this mistake is usually sameyness and the lack of variety to keep things original.  So when the best album by the best band in this genre doesn't even qualify, it just feels so awkward, unlike the difference between Pogues' Rum Sodomy and the Lash and If I Should Fall From Grace with God, which are both IMO flawless and tackle their respective different genres (celtic rock and celtic punk), without blemish.  For Suicidal Tendencies, the genre switch here happened right after the band had used up their best ideas.

I'm curious Rex, if you regard sameyness & a lack of variety as deal-breakers in achieving a classic record, how did Devourment's "Butcher The Weak" make it through to achieve a full five star rating this morning?

It's harder for me.  I have a very strict ruleset for albums I will regard with the highest respect on an artistic view.  I've had a difficult time finding a crossover thrash album I hold with this regard, because many of the best albums still show the bands making at least one of the biggest mistakes in making an album that's brilliant front to back, and this mistake is usually sameyness and the lack of variety to keep things original.  So when the best album by the best band in this genre doesn't even qualify, it just feels so awkward, unlike the difference between Pogues' Rum Sodomy and the Lash and If I Should Fall From Grace with God, which are both IMO flawless and tackle their respective different genres (celtic rock and celtic punk), without blemish.  For Suicidal Tendencies, the genre switch here happened right after the band had used up their best ideas.

I'm curious Rex, if you regard sameyness & a lack of variety as deal-breakers in achieving a classic record, how did Devourment's "Butcher The Weak" make it through to achieve a full five star rating this morning?

Rare exception.  I stated in my review that each song had a bunch of surprises due to a somewhat more avant-garde / prog behavior in comparison to the first two albums.  On top of that, the production was flawless, and it's likely the heaviest album I've ever heard, especially the heaviest I ever heard that got the production just right.  However, I guess it also helps that the album was only 30 minutes, ande a lot happened in those 30 minutes.

I still maintain that Suicidal Tendencies have never topped their debut and as such were a better hardcore band than a thrash band. I still spin that album quite often (even though the Reagan stuff is outdated now) but almost never play any of their later material.

As you're no doubt aware by now, my taste for hardcore & punk in general isn't very strong so I've always regarded "Lights Camera Revolution" & (to a lesser extent) "How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today" as the only essential Suicidal records which is why I've been so surprised at how little appeal the latter offered me upon revisiting it.

So when the best album by the best band in this genre doesn't even qualify, it just feels so awkward, 

I get what you're saying but "the best album by the best album" is purely subjective & often doesn't match up with "most popular" which I assume is what you really meant?

So when the best album by the best band in this genre doesn't even qualify, it just feels so awkward, 

I get what you're saying but "the best album by the best band" is purely subjective & often doesn't match up with "most popular" which I assume is what you really meant?

A: Fixed your quote.

B: Whenever the Rexorcist says "best," just assume he's talking about his personal opinion and not everyone else's.  There's such a thing as a "subjective best" as opposed to a "favorite."  I have my own albums that I love to listen to in my spare time, but when I "rate" something I focus on whether or not I feel the performance was high quality.  Having said that, the idea of quality itself is also subjective, but the artform itself does matter.  So I judge every album based on whether or not I feel the band perfected their own artform and, for lack of a better word, "justified" their album.  This shows a clear difference between which albums I would rather listen to in my spare time, as I feel that relying on favoritism as a rating system runs the risk of treating some genres unfairly.

Example?  Not a fan of drone, but the critic in me ADORED Ravedeath 1972 because Tim did what he wanted better than any other drone artist ever did.  In drone metal terms, I can also apply this to Hell II.  And yes, there is SOME overlap between favorites and subjective bests depending on the type of album.  The best example would be that my favorite metal album and the best I've ever heard IMO is Ride the Lightning.  But on the grander scale, it varies widely.  This system also helps me to rank albums without having to undergo constant reorganization.  I treat movies, books, video games and even freaking soft drinks the same way.

Anthrax - "State of Euphoria" (1988)

New York thrash metallers Anthrax were a big band in my life from a very young age. While it’s true that I may regard them as the least significant of the Big Four, the first decade of their recording career was unanimously well received & represents a significant point of nostalgia for me. My entry point for the band though was perhaps one of their less highly praised releases in 1988’s “State of Euphoria” fourth full-length, an album I purchased on cassette some time in 1989 when I was just 13 years of age. It made a very significant impact on me too & I’ve always been able to recall every second of its runtime. My early experiences with “State of Euphoria” was soon trigger me to explore the remainder of Anthrax’s back catalogue &, while “State of Euphoria” would very quickly be usurped in the pecking order by classics like 1985’s “Spreading The Disease” & 1987’s “Among The Living”, I’ve still held it in high regard to this day, despite not having given it a spin in what must be decades. Let’s see how it’s held then.

The striking yellow cover art certainly gets your attention, doesn’t it? I like looking at it even if it’s not all that aesthetically special. The production job on “State of Euphoria” seems to be the source of heated debate online these days though with people seemingly split on whether it’s good or bad. Personally, I think it’s all a bit of a storm in a teacup as I have no problem with it, particularly given the time it was released. Perhaps some diehard fans would rather that Frank Bello’s bass was a little higher in the mix but it’s certainly loud enough for me. It’s the song-writing that really matters however & the tracklisting starts off very strong with three of the four best tracks kicking off the album & giving it a decidedly front-loaded feel. Opener “Be All, End All” is my personal favourite but I’ve been very surprised to find that I actually don’t consider ANY of this material to compete with Anthrax’s more classic songs. “Out of Sight, Out of Mind”, “Make Me Laugh” & “Schism” are all unquestionably catchy & enjoyable tracks but none of them are truly exceptional. In saying that though, I don’t think there are any real failures here either. Perhaps the short & silly bass interlude “13” might fit that category but it’s fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of things. I honestly can’t say that any of the proper songs aren’t memorable though as I’ve already stated that I can recall every minute of the album.

Anthrax have been open about the fact that they were pushed into the studio before they were ready by their super-eager record label & it’s hard to know whether that’s had an impact on the song-writing quality or not. I tend to think it has though as there are some great Anthrax riffs & hooks in many of these tracks but they can’t quite manage to pull them together into complete masterpieces. In one track you might have a flat riff with a punky beat while in another Joey’s chorus hook might be a little lacklustre. It’s nothing that’ll ruin the whole track for you but it does tend to hold me back from full engagement. The cover song “Antisocial” is an interesting one because it’s generally regarded as one of the more successful tracks yet I’d argue that it’s perhaps the weaker of the proper songs. I wondered whether this may perhaps have something to do with my familiarity with the original Trust version which I consider to be the stronger of the two but that clearly can’t be the case as I felt this way long before I heard Trust’s 1980 “Repression” album.

This revisit has been a bit of an eye-opener to be honest. I’ve long feared that I might be overrating “State of Euphoria” due to feelings of nostalgia from when I was just a kid & it’s turned out to be the case in the end. I had hoped that I might still be able to get my score up to four stars as I recalled it being a lot closer to “Spreading The Disease” & “Among The Living” in terms of overall quality but the reality is that “State of Euphoria” sits much closer to Anthrax’s 1984 debut album “Fistful of Metal” in my opinion. In saying that though, it’s not all doom & gloom because there’s still plenty of interest here for fans of Overkill, Nuclear Assault & Metallica.

3.5/5

I was a big fan of State of Euphoria when it was released and I still think it has a couple of bangers on it - Now it's Dark and Schism being my personal favourites. In fact I used to prefer it to 1990's Persistence of Time. That position has since been reversed though because SoE seems to have aged less well than the rest of their material from this era. It is still a solid thrash album with some great sing along choruses. In fact that may be why it has lost some of it's appeal for me nowadays because since I gave up drinking many moons ago I am no longer to be found drunkenly roaring out chorus lines from the album at ridiculous hours of the night - "Now it's dark and I can see, Don't you fuckin' look at me!"  

I think you're bang on there Sonny as those singalong choruses have definitely lost their lustre over the years. I simply don't find the hooks to be as mature as I remember them being as a thirteen year old when thrash metal was still so new to me. There's a lack of sophistication & depth in comparison to the releases that competitors like Metallica & Slayer were producing at the time.

I think you're bang on there Sonny as those singalong choruses have definitely lost their lustre over the years. I simply don't find the hooks to be as mature as I remember them being as a thirteen year old when thrash metal was still so new to me. There's a lack of sophistication & depth in comparison to the releases that competitors like Metallica & Slayer were producing at the time.

I think, Daniel, that it wouldn't be unkind to label Anthrax as more of a "party" band than any of the other Big 4. It wasn't until Persistence that they finally began to mature thematically and songwriting-wise. That said, Spreading... and Among... are still a couple of great records that I spin on fairly regular rotation. I think internet music sites have made us music nerds a bit too po-faced and introspective at times and the theraputic value of a good singalong chorus should not be underestimated! Anthrax are a good place to turn when you have had your fill of Deathspell Omega, Ulcerate or Neurosis and you just feel like you need to lighten up a bit.

I would agree with the above.  I have State.. down as a 3 star rating as I recall once the initial adrenaline levels dropped, there wasn't a lot to shout about.  I have never fully gotten onboard with Belladonna as a vocalist either.  Great at the shrill and shriek when needed but just lame sounding overall.  I was baffled how they managed to replace him with someone even worse though when they brought Bush in - I mean how can you have such a gruff voice yet not be suited to being a thrash vocalist?

I still goof around to Madhouse or Indians every now and again but my airtime with Anthrax nowadays is a rare occurrence. 

I'd suggest that my issues are more with the quality of the hooks than they are with Joey Belladonna who I've always really liked. In saying that though, I prefer Bush's tone & style & think he's one of the better metal front men going around. I've only heard a couple of Bush's Anthrax releases though ("Sound of White Noise" & "The Greater of Two Evils") so I wouldn't say that I'm in a good position to make a call on who is best suited to front Anthrax.

I think Anthrax is more worried about being a "metal" band than a "thrash" band.  Thrash was the "cool" thing, but they took to it from a pretty radio-oriented perspective more often than the others in the Big 3 did.  As a result, they sometimes miss the point of what made thrash metal so special.  It wasn't just the extremities, it was the steps forward.  While Anthrax have done cool stuff, they haven't usually reached the introspective behavior of songs like "Holy Wars" or "For Whom the Bell Tolls."  Basically, Anthrax is the most likely of the four to get drunk first if they were all at a bar.  They may have before, but nowhere near as much as the other big names in the scene.  Of course, it was wiser for them to choose thrash metal instead of speed, which might've been more appropriate for their personality.

  Basically, Anthrax is the most likely of the four to get drunk first if they were all at a bar.  

Given Hetfield's much-publicised alcoholism, I very much doubt it!

Mustaine would traditionally already have been smashed before he even arrived.

Mustaine would traditionally already have been smashed before he even arrived.

And the rest of the band? :P