The New Music Thread : The Pit Edition

The title track from the brand new "Under Pressure" E.P. from long-standing Bay Area thrashers Death Angel.

A track from the new self-titled album from long-standing Teutonic thrash metallers Accu§er which is due for release on 13th November.

What do you think of the new Sepultura single? And yes, before you ask,  it IS a cover version of British synthpop act Soft Cell's timeless hit.

...which itself was a cover of the original 1965 B-side of Gloria Jones' My Bad Boy's Comin' Home which was a northern soul classic in it's own right back in the day.

As for the Sepultura version, is there even any point in commenting on these pointless covers any more? If Sepultura want to chase after Marilyn Manson fans than good luck to 'em, but count me out.

A track taken from the new "Over & Out" album from German thrash metal stalwarts Darkness.

The new track from Arizona progressive thrash metal legends Vektor.

The new single from LA speed metallers Agent Steel entitled "Sonata Cósmica".

The new track from Arizona progressive thrash metal legends Vektor.

Wow... Vektor has changed a lot since we last heard of them! First off, they set the tuning to the standard E, as opposed to the slightly higher F tuning in all their previous releases, and that's a bummer because I was kinda hoping for them to pick up some C-tuned 7-string guitars for a heavier yet ethereal sound. Second, the vocals! David DiSanto has been known for his high shrieking, yet the vocals here are mainly more melodic and clean, with a small bit of the shrieks only in the background. I think he lost most of his screaming ability after using it all up on his ex-wife (sorry, I know, poor taste). Anyway, with the E tuning and mostly cleaner vocals, this song sounds closer to the 80s albums of Voivod and Coroner (both bands I enjoy) than the unique style Vektor has been known for. If it's just for this song, would the other song "Dead By Dawn", from their spilt EP with Cryptosis, have this new sound as well or their unique style from before? And if they both have this new sound, is it just one-off for that split EP, or will it affect their upcoming album and become permanent?? Only time will tell.... But for now, I'll say that "Activate" is, in my opinion, the band's third-worst song (behind "Collapse" and "Mountains Above the Sun"), though it's not bad enough to be a sh*tter and it still remains solid.

3.5/5

A savage and aggressive new album of Norwegian thrash courtesy of three-piece Nekromantheon:

Daniel, Vinny you may both find this of some interest.

A savage and aggressive new album of Norwegian thrash courtesy of three-piece Nekromantheon:

Daniel, Vinny you may both find this of some interest.

I have been spinning this recently and loved it - it matches Rise, Vulcan, Spectre in terms of consistency.  Good to see the Kolbotn Thrashers Union still going strong.

What an utterly superb example of modern speed metal-driven European thrash "Visions of Trismegistos" is then!!! I'm blown away by the stunningly clear & precise production job & the sheer ferocity & professionalism in the execution. Those Morbid Angel inspired solos simply tear me to shreds too. The vocals could probably have been a little stronger but I absolutely loved this record Sonny & I want to thank you for bringing it to my attention as it'll very likely be making an appearance in my year-end list.

For fans of Kreator, Destruction & Razor.

4.5/5

Thrash fans, get ready for the return of a band we haven't heard new material from for over a decade and a half, coming sometime next month: https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/sadus_to_release_video_for_first_song_in_16_years_in_november.html

The 16-year drought from new Sadus material is over, thrash fans! Sadus is back with a taste of their classic thrash/tech-thrash to get you pumped up for their next album:

Demoniac - Nube negra (2023)

Released 1st September 2023

I have often been heard extolling the virtues of Chilean thrash metal and I believe it to be the only thrash metal scene that still retains any real relevancy. In the vanguard and on point of the Chilean assault on the world's thrash fans is the excellent Demoniac, whose previous album, 2020's So It Goes, only lost out in the race to be my AOTY for that year to MSW's superb Obliviosus. Well, it has been three years already since they dropped that beauty and they are back with a new album, Nube negra (Black Cloud) and it is no black cloud on my horizon, I can tell you.

There have been a change or two in the Demoniac camp since the release of So It Goes, with guitarist Nicolás Young leaving to be replaced by his Asedio band mate Javier Cisternas and drummer Rodrigo Poblete vacating the stool with mainman Javier Ortiz taking up the sticks in addition to providing vocals, guitar, keyboards, clarinet and accordion - oh, and all the lyrics and songwriting! Still, it is Ortiz' vision on show here and as such Nube negra doesn't miss a beat in continuing where So It Goes left off, despite the personnel changes.

After a short intro of storm effects and a quite reflective-sounding acoustic guitar piece, Nube negra leaps up and goes straight for the throat with a proper pummelling slice of high-octane blackened thrash that hits like a hammer blow. It seems that this time around the black metal influence to the band's thrashing is more pronounced, even so, the riffs still retain that memorable melodicism that marked So It Goes so well, whilst managing to sound even more aggressive than before. The short instrumental Marchageddon and third track Ácaro continue this blistering assault and everyone is on fine form, Ortiz' drumming is lethally potent and drives the track forwards at breakneck speed whilst his blackened vocals spit venom at all and sundry. La Caida continues in the same vicious vein, with Vicente Pereira's pronounced bass work that is so characterisric of Chilean thrash, combining with Ortiz' drumming to provide a precise and powerful framework upon which the guitarists can go to work as they unleash some lethal-sounding and expansive soloing with keyboard support also boosting the depth of the sound. At this point we have reached the final track on side one and Demoniac throw us their first curveball. As La Caida ends with a lone piano outro, we are led into an accordion-fronted piece, Synthèse d'accords that swirls along like something you may hear at some weird, nightmare circus showground.

Side two then kicks off with the  seven-minute Granada which begins with an intro featuring Ortiz' haunting signature clarinet, that was used to great effect on their previous outing, however the track soon takes a darker turn as the traditional metal instruments enter the fray before finally erupting into a full-on head-charge with more soaring and savage-sounding lead work howling to the heavens as the guitarists let rip with gusto. Veneno continues in similar vein, with the guitars howling ever more frantically, like a duel between Randy Rhoads and Steve Vai, until at midpoint the track draws a huge breath and takes on a reflective and almost drone-like tone ending the tape slowing and the track grinding slowly to a halt with, for my money, the only misstep on the album. El Final closes out the album with a whirling dervish of a riff that burns a blistering trail to a dizzying album's end.

So, is Nube negra as good as So It Goes? Well, I'm still undecided. It's a close-run thing with the former still just about holding the lead, but I think Nube negra has a very real chance of toppling it as my favourite Demoniac album. It feels less progressive and other than the mid-point breather of Synthèse d'accords and the first part of Granada, it is a fiery and aggressive affair, guitar solos performed with an incendiary, almost neoclassical fervour, a brutally exacting rhythm section, high velocity melodic and memorable riffs and Ortiz' blackened vocals spitting out the lyrics with venomous spite. Everything taken into account, this makes for a 2023 thrash metal album that you absolutely must hear.

4.5/5

A couple of brand new The Pit releases hitting the shelves this month in Danish thrashers Artillery's "Raw Live (At Copenhell)" live album & the long-awaited third album from US brutal thrash masters Morbid Saint entitled "Swallowed by Hell". Artillery haven't released anything worth listening to in the last 15 years in my opinion so I'm hoping they load up on their earlier material but I'm well up for the Morbid Saint record given that I enjoy both of their previous albums.

Morbid Saint - Swallowed by Hell

Released 9th February on HR Records

Come to this expecting another Spectrum of Death and you will certainly go away disappointed. I have long ago learnt to approach new releases by long-mothballed bands with a certain degree of cynicism, so I went into this with zero expectations.

Morbid Saint now contains three of the members from their Spectrum of Death days with vocalist Pat Lind and guitarist Jim Fergades rejoining the only ever-present member, guitarist Jay Visser, bassist Bob Zabel and drummer DJ Bagemehl. Swallowed by Hell is a very different proposition from Spectrum of Death, with the raw aggression of youth being replaced by production values several magnitudes higher and the songwriting and musicianship of long-serving professionals. This results in an album that is perfectly satisfactory and that has some decent riffs and a high level of professionalism, but that simply fails to engage on a second and more important level with the listener, that of the passionate performer appealing to the passionate listener. I believe that, as a metal fan, inside me I still have the passion and fire that once burned so brightly for all to see, but which age and the trials of live have dulled to the point where it can be very difficult to summon it to the surface once more and a certain detached cynicism often wins out over my more passionate tendencies. That is exactly how I think Swallowed by Hell has manifested, with the band believing they still have that fire and zest they exhibited so profoundly more than three decades ago, whilst secretly finding it increasingly challenging to bring it to the fore. So that leaves us with an album that is perfectly fine when considered in isolation, with some decent riffs, nice solos, a rhythm unit determined to batter us into submission and an angry and aggressive-sounding vocal performance. But we (and maybe even the band) know that it is, in reality, a facsimile of what the band were once capable of, a bit like a grizzled old bare-knuckled boxer who could still give the average Joe a heart-stopping wallop, but who would be turned into a bloody mess by younger and hungrier bucks looking to make a name for themselves.

All things considered, this could certainly be a lot worse and is by no means a disaster, but as I often wonder when faced with obviously inferior product from any certain band is why would I listen to this in preference to the classic? And the truth is, I don't know as I would, so whilst this would be fine for a few listens I don't feel it has any real staying power.

I would give it a 3.25/5 if it were allowed, but will be generous and go with a 3.5/5

Swiss death/thrash outfit Messiah have a new album coming out in March. I haven't enjoyed anything they've released since the early 1990's so I'm not holding out hopes of this release offering anything too special.

Here's a new release that I do hold strong hopes for in Chilean thrash metallers Critical Defiance's third full-length "The Search Won't Fall..." which is due to hit the shelves next month. Both of their first two albums have been worth listening to (particularly the last one "No Life Forms" which I thought was really strong) so I'll be checking this one out at some point too.

Here's a new release that I do hold strong hopes for in Chilean thrash metallers Critical Defiance's third full-length "The Search Won't Fall..." which is due to hit the shelves next month. Both of their first two albums have been worth listening to (particularly the last one "No Life Forms" which I thought was really strong) so I'll be checking this one out at some point too.

Quoted Daniel

Definitely stoked for this one. Chile's Pentagram have also got a new one out in April. It's their sophomore, released eleven years after their debut, The Malefice, an album I enjoyed a fair bit. They actually date back to the late-80's, releasing two well-thought of demos back in 1987, so I would be interested to hear how their new material sounds.

Chile's Pentagram have also got a new one out in April. It's their sophomore, released eleven years after their debut, The Malefice, an album I enjoyed a fair bit. They actually date back to the late-80's, releasing two well-thought of demos back in 1987, so I would be interested to hear how their new material sounds.

Is that right? I quite liked "The Malefice" too & was also a big fan one of their 1980's demos back in my tape trading days so I'll definitely check that release out at some point.

I've generally enjoyed my experiences with US speed metal solo act Midnight over the years with both their 2011 "Satanic Royalty" debut album & 2022's "Let There Be Witchery" fifth full-length being worthy of a few listens. Next month will see Jamie Walters releasing his follow-up to "Let There Be Witchery", a release entitled "Hellish Expectations". Might be worth a look I would expect too.