The Pit

I agree that Hellripper is enjoyable, but lacking in what I really look for in my metal nowadays and only managed a 3.5 from me. Enforced was much more up in your face and better for it, garnering a 4.0. Demoniac was still my favourite thrasher of the year however and #4 on my yearly list behind Panopticon, Convocation & Khanate.

So with the start of a new year it's once again time to have a look at the covers for all the releases for each clan. I personally like to rate a whole stack of covers all at once, rather than doing them one at a time throughout the year, as it allows me to get a better feel for where each cover sits in comparison to others. With that in mind, I've just rated every cover for releases in The Pit for 2023.

Below are the releases that are currently competing for the prestigious 2023 The Pit Cover of the Year Award (i.e. they rate at least 3.7 and have 3 or more ratings). The winner will be announced on the 1st of February, so there's still time to get your ratings in.

Holy Moses - Invisible Queen

Legion of the Damned - The Poison Chalice

Horrendous - Ontological Mysterium

Overkill - Scorched

Xoth - Exogalactic

Terminalist - The Crisis as Condition

Bleeding, The - Monokrator

If you want to contribute and rate some covers, the easiest way is to go to The Gallery and select The Pit and 2023.

https://metal.academy/gallery?cid=7&type=overall_cover_rating&myRating=&fromYear=2023&toYear=2023&exclude=0

I look forward to seeing which release gets up for the win!

I first got into Swedish extreme metallers The Crown back in the mid-1990's. They were still called Crown of Thorns at the time I picked up their first two albums through the tape trading scene & I had time for both of them too, particularly a track called "The Lord of the Rings" from their debut album "The Burning" which became somewhat of an anthem for me back in 1995. I wouldn't become aware of the band under their more well-known moniker of The Crown until my return to metal in 2009 & it would be through 2000's "Deathrace King" which is arguably the most well-known release from the band's lengthy 34-year career. I remember finding it to be a pretty entertaining listen too if I'm not mistaken & I've always thought of it as one of The Crown's better releases. I can't say that I remember all that much of it now though as I haven't felt like revisiting it since that first foray which may be a telling fact in itself but we're about to find out.

I always thought of Crown of Thorns as a death metal band back in the day but "Deathrace King" sees The Crown expanding their horizons significantly by exploring a number of other subgenres in a tracklisting that jumps around a fair bit from a stylistic point of view. The record kicks off in really strong fashion with three of the first four songs sitting amongst the stronger inclusions of the eleven on offer & daring the listener to resist the urge to thrash around like a madman. The rest of the album is a little more hit & miss though with a couple of songs even missing the mark altogether (see the fairly flat death/speed metal of "Rebel Angel" & disappointing thrasher "Blitzkrieg Witchcraft"). Mid-paced groove metal stormer "Dead Man's Song" is probably the only track that sees The Crown upping the ante to somewhere like the levels they began the record with which is unfortunate given the promising start. I wouldn't say that there are any genuine classics here though so "Deathrace King" was never really pushing for my higher scores anyway.

The mishmash of sounds present at various times during the 49-minute run time includes thrash metal, death/thrash, melodic death metal, groove metal & speed metal but I'd suggest that the death/thrash tag is the best representation of what you can expect to hear overall. The couple of melodic death metal inclusions ("Back From The Grave" & "I Won't Follow") see me reminiscing about the band's earlier 1990's material & will no doubt remind some of you of fellow Swedes like At The Gates & Dimension Zero while the thrashier & groovier songs play in similar spaces to another group of countrymen in The Haunted. The couple of speed metal numbers take more than a few queues from German Motorhead disciples Sodom so I often find myself wondering if The Crown were experiencing a bit of an identity crisis at times as they seem to struggle for a bit of focus. The level of musicianship certainly doesn't suffer for it though & I particularly enjoy the blast-beats of drummer Janne Saarenpää.

I have to say that I've been a touch underwhelmed by my revisit to "Deathrace King" as I remembered it a little more fondly than my current day experience has portrayed. The Crown certainly hint at greater things here but never really reach the levels of the premier acts floating around the scene. I often find the better songs to have magnificent parts but rarely see them maintaining those sort of levels for a full track. Perhaps I'm not as into some of the subgenres that are toyed with as other fans might be & that's likely having an impact on my score but I can't help but feel that "Deathrace King" sits more comfortably in the third tier than it does the second which means that I'm probably not very likely to return to it in the future even though I've found it to be a generally enjoyable experience.

3.5/5

Suicidal Tendencies was really the only one I couldn't muster any enthusiasm for - I have always preferred the hardcore punk of their debut to any of their metal offerings.

I have to admit that I've struggled with my revisits to Suicidal Tendencies' 1987-1990 metal albums this year with "Lights Camera Revolution" being the only one I can tolerate these days & even then I don't genuinely "love" it. "Disco's Out, Murder's In" is one of the rare tracks that I really dig though as it's thrashy & energetic as fuck.

The first half of this month's playlist was as good as anything you've put together, Vinny. Iced Earth, Coroner, Possessed, Mystik, Motorhead, Nihilist, Mystic Storm and Hellish, along with my own picks made for an imperious first hour. The more groove / crossover focus of the second half found my attention wandering a little with Upon A Burning Body and Scatterbrain's impersonation of The Offspring being the lowlights for me. Things picked up nicely towards the end however, from Virus onwards, closing with an absolute killer cut from Vektor. Thanks a lot, Vinny, especially for that first hour!

This was my review from last month:

I purchased the 1990 sophomore album from Bay Area thrashers Vio-lence on cassette pretty close to its release date after really digging the dubbed copy of their thrashtastic 1988 debut album "Eternal Nightmare" I'd picked up from a school mate the previous year. "Oppressing The Masses" isn't as consistently relentless in its high tempo assault on the senses but it's no less effective in my opinion. The song-writing & riff structures are highly professional with the musical talent of the instrumentalists being very impressive indeed. I particularly enjoy the shredding guitar solos but the riffs are all of a high quality too. Front man Sean Killian will once again be a sticking point for some listeners but I think he sounds a little more natural when compared to the debut & I actually quite enjoy the psychotic edge he brings to things which reminds me a lot of former Exodus madman Paul Baloff. The tracklisting is extremely consistent with a solid quality level being maintained throughout. "World In A World" is the only genuine Bay Area classic in my opinion though which is a shame because there was so much potential to make this an even more significant release in the annals of thrash metal history. As it is though, I'd still recommend "Oppressing The Masses" to all of our The Pit clan members & rate it just behind “Eternal Nightmare” in terms of Vio-lence’s back catalogue overall.

4/5

Deceased's seemingly legendary concept album based on Romero's zombie movies, as they existed in the late '90s. The dead walk the Earth again, killing and eating everyone they can get their hands on. Something that humanity would easily be able to bounce back from if we could stop arguing about pointless crap for 5 minutes.
These guys are not the kind of band who should make long concept albums. Firstly, we get several interludes which add nothing to the music. I'm not really sure there IS an album improved by some dude talking for 2 minutes in the middle of it. Further, I'm not really sure that what death metal was missing was songs with about 8 riffs going on for 8 minutes. There's a very tedious aspect to this album because of it. Growly choruses that go on forever are not my favorite thing in the world.
While the album gets a lot better as it goes on, I can't help but think of this album as not knowing what it wants to do. The band jumps all over the place from drop and gritty death metal to Maiden-worship with some growls. There's some good stuff in here, but I got some serious tonal whiplash at times.
Speaking of tonal whiplash, the lyrics. These get weird. It's not quite the full tonal whiplash Romero's films would eventually get with zombies are actually the good guys, but it is out there. It goes through the expected arc of a zombie story, fleeing from zombies, fighting them, and eventually scientists trying to figure out how to cure it...and then the protagonist gets bitten and dies in Unhuman Drama. The final two songs involve him becoming part of some kind of zombie hive mind. It's a trip.
I'm not really sure how I feel about the album in the end. It's very all over the place.

3/5

Forbidden - "Twisted Into Form" (1990)

I was first introduced to Bay Area thrashers Forbidden through their very solid 1988 debut album "Forbidden Evil", a record that I really enjoyed due to its combination of raw intensity of general professionalism. The experience would see me quickly investigating their follow-up album "Twisted Into Form" (which was their brand newie at the time) & I recall my feelings being just impressed. This revisit has only further accentuated those memories & has forced me to realise that I perhaps haven't given Forbidden as much attention as they deserve over the years.

"Twisted Into Form" saw Forbidden dropping a little of that raw intensity I mentioned in exchange for a touch more melody, clarity & creativity. It's a beautifully executed & produced record from a band that was clearly very talented at their chosen craft & time has been very kind to it as it doesn't sound dated in the slightest. What we have here is a very pure brand of Bay Area thrash metal with a touch of technicality that never loses sight of the ultimate goal i.e. mosh pit shenanigans. There are no weak tracks included with the most commercially accessible track & video clip "Step By Step" being the only song that hints at filler. As with any great album, there are also a couple of real belters here too in the driving thrasher "Out of Body" & the classic tech thrash masterpiece "Tossed Away" which I regard as being possibly Forbidden's career highlight. The thing that sees "Twisted Into Form" slightly surpassing its elder sibling "Forbidden Evil" though is its general consistency as I think Forbidden have raised the bar a touch from their debut &, in doing so, have created their best work.

Forbidden are often compared to fellow Bay Area thrashers Testament & that's a fair comparison but, unlike most thrashers, I'd suggest that they're fairly close in terms of their general standard. Forbidden have the upper hand in the vocal department as Russ Anderson has a wonderfully masculine & powerful set of pipes on him & also manages to cope with the more melodic stuff better than Chuck Billy ever could. Forbidden also have a big advantage in the drumming department with future Slayer/Exodus/Testament skinsman Paul Bostaph smashing Louie Clemente out of the park. Testament of course have an ace up their sleeve in lead guitarist Alex Skolnick but Craig Locicero & Tim Calvert (who would join Nevermore in the future) are no slouches & pull off some very flashy lead solos with relative ease here. You know what? I'd actually suggest that "Twisted Into Form" is a better record than anything Testament have come up with over the years which I know is a big call. It should be compulsary listening for any thrasher worth their salt in my opinion & has emphatically cemented Forbidden's credentials as a high quality second tier thrash player.

4/5

Aura Noir - Black Thrash Attack (1997)

Aura Noir are one of those bands that everyone knows, but very few talk about. Formed by Aggressor and Apollyon, who were both active in the Norwegian black metal underground, they were later joined by Mayhem guitarist Rune Eriksen (aka Blasphemer), prior to the recording of this debut full-length, Black Thrash Attack. By 1996 thrash metal was a shambling corpse that hadn't even recognised it's own demise. It's champions were fallen - Metallica had decided the way forward was trying to add an increasingly lengthening string of zeroes to their bank accounts, Kreator were embracing mediocrity and even Slayer were flailing around to such an extent that recording an album of hardcore punk covers seemed like a good move to them. Into this turgid scene, Black Thrash Attack was thrust like an adrenaline shot to the heart of thrash metal's inert body, causing it to rear upwards with an almighty gasp as life entered it once more. Taking the sound of the burgeoning black metal scene and regressing it to it's earliest days as an offshoot of thrash, Aura Noir injected vitality and good old-fashioned excitement into the once proud beast, producing possibly the best thrash album, at that point in time, since Rust In Peace.

Black Thrash Attack takes the riffs of European legends like Kreator, Bathory and Celtic Frost and marries them to raw and rabid blasphemous black metal to produce a vicious and visceral version of blackened thrash that sounds like the missing link between first- and second-wave black metal, with Darkthrone's early rawness being a particular touchstone. The riffs are all thrash, but the vocals, aesthetic and production values are raw and savage black metal through and through.

Aggressor and Apollyon alternate songwriting duties, with Aggressor being responsible for writing the odd-numbered tracks and Apollyon the even. Somewhat symetrically, they each perform vocals, bass and drums to the other's tracks. This approach offers up the risk of an uneven sound to the album, but I think that if you didn't know about it, it wouldn't be that obvious. Between this and it's predecessor the duo had added future Mayhem guitarist Blasphemer to expand the lineup to a trio, which was an inspired move and certainly adds meat to the bones of the band's sound, his impressive riffing being one of the albums real strengths. Despite the crusty rawness of the production, the playing is terrific and is inordinately precise with the drumming in particular surprising me at how accomplished it sounds for multi-instrumentalists, with Aggressor especially impressing in that regard. Sure it's not Dave Lombardo or even Fenriz, but it is still energetic and exact, with some sublime blasting from time to time.

Let's face it, this isn't sophisticated music and probably won't impress the more cerebrally demanding metalhead, but for those of us who thrive on guts and aggression and who value adrenaline-fuelled headbanging over chin-stroking reflection then Aura Noir turned in a classic with their debut full-length. This is dirty, nasty and aggressive and pushes all the right buttons, breathing new life into the rotting corpse of late nineties' thrash metal.

4.5/5

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/083tGvGRuasSsmN8d3Nyww?si=95b3152579764caa

1. Sadistic Ritual – “Area Denial” (from “The Enigma, Boundless”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

2. Horrendous – “Ontological Mysterium” (from “Ontological Mysterium”, 2023)

3. Pentagram Chile – “La Furia” (from “The Malefice”, 2013 [Submitted by Sonny]

4. Daeva – “The Architect and the Monument” (from “Through Sheer Will & Black Magic”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

5. Aura Noir – “Black Thrash Attack” (from “Black Thrash Attack”, 1996) [Submitted by Sonny]

6. Hellbringer – “Fall of the Cross” (from “Awakened from the Abyss”, 2016)

7. Sacred Reich – “One Nation” (from “Surf Nicaragua”, 1988) [Submitted by Daniel]

8. Combust – “The Big Game” (from “Another Life”, 2022)

9. Enforced – “The Quickening” (from “War Remains”, 2023) [Submitted by Sonny]

10. Forbidden – “As Good as Dead” (from “Forbidden Evil”, 1988) [Submitted by Daniel]

11. Num Skull – “Death and Innocence” (from “Ritually Abused”, 1988) [Submitted by Daniel]

12. Attomica – “Deathraiser” (from “Disturbing the Noise”, 1991)

13. Mutilator – “Tormented Soul” (from “Immortal Force”, 1987) [Submitted by Sonny]

14. Pestilence – “Systematic Instruction” (from “Malleus Maleficarum”, 1988) [Submitted by Daniel]

15. Bewitched – “Born of Flames” (from “Diabolical Desecration”, 1996) [Submitted by Sonny]

16. Vendetta – “Never Die” (from “Brain Damage”, 1988) [Submitted by Daniel]

17. Exumer – “Rising from the Sea” (from “Rising from the Sea”, 1987) [Submitted by Sonny]

18. At War – “Mortally Wounded” (from “Ordered to Kill”, 1986)

19. Solstice – “Who Bleeds Whom” (from “Casting the Die”, 2021)

20. Lamb of God – “Vanishing” (from “Omens”, 2022)

21. Blood From the Soul – “Dismantle the Titan” (from “DSM-5”, 2020)

22. Detritus – “Bright Black” (from “Myths”, 2021)

23. Terminalist – “A Future to Weave” (from “The Crisis as Condition”, 2023) [Submitted by Vinny]

24. Miscreance – “Fall Apart” (from “Convergence”, 2022)

25. Chemicide – “Inequality” (from “Inequality”, 2019)

26. Sadistic Force – “Cavern of the Wraith” (from “Aces Wild”, 2019)

27. The Lousy – “Demons on Parade” (from “Shut Up I’m Talking”, 2022)

28. Testament – “The Ballad” (from “Practice What You Preach”, 1989) [Submitted by Daniel]

29. Flotsam & Jetsam – “Hard on You” (from “No Place for Disgrace”, 1988) [Submitted by Daniel]

30. Warbringer – “The Black Hand Reaches Out” (from “Weapons of Tomorrow”, 2020)

Thanks Sonny, glad you enjoyed it.

Taken at surface level, The Dance of the Four Elemental Spirits feels like the prototypical blackened thrash metal album. The thrashy instrumentals are prominent and almost annoyingly simple, while the shrill vocal timbre and the overall very loose, reverb-y production is a callback to the kind of satanic worship trope that is abundant throughout the early black metal of the 1990s. The record does have some nice riffage and motifs ("Nocturnal Trudge" and "Violent, Bloody & Cold" in particular), but the records simplicity is also to its determent as well since songs on their own have no distinguishing moments other than the instrumental closer. Everything sounds pretty basic and frankly, uninspired from "Goddess Death" and beyond. It is not a bad record by any stretch; the locale and the sheer number of high quality thrash bands coming out of Chile prevent that from happening, but even by those standards, this record is kind of average.

3/5

Nice work once more Vinny. Unknown takeaways this month for me were Phantom G.D.L. and Strike Master, both of which were great. Plenty of recognizable stuff this month too, which is nice and great to kick off with one of my favourite later Kreator tracks! I still struggle most with the "groovy" stuff, but that's my problem and not a problem of the playlist.

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month’s feature release for The Pit has been nominated by myself. It's the classic 1997 "Another Lesson in Violence" live album from San Francisco Bay Area thrash legends Exodus, a release that sees the band reuniting with seminal "Bonded By Blood" front man Paul Baloff for what must surely be one of the finest examples of live thrash you'll ever experience. Experience it, love it, froth about it.

https://metal.academy/releases/1479

My top 20s for a couple of the Big 4.

Slayer:

1. Raining Blood (Reign in Blood)

2. The Antichrist (Show No Mercy)

3. Seasons in the Abyss (Seasons in the Abyss)

4. Altar of Sacrifice (Reign in Blood)

5. Angel of Death (Reign in Blood)

6. Postmortem (Reign in Blood)

7. Hell Awaits (Hell Awaits)

8. Necrophobic (Reign in Blood)

9. Live Undead (South of Heaven)

10. Chemical Warfare (Haunting the Chapel)

11. War Ensemble (Seasons in the Abyss)

12. Jesus Saves (Reign in Blood)

13. Evil Has No Boundaries (Show No Mercy)

14. Criminally Insane (Reign in Blood)

15. Black Magic (Show No Mercy)

16. Metal Storm / Face the Slayer (Show No Mercy)

17. Die by the Sword (Show No Mercy)

18. Reborn (Reign in Blood)

19. Necrophiliac (Hell Awaits)

20. Piece By Piece (Reign in Blood)

Anthrax:

1. Imitation of Life (Among the Living)

2. A Skeleton in the Closet (Among the Living)

3. Lone Justice (Spreading the Disease)

4. The Enemy (Spreading the Disease)

5. I Am the Law (Among the Living)

6. Indians (Among the Living)

7. Medusa (Spreading the Disease)

8. Caught in a Mosh (Among the Living)

9. Among the Living (Among the Living)

10. One World (Among the Living)

11. Blood (Persistence of Time)

12. Armed and Dangerous (Spreading the Disease)

13. Metal Thrashing Mad (Fistful of Metal)

14. Madhouse (Spreading the Disease)

15. Got the Time (Persistence of Time)

16. Now It's Dark (State of Euphoria)

17. In My World (Persistence of Time)

18. A.I.R. (Spreading the Disease)

19. A.D.I. / Horror of It All (Among the Living)

20. Only (Sound of White Noise)

There's this stereotype in my head of Sodom whose playing style is to fire off a bunch of dark songs machine gun-style. This worked well in the '80s and the early '90s, but then the rest of the '90s happened and unless you were playing to 5 people in Hungary, you stopped playing thrash. Sodom were not a band who could do anything but thrash well, and thus everyone pretends that the '90s never happened. M-16 is a return to form for all those people who missed Code Red.
Modern production does Sodom no favors, I've gotten a couple of headaches while listening to this album. It's not the worst such album, but the guy's voice along with the guitar tone and the driving sound of the drums does not make for a good mix. Which is funny, because the obvious comparison is to the soundtrack of Doom. It basically sounds like a hi-res version of those classic midis. A nice, dark sound that should be punctuated by the rhythmatic sound of a shotgun blasting away hundreds of pinkies.
So, the album lives or dies by the quality of the riffs. It's not terrible by any means, but it isn't exciting either. None of these songs are memorable, and if played in isolation, one would assume it was a nice imitator of Sodom rather than the real deal. Perhaps it is that nice in context bit that makes Sodom Sodom, and I just never noticed it until now.
I do find the choice to end the album on the incredibly annoying Bird is the Word annoying. Why a completely serious band would all of a sudden include a novelty song on one of their albums is beyond me.

3/5

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/083tGvGRuasSsmN8d3Nyww?si=5bf89441430f4f6c

01. Flames - “Eastern Front” (from “Summon the Dead”, 1988)

02. Sword – “Outta Control” (from “Metalized”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

03. Overkill – “Shred” (from “Under the Influence”, 1988)

04. Morbid Saint – “Crying for Death” (from “Spectrum of Death”, 1990) [Submitted by Sonny]

05. Sacred Reich – “Awakening” (from “Awakening”, 2019) [Submitted by Vinny]

06. Pantera – “Mouth for War” (from “Vulgar Display of Power”, 1992)

07. Pissing Razors – “Fall Away” (from “Evolution”, 2003)

08. Power Trip – “Soul Sacrifice” (from “Nightmare Logic”, 2017) [Submitted by Daniel]

09. Raging Death – “Raging Death” (from “Raging Death”, 2015)

10. Bluuurgh – “Corrupt Fairy Tale” (from “In My Embrace”, 1992)

11. Crucified Mortals – “Dusk of the Advent” (from “Psalms of the Dead Choir”, 2016) [Submitted by Sonny]

12. Evildead – “No Difference” (from “United $tate$ of Anarchy”, 2020)

13. Running Wild – “Merciless Game” (from “Under Jolly Roger”, 1987) [Submitted by Daniel]

14. Vulcano – “Death Metal” (from “Bloody Vengeance”, 1986) [Submitted by Sonny]

15. Sepultura– “Refuse / Resist” (from “Chaos A.D.”,1993)

16. Heir Apparent – “Nightmare” (from “Graceful Inheritance”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

17. Minotaur – “Beast of Nations” (from “Beast of Nations”, 2016)

18. Juggernaut – “Without Warning” (from “Trouble Within”, 1987)

19. Pentagram Chile – “The Death of Satan” (from “The Malefice”, 2013) [Submitted by Sonny]

20. URN – “Funeral Oath” (from “Iron Will of Power”, 2019)

21. Grave Desecrator – “Black Vengeance” (from “Insult”, 2010) [Submitted by Sonny]

22. Expulser – “Christ’s Saga” (from “The Unholy One”, 1992)

23. Hellcannon – “Disarmed & Deceased” (from “Return to the Wasteland”, 2017)

24. Vomitor – “Hells Butcher” (from “Pestilent Death”, 2018)

25. Torture – “Ignominous Slaughter” (from “Storm Alert”, 1989) [Submitted by Sonny]

26. Slayer – “Mandatory Suicide” (from “South of Heaven”, 1988)

27. Funeral Nation – “After the Battle” (from “After the Battle XXV”, 1991)

28. Lawnmower Deth – “Betty Ford’s Clinic” (from “Ooh Crikey It’s Lawnmower Deth”, 2023) [Submitted by Sonny]

29. Forseen – “Chemical Heritage” (from “Grave Danger”, 2017) [Submitted by Vinny]

30. Vektor – “Cosmic Cortex” (from “Outer Isolation”, 2011) [Submitted by Daniel]

Sonny, I don't wanna go on about it in a public forum but I've had some personal experience hanging out with Destroyer 666 & let's just say that they fit the criteria mentioned above quite accurately. 

Right you are, Daniel. We're probably best leaving it there then.

Well, this seems to have been a bit of a damp squib as far as a feature release goes, but I am undaunted and still consider it a good record.

Blood Tsunami were formed in 2004 and when it became apparent that their original drummer wasn't up to the task, they recruited the infamous former Emperor skinsman, Bård Eithun, aka Faust, who had recently been released from prison. They started playing thrash metal at a time when the genre was in the doldrums, but by the time of the release of the sophomore, Grand Feast for Vultures, the somewhat half-hearted thrash revival was underway with bands like Gama Bomb and Municipal Waste dominating things. One bright spark though, was the resurgence of Kreator whose Enemy of God and Hordes of Chaos albums had re-established the Germans' reputation somewhat. Blood Tsunami took this aggressive approach of the "new" Kreator and married it with some good old-fashioned Iron Maiden worship and produced an interesting hybrid of blackened thrash and traditional metal that I personally found quite intoxicating and irresistible.

Opening up with a one-two thrash combo, Castle of Skulls and Nothing but Contempt get us off to a breakneck start, with the early seconds of the opener grabbing our attention by channelling Slayer's Angel of Death. These two and the title track which close out the first side are where the Kreator-influenced thrash component is at it's most prominent and all three are real rip-snorters (as we say round these parts) Grand Feast for Vultures itself being an absolute face melter! The other four tracks aren't strictly thrash metal and whilst containing elements thereof, to greater or lesser effect, there is a more pronounced heavy metal presence. This is most obvious in the Maiden-esque lead work with some solos that may have just dropped in from Piece of Mind or Powerslave. Whatever persuasion they are derived from, this album is chock full of riffs with the guitar work of Pete Evil and Dor Amazon dominating almost everything.

Pete Evil (sadly, not his real name, that being Peter Michael Kolstad Vegem) has a shrieking black metal delivery which is bolstered at times by the more death metal-sounding backing of Amazon and bassist Pete "Bosse" Boström. This combination of shrieks and barks works very well and gives the vocals a very muscular tone. Pete Evil is obviously the main man here and the production does enhance and highlight his contributions with Bosse and Faust losing out in the mix it seems. This is a great shame because if you take the time to concentrate on Faust's drumming then you will hear that it really is impressive and, no matter what else he may or may not be, the guy is one hell of a fantastic skinsman, his power and precision making me think of an extreme metal John Bonham.

Side two features two epic tracks, first of which is the twelve-minute instrumental Horsehead Nebula, which could be in danger of coming over as self-indulgent, but in fact it is a very well constructed and epic instrumental track that leads us hither and thither and successfully throws in plenty of memorable moments and is the track where Blood Tsunami are at their most Maiden-esque. I've always been partial to thrash instrumentals and this is a fine example of the discipline, sitting as one of my favourites alongside Orion and The Ultra-Violence. Closing things out is my favourite track, One Step Closer to the Grave, another ten-minute plus track and with it's slower pacing it almost verges on epic doom metal in it's execution. It begins with a real lurking menace before exploding into another instrumental extravaganza with the guitarists trading solos as it storms headlong to it's maelstrom of a climax.

OK, so Grand Feast for Vultures isn't a perfect record and at times it threatens to tip over into being overblown, but the performances are excellent, the songs are great and it's suggestion of sonic excess is a plus, not a minus in my book.

4.5/5

Likewise from me.

Absolutely killer playlist this month, Vinny. Nicely done, especially seeing as it was mostly free of the bigger names. The Cacophony and Sieges Even tracks were the only ones that didn't work for me which, seeing as they were the technical tracks, is no great surprise. The first ten tracks especially made for a brilliant opening salvo. Must check out that Slaughterlord album ASAP.

Cheers Sonny.

This is the 2nd blackened thrash album featured this year that was released last year (Autonoesis being the other) and to be honest, I was impressed by this. It took quite a few listens before I could finally “get” it, but once I did, I found myself returning to this record a lot more than anyone might have expected.

I think what makes this record stand out is its motivic development. Well, perhaps that’s an overstatement, but these tracks are connected beautifully with strong ideas that are repeated enough to remind the listener how they got to this destination. Now that could be the guitar riffing, a specific percussion motif, or vocal inflection; I never felt like I was getting lost in the music that I was hearing. It also helped how the thrash/black metal passages are not interwoven together, rather they are kept separated, allowing for Nocturnal Graves to follow that songwriting high I spoke of earlier without having to do very much to the compositions at all!

Sparse guitar solos and a dramatic slow down of pace on “No Mercy for Weakness” hit me like a brick when they appeared and created a real sense of tension and release. My two biggest issues however are that while the compositions are robust on their own, they start to lose grandeur when every track uses the same formula. In addition, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the death metal instrumental interludes that connect vocal motifs to one another. I would have expected more traditional thrash riffage in those sections and especially something with a little bit more melody, instead of the low string tremolo that we got. But overall, this was not bad. A nice brisk runtime with some solid ideas makes for a more than refreshing take on blackened thrash.

3.5/5

I was going to try and get back into the swing of trying to write a bit more about some Monthly Features but this one kind of stumped me and Sonny pretty much took the words out of my mouth on this one. There isn't really a lot here and, honestly, I've always kind of struggled with looking at very short EP's or singles as something to rate and have a ton of opinions about. I've found that I'm very much a fan of the album format and that's what gets my gears turning in terms of opinions, so Mad Locust Rising is pretty much over by the time I start to form any real opinions on it. 

I don't know what it is about certain Thrash vocalists, but something about the vocal delivery and melodies that they choose over the admittedly great Thrash riffs just don't do it for me, which kind of makes me feel like a hypocrite considering how many over the top Power Metal vocalists I love to listen to. Sonny has said a similar thing but I'm even farther down the rabbit hole since I blast stuff like Gloryhammer and Avantasia on the regular when I'm in the mood. "Mad Locust Rising" and "Let It Be Done/The Day At Guyana" definitely have the riffing chops to rival any classic 80's Thrash, but I can't really see myself preferring this over the many, many other solid examples that the beginnings of Thrash gave us. The production definitely has that messy, echo-y quality to it which adds some nice grime to all the riffs but it's very inconsistent with the vocals, with Cyriis sometimes pushed to the back and sometimes coming in way too hot. I don't have too much history with Judas Priest apart from a couple songs so I'm not exactly ecstatic about "The Ripper" cover, but that's probably why people might be labelling this as Speed Metal? Which is still kind of wrong? 

It's funny because I was ready to come out guns blazing saying that this was Speed Metal, but after relistening to some earlier 80's Speed Metal...yeah this is a Thrash EP. The tempos and riffing style are much too fast and the drumming has that classic quarter note alternating snare and hi-hat; it rips too hard to be a speedier version of Heavy Metal. Sadly it still doesn't do much for me. 

3/5

Really fantastic playlist this month Vinny, I enjoyed it immensely. The Machine head, 4arm and Gojira tracks in the middle were a bit of  a flat spot for me personally, but other than that I loved it. Some brilliant classic tracks with a nice mix of lesser known stuff. New (to me) standouts were Power Trip and Toxic Wine. Nice work once more, my  friend.

Thanks Sonny, really took my time on this one (and actually completely reordered the playlist after the first pass).  Cheers for the encouragement. 

My initial take was that this is a great example of underground 80s thrash metal that deserves to be held up as an equal to contempories like Testament and Exodus. The opening couple of tracks are pretty good thrashers, with Revenge having a truly memorable chorus to rival anything around at the time (despite the track dragging on a little bit too long) and both tracks having decent riffs,  In fact, I would suggest that the whole album is all about the riffs as singer Bob Mayo has a nice rasping delivery, but is restricted in range and the lead guitar work is too understated, almost to the point of non-existence bar a couple of notable exceptions (Revenge again being one such). It even seems a couple of times like a solo is coming, but then one never materialises and they just keep playing the riff over and over. And therein lies the problem - when an album is primarily about the riffs they need to be absolutely top-knotch and those on Why Play Around? aren't really that, never accelerating much beyond mid-pace and never leaping out and grabbing you by the throat. So my initial rose-tinted view was soon dispelled because, basically, that is all there is to the album. This is especially problematic when taken in context, with a plethora of death/thrash hybrids abounding in the underground at this time and starting to break out into the wider metal world, when these kind of plodding riffs just weren't cutting the mustard anymore and it's easy to see why Wargasm got left behind.

Ultimately Why Play Around? doesn't really offer enough to hold the attention over repeated listens, although for a quick punching-the-air headbanging workout it is fine. Throw in a couple of redundant interludes that add absolutely nothing and we are on a downward spiral really. Essentially this is nothing more than a footnote in thrash metal history for good reason and if any of the tracks other than Revenge popped up on the monthly playlist then I doubt they would raise much of an eyebrow from me.

3/5

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/083tGvGRuasSsmN8d3Nyww?si=2cd2f2cf2417415c

01. Forced Entry – “Bone Crackin’ Fever”” (from “As Above So Below”, 1991)

02. Dark Angel – “The Burning of Sodom” (from “Darkness Descends”, 1986) [Submitted by Vinny]

03. Trastorned – “Metal Violence” (from “Into the Void”, 2023) [Submitted by Vinny]

04. Cryptosis – “Prospect of Immortality” (from “Bionic Swarm”, 2022) [Submitted by Sonny]

05. Artillery - “Crossroads to Conspiracy” (from “The Face of Fear”, 2018)

06. Exhorder – “Ripping Flesh” (from “Mourn the Southern Skies)”, 2019)

07. Torturer – “Perception of Life” (from “Conjuro IV”, 2005)

08. Terror Activator – “Self” (from “Moshing is Available”, 2019)

09. Wargasm – “Undead” (from “Why Play Around?”, 1988) [Submitted by Vinny]

10. Sodom – “Code Red” (from “Code Red”, 1999) [Submitted by Vinny]

11. Blood Tsunami – “Nothing but Contempt” (from “Grand Feast for Vultures”, 2009) [Submitted by Sonny]

12. Witchery– “Midnight at the Graveyard” (from “Restless & Dead”, 1998) [Submitted by Vinny]

13. Boris – “Czechoslovakia” (from “Heavy Rocks”, 2011) [Submitted by Daniel]

14. Once Human feat. Robb Flynn – “Deadlock” (from “Scarweaver”, 2022)

15. Anacrusis – “Grateful” (from “Screams and Whispers”, 1993) [Submitted by Daniel]

16. Excel – “Tapping into the Emotional Void” (from “The Joke’s on You”, 1989)

17. Warrant – “Torture in the Tower” (from “The Enforcer”, 1985)

18. Marty Friedman – “Anvils” (from “Dragon’s Kiss”, 1988)

19. Vendetta– “War” (from “Brain Damage”, 1988)

20. Witchseeker – “Lust for Dust” (from “Scene of the Wild”, 2021)

21. Kublai Khan – “Boomslang” (from “Absolute”, 2019)

22. Hatchet – “Silenced by Death” (from “Dawn of the End”, 2013)

23. Fog Of War – “Death Penalty” (from “Fog of War”, 2009) [Submitted by Sonny]

24. Killing – “Before Violence Strikes” (from “Face the Madness”, 2021)

25. Indestroy – “U.S.S.A.” (from “Indestroy”, 1987)

26. Abigail – “Blasphemy Night” (from “The Final Damnation”, 2016)

27. Occult – “Inquisition of the Unholy” (from “The Enemy Within”, 2009)

28. Wömit Angel – “Mr Barbie” (from “Impaling Force of Satan”, 2017)

29. Pessimist – “Another Day in Mania” (from “Call to War”, 2010)

30. Anthrax – “The Enemy” (from “Spreading the Disease”, 1985) [Submitted by Sonny]

I've always loved "Violent Restitution" so there's not much point in me returning to it at this stage as we're already well acquainted. I quite like all of Razor's earlier full-lengths (I found the speed/heavy metal of their 1984 "Armed and Dangerous" E.P. to be a bit flat) but this was the album that continually drew me back for more. It may well have benefited from being my entry point to the band back in my late teenage years but I tend to think it's the impressive consistency & gnarly energy that really connects with me at a primal level. I'd suggest that this is still Razor's best work.

4/5

Another floppy ending track for a modern thrash album:

OK, one more encore for this thread, this album from another popular thrash band I haven't checked out until now...

Testament is known as one of the SECONDARY Big 4 of thrash, alongside Exodus, Overkill and Death Angel. Reviewing this album The Formation of Damnation is a good leap from Slayer's Repentless since drummer Paul Bostaph stepped in to play drums for this Testament album at a time when Dave Lombardo (who also recently rejoined Testament) continued his time with Slayer. I also remember guitarist Alex Skolnick performing with Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. However, the quality varies in lukewarm ways. Some songs are brilliant, others are just uninspired. It's a bit frustrating when one half of the album is great and the other is more average. The highlights each have strong melody and a catchy chorus, along with fast harsh aggression for the speedier fans. However, the few poor tracks lose a bit of the band's earlier skill, and while there's longer guitar soloing, it just lacks anything memorable and comes out as pretty much aimless. The flawless highlights are certainly worth listening to, especially for thrash fans. Yet those poor tracks leave me ending another encore to my Ultimate Pit Test with a slight foul taste in my metal mouth....

3.5/5

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/083tGvGRuasSsmN8d3Nyww?si=ca159de8dff441af

01. Exhorder – “Legions of Death” (from “Slaughter in the Vatican”, 1990) [Submitted by Sonny]

02. Demolition Hammer – “Skull Fracturing Nightmare” (from “Epidemic of Violence”, 1992)

03. The Scourger – “Dark Invitation to Armageddon” (from “Dark Invitation to Armageddon”, 2008)

04. Autonoesis – “Moon of Foul Magics” (from “Moon of Foul Magics”, 2022) [Submitted by Daniel]

05. Hanzel und Gretyl- “We Rise As Demons” (from “Satanik Germanik”, 2018)

06. Whipstriker – “Midnight, Sex & Wine” (from “7” Eps 2014 – 2017 (Seven Inches of Hell, Part II)”, 2018) [Submitted by Vinny]

07. The Accüsed – “Distractions” (from “Oh, Martha!”, 2005) [Submitted by Sonny]

08. G.I.S.M. – “(Tere Their) Syphilitic Vaginas to Pieces” (from “Detestation”, 1983) [Submitted by Daniel]

09. Nekrofilth – “Ready to Defile” (from “Worm Ritual”, 2018)

10. Hellbringer – “Coven of Darkness” (from “Awakened From the Abyss”, 2016)

11. Beastiality – “Sacrificial Chants” (from “Sacrificial Chants”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

12. Hellish– “Black Stones” (from “The Dance of the Four Elemental Serpents”, 2022) [Submitted by Sonny]

13. Bulldozer. – “Fallen Angel” (from “The Day of Wrath”, 1985) [Submitted by Sonny]

14. Death SS – “Inquisitor - 1983” (from “The Story of Death SS: 1977 – 1984”, 1987) [Submitted by Daniel]

15. Nether – “Event Horizon” (from “Beyond the Celestial Sphere”, 2020)

16. Testament – “Night of the Witch” (from “Titans of Creation”, 2020)

17. Anthrax – “Time” (from “Persistence of Time”, 1990) [Submitted by Sonny]

18. Sepultura – “Slaves of Pain” (from “Beneath the Remains”, 1989)

19. Kreator– “Pleasure to Kill” (from “Pleasure to Kill”, 1986)

20. Must Kill – “Ghost Malevolent” (from “Ghost Malevolent”, 2020)

21. Lamb of God – “Bloodshot Eyes” (from “Lamb of God”, 2020)

22. Vorbid – “Invention Intervention” (from “Mind”, 2018)

23. Assassin – “The Swamp Thing” (from “Bestia immundis”, 2020)

24. Cyanide Grenade – “Judgement Day” (from “Kind of Virus”, 2020)

25. Exorcizphobia – “Stuck Between Realities” (from “Friend of Lunacy”, 2021)

Well, it was going really well up to Overkill's The One, but after that it went a bit Pete Tong for me. I'm not a big fan of groove metal and most things that sound like Pantera get up my nose, so there were a few tracks in the middle section that didn't do it for me - Lazarus A.D., Mnemic and, unsurprisingly, Babymetal didn't impress (although I resisted the temptation to FF which was quite an effort with a couple of them). Zimmers Hole's “When You Were Shouting at the Devil…We Were in League with Satan” did make me raise a chuckle though and is an absolutely brilliant title.

Things got back on track with Autoneosis and although I wasn't a massive fan of the album, here on the playlist it works. The one-two punch of Deviated Instinct and Hellshock was a playlist highlight for me and though I wasn't massively taken with the Feared track, the three closers gave the playlist a terrific, powerful climax.

I must admit, I'm starting to wonder of The Pit still holds the attraction for me that it used to. However, I just can't imagine giving up the clan that holds Reign In Blood, Master of Puppets, Among the Living and so many other albums that were fundamental to the expansion of my metal taste in the eighties. Just have to take the rough with the smooth I suppose. Anyway, great work Vinny and I did hear some stuff I need to look into further - Slaughter Messiah and Hellshock in particular.

I've done my review, here's its summary:

Time for me to again give you a brief summary of what the deal was with classic metal genres transitioning in the early 90s. Most thrash metal bands at that time either left in a hurry or switched to a different style, most notably alternative or groove metal. But those bands started in the early to mid-80s, and the ones late in the game that started in the late 80s wanted to have the last bit of what was popular when the story was already moving on. Anacrusis is one of those latecomers, and they still had their great sense of technicality and unique atmosphere, unlike other late-80s-starting bands like Annihilator that fell victim to mainstream pressure too soon at that time. Screams and Whispers is a masterpiece! They really ended their initial run smoothly. It was quite an incredible surprise to me after just finding this band this week. It's a dark atmospheric swansong offering. Kenn Nardi has an impressive vocal range, ranging from aggressive shouting, almost deathly, to clean operatic singing that you can find from other thrashy progressive metal bands like Nevermore. In the pessimistic darkness of some songs, the riffing stays sharp and keeps the bleakness interesting. There's also fast pounding bass and drums that often lowers down to a slower pace. And some songs have atmospheric orchestration. The orchestration comes from the keyboards instead of an actual orchestra, so I can't really put the "early symphonic metal" stamp on it. Still it adds a whole new dimension to the sound in grace. Unlike what other bands had done that year, Anacrusis stayed firmly in thrashy progressive metal with the right amount of balance. Sadly, they disbanded right after that album, a self-sacrifice to not fall into the modern trap. However, in the early 2010s, they were back on the touring road for some time, and they even re-recorded their first two albums, then after that, other than a 2019 reunion show, they again said "That's all, folks!" But if they ever come back in the future with a new original album, sound the alarm!

5/5

With the award winners about to be announced, I thought I'd throw in my two cents by nominating the Critical Defiance album as my pick.

It seems like this is the album that has grabbed everyone's attention as far as thrash metal goes in 2022 and I know little about it or it's creator, so check it out I must. The opening track sounds so much like Planet Caravan that I'm surprised Sabbath's lawyers haven't slapped an injunction on it, so it is hardly off to a genre-defying start. The title track follows and this is much more like what I would have expected and really hits the spot, until... what the fuck is smooth jazz elevator music doing here in the middle of an ass-kicking black metal track? Oh, but things get worse my friend as that snoozy interlude is followed by a migraine-inducing neo-classical guitar solo that is less than welcome in my earphones and I'm left scratching my head as to what is going on here and whether I even have the right album on! So I checked and yes, Spotify confirms that this is the record everyone is so stoked by. I'd better stick with it then I think with a sigh, but this could be a long hour. Luckily, the title track is the most egregious, although not only, example of Autonoesis wanting to be everything all at once so the low point has been passed and it should be plain sailing from here on.

Indeed, Raise the Dead is much more up my street with it's uncomplicated blackened thrash appealing far more to my palate. There is a short exuberant solo towards the end of the track, but it falls far short of the neo-classical excesses of that exhibited during the title track. Generally speaking I did enjoy the rest of the album, when it blasts and thrashes is when it appeals to me most, although the viking-ish instrumental Valhöll did manage to capture my imagination somewhat too. The washed out shrieking vocals were pretty decent and certainly sounded effective enough. I just get the feeling that there was too much of a concerted attempt to cram as many influences into the tracks as possible, which often sounded contrived and distracted from what should have been a fucking good blast.

As I have indicated often enough before, I don't like getting into discussions over genre minutiae, but I think if, for example, Moon of Foul Magics was to become The Pit release of the year then it would sit uncomfortably with me as I think it is much more of a black metal than a thrash record, although there are undeniably thrash elements present. Overall it is an interesting enough release, not always for the right reasons and when it is good it is very good, but there is just too much inconsistency of vision which ultimately I found frustrating.

3.5/5

So with the start of a new year it's once again time to have a look at the covers for all the releases for each clan. I personally like to rate a whole stack of covers all at once, rather than doing them one at a time throughout the year, as it allows me to get a better feel for where each cover sits in comparison to others. With that in mind, I've just rated every cover for releases in The Pit in 2022.

Here are the releases that are currently competing for the prestigious 2022 The Fallen Cover of the Year Award (i.e. they have 3 or more ratings):

Destruction - Diabolical

Xentrix - Seven Words

Sonic Assault - Neon-Lit Metropolis

Protector - Excessive Outburst of Depravity

Chaos Control - Call of the Abyss

Critical Defiance - No Life Forms

Traitor - Exiled to the Surface

If you want to contribute and rate some covers, the easiest way is to go to The Gallery and select The Pit and 2022.

https://metal.academy/gallery?cid=7&type=overall_cover_rating&myRating=&fromYear=2022&toYear=2022&exclude=0

I look forward to seeing which release gets up for the win!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/083tGvGRuasSsmN8d3Nyww?si=61491f3750004e97

01. Anthrax – “Caught in a Mosh” (from “Among the Living”, 1986) [Submitted by Vinny]

02. Impalers – “Prepare for War” (from “God From the Machine”, 2015) [Submitted by Vinny]

03. Daeva – “Clenched Fist of the Beast” (from “Pulsing Dark Absorptions”, 2022)

04. GAME OVER – “Two Steps in the Shadows” (from “Claiming Supremacy”, 2017)

05. Cavalera Conspiracy - “Spectral War” (from “Psychosis”, 2017)

06. Coroner – “Internal Conflicts” (from “Grin”, 1993)

07. Prong – “Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck” (from “Cleansing”, 1994) [Submitted by Vinny]

08. Suicidal Tendencies – “How Will I Laugh Tomorrow” (from “How Will I Laugh Tomorrow, When I Can’t Even Smile Today”, 1988)

09. Stälker – “Total Annihilation” (from “Shadow of the Sword”, 2017)

10. Testament – “Absence of Light” (from “Souls of Black”, 1990) [Submitted by Vinny]

11. Hellhammer – “Revelations of Doom” (from “Apocalyptic Raids”, 1984)

12. Frosthelm – “The Endless Winter” (from “The Endless Winter”, 2015)

13. Obsolete – “Still” (from “Animate//Isolate”, 2021)

14. Acid Death – “Liquid Heaven” (from “Pieces of Mankind”, 1997)

15. Believer – “The Need for Conflict” (from “Gabriel”, 2009)

16. Critical Defiance – “Elephant” (from “No Life Forms”, 2022) [Submitted by Daniel]

17. Faith or Fear – “Straight to Hell” (from “Instruments of Death”, 2009)

18. Eruption – “Drones” (from “Cloaks of Oblivion”, 2017)

19. Oxygen Destroyer – “Cleansing the earth of Humanity’s Existence” (from “Bestial Manifestations of Malevolence and Death”, 2020) [Submitted by Vinny]

20. The Troops of Doom – “Dethroned Messiah” (from “Antichrist Reborn”, 2022)

21. Deströyer 666 – “Guillotine” (from “Never Surrender”, 2022)

22. S.O.D. – “Speak English or Die” (from “Speak English or Die”, 1995)

23. Aura Noir – “Wretched Face of Evil” (from “Black Thrash Attack”, 2011)

24. Hellbastard– “Heading for Eternal Darkness” (from “Natural Order”, 1990)

25. Terrörhammer – “Graveyard Witch” (from “Under the Unholy Command”, 2015) [Submitted by Vinny]

26. Bulldozing Bastard – “Under the Ram (from “Under the Ram” 2015)

27. Pantera – “Suicide Note, Pt. 2” (from “The Great Southern Trendkill”, 1996) [Submitted by Daniel]

28. Hatchet – “Living in Extinction” (from “Fear Beyond Lunacy”, 2015)

Between 1980 and 2003, Overkill delivered twelve full lengths, three EPs and numerous splits and videos. In a little under 25 years the band had been knocking out albums at a rate of approximately one every two years. That is a pretty consistent level of output by any measure and one that saw the band survive the lull following the eighties heyday of thrash metal by branching out into groove metal to keep the New Jersey/New York machine rolling on. Taking a wider view of the whole discography and it is even more remarkable that I can still find releases in there that I have never listened to and so being able to drop any release in by Overkill as a monthly clan feature is hopefully a voyage of discovery for all once we move away from the more infamous releases.

In my thread for this feature release I billed Kill Box 13 as a "post-groove metal" era album from Overkill. This is only half true since although thrash metal plays a part here I get much more groove metal on Kill Box 13 than I do conventional thrash metal. In fairness to Overkill, retaining that groove metal element was inevitable really. It had seen them through three or so releases and so was obviously an embedded part of their sound by this point. As I reflect on the last run through of the record I did, it is the groove metal that sticks in my mind even though the better parts for me are the actual thrash moments.

However, there are a couple of challenges with Kill Box 13 for me that consign the album to the "unlikely to revisit" pile. Firstly, it is too long at ten tracks and fifty minutes in length overall. This coupled with my second major criticism that the album is massively top heavy and almost everything after track six should have been left for a future bonus offering of previously unreleased tracks makes this album something of a damp squib for me. Accepting that the health issues in the band may play more than a part in this release being less than optimal, I still think the content lacks that consistent quality to justify a full length release and although I have not seen anything to suggest it was rushed to meet contractual requirements or the bands simple need to start touring something again, I would not be surprised if something other than artistic integrity drove some of the choices here.

2.5/5

1. Autonoesis - Moon of Foul Magics
2. Critical Defiance - No Life Forms
3. Daeva - Through Sheer Will and Black Magic...
4. Chemicide - Common Sense
5. Schizophrenia - Recollections of the Insane
6. Midnight - Let There Be Witchery 
7. Deathhammer - Electric Warfare

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/083tGvGRuasSsmN8d3Nyww?si=70f6468a240f4360

01. Midnight – “Telepathic Nightmare” (from “Let There Be Witchery”, 2022) [Submitted by Daniel]

02. Skourge – “Old Gods Return” (from “Hardcore up Your Ass”, 2021)

03. Power Trip – “Suffer No Fool” (from “Opening Fire 2008-2014”, 2018)

04. Bewitcher – “Death Returns…” (from “Cursed Be Thy Kingdom”, 2021) [Submitted by Daniel]

05. Liege Lord - “Rapture” (from “Master Control”, 1989) [Submitted by Daniel]

06. High Command – “Siege Warfare” (from “Eclipse of the Dual Moons”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

07. Sodom– “M-16” (from “M-16”, 2001)

08. Flotsam & Jetsam – “Hammerhead” (from “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, 1986) [Submitted by Sonny]

09. Vexovoid – “Infinte Collector” (from “Call of the Starforger”, 2017)

10. Meliah Rage – “Crushed Beneath My Heal” (from “Idol Hands”, 2018)

11. Xentrix – “Seven Words” (from “Seven Words”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

12. Rage – “Deceiver” (from “Reign of Fear”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

13. Critical Defiance – “The Last Crusaders…Bringers of Death” (from “No Life Forms”, 2022) [Submitted by Sonny]

14. Bestial Invasion – “Treachery” (from “Divine Comedy:Inferno”, 2021)

15. Machine Head – “Arrows in Words from the Sky” (from “Of Kingdom and Crown”, 2022)

16. Testament – “Legions of the Dead” (from “The Gathering”, 1999) [Submitted by Sonny]

17. Schizophrenia – “Mortal Sin” (from “Voices”, 2020)

18. Agent Steel – “Mad Locust Rising” (from “Mad Locust Rising”, 1986) [Submitted by Daniel]

19. Speedwolf – “Ride With Death” (from “Ride With Death”, 2011) [Submitted by Daniel]

20. Five Finger Death Punch – “Wash It All Away” (from “Got Your Six”, 2015)

21. Death Angel – “Humanicide” (from “Humanicide”, 2019)

22. Eradicator – “Read Between the Lies” (from “Into Oblivion”, 2018)

23. Destruction – “State of Apathy” (from “Diabolical”, 2022)

24. Demolizer– “Cancer in the Brain” (from “Thrashmageddon”, 2020)

25. Thrashist Regime – “Headshot” (from “Carnival of Monsters”, 2018)

26. Stam1na – “Memento Mori (atiestin kiitos)” (from “Novus Ordo Mundi” 2021)

27. Criminal – “Self Destruction” (from “Victimized”, 1994)

28. Invicta – “Terminal Brutality” (from “Halls of Extinction”, 2019)

29. Black Viper – “Hellions of Fire” (from “Hellions of Fire”, 2018) [Submitted by Daniel]

I really enjoyed this one. It was right inside my wheelhouse. "No Life Forms" is suitably aggressive & just techy enough without seeming to be consciously so. The song structures never stay on the one thing for very long & are constantly changing. The musicianship is excellent too, particularly the bass playing which benefits from a great mix. I don't mind the typically South American vocal style either to be honest. I must say that it's great to hear some high quality thrash metal in 2022. Well done gents.

For fans of Ripper, Kreator & Slayer.

4/5

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/083tGvGRuasSsmN8d3Nyww?si=119fa600b496409d

Tracklisting:

01. Amken – “Somewhere Past the Burning Sun” (from “Passive Aggression”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

02. Sodom – “Nicht mehr mein Land” (from “Genesis XIX”, 2020) [Submitted by Vinny]

03. Demoniac – “Equilibrio Fatal” (from “So It Goes”, 2020) [Submitted by Sonny]

04. F.K.Ü. – “Corpse Mania” (from “1981”, 2017) [Submitted by Vinny]

05. Ghoul - “Off With Their Heads” (from “Transmission Zero”, 2011) [Submitted by Vinny]

06. Mace – “Drilling for Brains” (from “Process of Elimination”, 1985)

07. Concrete Sox – “No Trust No Faith” (from “Whoops Sorry Vicar”, 1987)

08. Fusion Bomb – “Bird of Prey” (from “Concrete Jungle”, 2019)

09. Machine Head – “Davidian” (from “Burn My Eyes”, 1994)

10. Texas Hippie Coalition – “Hands Up” (from “Peacemaker”, 2012)

11. Sepultura – “We Who Are Not As Others” (from “Chaos A.D.”, 1993) [Submitted by Daniel]

12. Ektomorf – “Fury” (from “Fury”, 2018)

13. Krushhammer – “Evil Domain” (from “Blood, Violence & Blasphemy”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

14. Intent – “Victims of Conquest” (from “Exile”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

15. Traitor – “Total Thrash” (from “Exiled to the Surface”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

16. Wraith – “Seven Serpents” (from “Faster Than The Fucking Devil”, 2020) [Submitted by Vinny]

17. Mezzrow – “Then Came the Killing” (from “Then Came the Killing”, 1990)

18. Mordred – “State of Mind” (from “Fool’s Game”, 1989)

19. Lucifuge – “Infernal Power” (from “Infernal Power”, 2021)

20. Maze of Terror – “Angels of Acid” (from “Offer to the Fucking Beasts”, 2021)

21. Killing – “Kill Everyone” (from “Face the Madness”, 2021)

22. Znöwhite – “Bringing the Hammer Down” (from “All Hail to Thee”, 1984)

23. Airwolf – “Victory Bells” (from “Victory Bells”, 1988)

24. Pessimist – “The Massacre of Nanking” (from “Call to War”, 2010)

25. Nuclear – “Eleventh Block” (from “Ten Broken Codes”, 2008) [Submitted by Sonny]

26. Dead Head – “Helhuizen” (from “Swine Plague” 2017)

27. Comaniac – “1,2 Rage” (from “Return to the Wasteland”, 2015)

28. Coroner – “Son of Lilith” (from “Mental Vortex”, 1991)

29. Vektor – “LCD (Liquid Crystal Disease” (from “Terminal Redux”, 2016)

It’s interesting that I’ve never heard a full Liege Lord record before now. I’ve certainly been aware of their highly regarded trio of 80’s albums for many years but they were hardly a household name back in my formative years & I’ve not found myself being tempted previously. I did however quite like the title track from their classic 1988 “Master Control” album when I investigated it for inclusion in the monthly The Guardians playlist a couple of years ago & have subsequently intended on giving it a decent chance ever since. What better time than now I guess!

“Master Control” kicks off in fairly hectic fashion by placing its cards down on the table right from the get-go. Although there’s a significant amount of speed metal included throughout the tracklisting & I agree with that genre being awarded a dual role, the US power metal tag is the most accurate label for this record given the chunky guitar tone, the up-tempo feel of a lot of the material & the operatic higher-register vocal performance of Joe Comeau. You can expect to identify hints at heavy metal & genuine thrash popping up here & there but neither are consistent enough to command further representation.

Comeau is a dead-ringer for Iron Maiden/Samson front man Bruce Dickinson. In fact, his likeness is really pretty uncanny & it’s very clear that he’s worshipped at the Maiden altar for many a year. He does sound a touch like Overkill front man Bobby Ellsworth’s more Maiden-inspired mid-80’s moments sometimes too though, particularly in his phrasing when the music gets a little more thrashy. The production is a touch inconsistent from track to track but the performances are very precise & the execution is pure class with the fantastic guitar solos being an obvious highlight.

The A side is very consistent indeed with no weaker tracks but the B side is a little more hit & miss. Both of my album highlights come in the second half of the album though in the Judas Priest inspired heavy metal anthem “Feel The Blade” & the thrashier US power metal of “Rapture”. Unfortunately these strengths are offset by a couple of duds in “Broken Wasteland” & “Suspicion” which tend to even out my feelings a bit after cancelling out the good impression left by those two highlight tracks. The lack of a couple of truly elite level pieces definitely places a cap on the appeal that “Master Control” has the power to muster but this isn’t a bad US power metal record. It’s just not really the classic that it’s so often made out to be these days in my opinion.

For fans of Helstar, Savage Grace & Agent Steel.

3.5/5

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/083tGvGRuasSsmN8d3Nyww?si=f0acb59bcf904f81

01. Exhorder – “Slaughter in the Vatican” (from “Slaughter in the Vatican”, 1990)

02. Machine Head – “Now I Lay Thee Down” (from “The Blackening”, 2007) [Submitted by Daniel]

03. Protector – “Perpetual Blood Oath” (from “Excessive Outburst of Depravity”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

04. Fugitive – “Hell’s Half Acre” (from “Maniac”, 1996) [Submitted by Vinny]

05. Unholy Night - “Infected with Mayhem” (from “Succubus”, 2020)

06. Paranoic – “Devil’s Door” (from “Morbid Psycho”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

07. Sodom – “1982” (from “1982”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

08. Toxik – “World Circus” (from “World Circus”, 1987) [Submitted by Sonny]

09. Exciter – “Violence & Force” (from “Violence & Force”, 1984)

10. Tornadic – “The Capturing” (from “Awakening”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

11. Slayer – “Live Undead” (from “South of Heaven”, 1988) [Submitted by Sonny]

12. Amebix – “Spoils of Victory” (from “Arise !”, 1985) [Submitted by Daniel]

13. Bulldozer – “Never Relax” (from “The Final Separation”, 1986) [Submitted by Sonny]

14. Blitz – “Nachtmahr” (from “The Nachtmahr Sessions”, 2021)

15. Evil Army – “Evil Army” (from “Evil Army”, 2006)

16. Uncle Slam – “Executioner” (from “Say Uncle”, 1988)

17. Legion of the Damned – “The Widow’s Breed” (from “Slaves of the Shadow Realm”, 2019) [Submitted by Sonny]

18. Three Dead Fingers – “Into the Bloodbath” (from “Breed of the Devil”, 2021) [Submitted by Vinny]

19. Malevolence – “On Broken Glass” (from “Malicious Intent”, 2022)

20. Pantera– “Strength Beyond Strength” (from “Far Beyond Driven”, 1994) [Submitted by Daniel]

21. Sore Throat – “Phase II” (from “Inde$troy”, 1989) [Submitted by Daniel]

22. Slaughter – “Incinerator” (from “Nocturnal Hell/Surrender or Die”, 2016)

23. Laaz Rockit – “Last Breath” (from “Know Your Enemy”, 1987) [Submitted by Sonny]

24. Forbidden – “Twisted Into Form” (from “Twisted Into Form”, 1990)

25. Gothic Slam – “Who Died And Made You God” (from “Just A Face in the Crowd” 1989)

26. Scythelord – “Toxic Minds” (from “Toxic Minds”, 2016) [Submitted by Vinny]

27. Axegrinder – “Rise of the Serpent Men” (from “Rise of the Serpent Men”, 1989) [Submitted by Daniel]

28. Alarum – “In Spiral” (from “Circle’s End”, 2020)

Some albums most definitely fit into a sub-genre yet at the same time manage to express an alienation to the core sound that seems to make them seem like they do not really fit at all. I cannot think of a better example of this than Dream Death’s debut release. It most certainly has thrash elements but at the same time has a real slant on doom metal. Often listening to it like you are listening to two different bands or a band that is so torn with its influences that half want to do thrash and the other half want to do doom.

It makes for an interesting album in some regards but overall, you cannot get away from the fact that Journey Into Mystery suffers from a lack of direction. The songwriting is not particularly stellar either to boot and so there is a real sense of conflicting purposes over the eight tracks. It is not that any one element is particularly awful, more that no singular piece gets chance at a full exploration or development to its full potential. Personally (even with my fledgling doom metal ears) these guys are a better doom band than they are a thrash band. In fact, on certain tracks (The Elder Race for example) there are no thrash metal elements to my ears. Indeed, post this record saw the departure of bassist Ted Williams and the remainder of the band elected to change their name to Penance and become a doom band.

As far as I can hear, their hearts were never really into thrash at all and all Journey Into Mystery did was prove this lack of conviction made the music suffer. I hear a lot of Trouble in those riffs and at times I struggle with the vocals as I do with Trouble’s debut. The vocals here are so clumsy at times that I find myself cringing. Lines get rushed through often leaving the odd word iterated in isolation and completely out of context. Accepting that this is a debut album, the vocalist is far too forward in the mix and sounds like he is deliberately shouting over everything else which just comes off as amateurish and juvenile.

Whether it simply their own version of uptempo doom or genuine attempts into thrash metal, Dream Death are all over the place here and it really does destroy any sense of flow. The best track on here is the heavily Celtic Frost influenced Hear My Screams, it deploys a consistency (barring that awful, snatchy solo) that the rest of the album is sadly lacking. Maybe back in 1987 this would have more props but come 2022 it certainly has not aged well.

2.5/5

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/083tGvGRuasSsmN8d3Nyww?si=4f8bcfafe01743d4

01. DevilDriver – “Clouds Over California” (from “The Last Kind Words”, 2007)

02. Mason – “Imprisoned” (from “Warhead”, 2013)

03. Pantera – “Message In Blood” (from “Cowboys From Hell”, 1990) [Submitted by Daniel]

04. Sepultura – “Cut-Throat” (from “Roots”, 1996) [Submitted by Daniel]

05. Skeleton Pit “Drink Fast Or Die” (from “Chaos At The Mosh-Reactor”, 2015) [Submitted by Vinny]

06. Mindtaker – “Drink Beer For Thrash” (from “Toxic War”, 2020) [Submitted by Vinny]

07. Bonded By Blood – “Immortal Life” (from “Feed the Beast”, 2008)

08. Thrashback – “Night of the Sacrifice” (from “Night of the Sacrifice”, 2015)

09. Piledriver – “Sex With Satan” (from “Metal Inquisition”, 1984)

10. Gallower – “Claws and Fangs” (from “Eastern Witchcraft”, 2022)

11. Parkcrest– “Midnight Chasm” (from “And That Blood Will Turn To Red”, 2019) [Submitted by Daniel]

12. Pripjat – “Nuclear Chainsaw” (from “Sons of Tschernobyl”, 2014)

13. Satyrasis – “A Sheep In Wolves Clothing” (from “Creation of Failure”, 2008)

14. Skulled – “Eat Thrash” (from “Eat Thrash”, 2017) [Submitted by Vinny]

15. Plague Years – “Suffer” (from “All Will Suffer”, 2022)

16. Enemynside – “Devil In Disguise” (from “Dead Nation Army”, 2018)

17. Chronosphere – “Brutal Decay” (from “Embracing Oblivion”, 2014)

18. Hatriot – “Horns & Halos” (from “The Vale of Shadows”, 2022)

19. Tumourboy– “Chernobyl Devastation” (from “Damaged System”, 2016) [Submitted by Vinny]

20. Surra – “Daqui Pra Pior” (from “Tamo Muito Na Merda”, 2016)

21. Grindpad – “Sharkbite!” (from “Sharkbite”, 2017)

22. The Accüsed – “Pounding Nails (Into the Lid of Your Coffin)” (from “Grinning Like An Undertaker”, 1990)

23. Battlecreek – “Dealing Death” (from “Hate Injection”, 2015)

24. Amken– “Shattered Sanity” (from “Theatre of the Absurd” 2017)

25. Impalers – “Prepare for War” (from “Prepare for War - EP”, 2014)

26. Excruciator – “Destruction” (from “Devouring”, 2011)

27. Toxic Waltz – “Deify” (from “From A Distant View”, 2016)

28. Raider – “Urge To Kill” (from “Urge To Kill”, 2018) [Submitted by Vinny]

29. Phantom Witch – “Death As We Know It” (from, “Death As We Know It”, 2019)

30. Blind Illusion – “Blood Shower” (from “The Sane Asylum”, 1988)

31. Thought Industry – “Third Eye” (from “Songs for Insects”, 1992)

The Blackening is one of those albums that I have fond memories of blasting "Beautiful Mourning", "Aesthetics Of Hate" and "Halo" back in the day, but I can never find it in myself to return to this album years later. Perhaps it is the downward spiral that has been Rob Flynn for the better part of the last five/six years and his absolute butchering of Machine Head over that timeframe, or maybe it's my continued distancing from thrash metal over the years. 

That really should not be a problem since this record leans far more heavily towards groove metal than anything else. I mean, "Aesthetics Of Hate" is a song literally about some deadbeat writer who pissed on the grave of Dimebag Darrell. And there are (fleeting) moments where Machine Head pull out the stops and do a solid Pantera impression. The independence between the dueling guitars and the bass is splendid, the soloing occasionally pulls out some of the Dimebag tropes, and Flynn pulls off the sing/scream better than Anselmo could on later Pantera albums like The Great Southern Trendkill, Reinventing The Steel and even those later Down albums. But it is a flawed album where the band cannot keep the same intensity in the melodies from the first half to the second. The last three songs all being at least nine minutes is tiring and can get quite boring by the end. But those first four tracks are bops and make for a great addition to anyone's top list of 2000's thrashers.

7/10

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/083tGvGRuasSsmN8d3Nyww?si=b6a848597f18401e

01. Black Viper – “Hellions of Fire” (from “Hellions of Fire”, 2018)

02. Kreator – “Strongest of the Strong” (from “Hate Uber Allies”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

03. Death Angel – “Voracious Souls” (from “The Ultra-Violence”, 1987) [Submitted by Sonny]

04. The Crown – “Crowned in Terror” (from “Crowned in Terror”, 2002) [Submitted by Vinny]

05. Pestilence “Systematic Instruction” (from “Malleus Maleficarum”, 1988) [Submitted by Sonny]

06. Municipal Waste – “Grave Dive” (from “Electrified Brain”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

07. Crumbsuckers – “Trapped” (from “Life of Dreams”, 1986)

08. Black Fast – “The Keep” (from “Terms of Surrender”, 2015)

09. Exmortus – “Foe Hammer” (from “Slave to the Sword”, 2014)

10. Wolf Spider – “It’s Your Time” (from “V”, 2015)

11. Deathhammer – “Thrown Into the Abyss” (from “Electric Warfare”, 2022) [Submitted by Sonny]

12. Exumer – “Hostile Defiance” (from “Hostile Defiance”, 2019) [Submitted by Vinny]

13. Hallows Eve – “Plunging to Megadeath” (from “Tales of Terror”, 1985) [Submitted by Sonny]

14. Whiplash – “Walk the Plank” (from “Ticket to Mayhem”, 1987) [Submitted by Vinny]

15. Overkill – “Devil By The Tail” (from “Kill Box 13”, 2003) [Submitted by Vinny]

16. Betzefer – “The Devil Went Down to the Holy Land” (from “The Devil Went Down to the Holy Land”, 2013)

17. Byzantine – “The Agonies” (from “To Release Is to Resolve”, 2015)

18. Fog of War – “Fog of War” (from “Fog of War”, 2009)

19. Traitor– “Exiled to the Surface” (from “Exiled to the Surface”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

20. Toxic Holocaust – “Nuke the Cross” (from “An Overdose of Death”, 2008) [Submitted by Sonny]

21. Battalion – “Thrash Maniacs” (from “Underdogs”, 2010)

22. Ultra-Violence – “Cadaver Decomposition Island” (from “Operation Misdirection”, 2018)

23. Attomica – “Deathraiser” (from “Disturbing the Noise”, 1991)

24. Toxik – “Power” (from “Dis Morta” 2022)

25. Witchery – “Witching Hour” (from “Witching Hour”, 2022) [Submitted by Sonny]

26. Speedtrap – “No Glory Found” (from “Straight Shooter”, 2015)

27. Heathen – “Death by Hanging” (from “Breaking the Silence”, 1987)

When I find the time, I am going to read up on the origins of the Chilean thrash scene. Following Sonny’s sharing of not just this month’s feature release but various recommendations throughout the site, it is clear that this is a scene that needs further investigation. Although, any cursory listen to Parkcrest straight away shows the influences that permeate the sound with Sepultura, Kreator and many other classic thrash bands prevalent here.

I do find the vocals to be the least appetising element of most of what goes on here though. Although I would not describe Javier Salgado as a poor vocalist by any means, I would go as far as to say he is one of limited capacity and the record shows this. It is fair to say that he is carried somewhat by the guitars (which of course he plays alongside Diego) with those textbook loops and bloops doing a fine job. Overall though it is the sheer intensity of what Parkcrest deliver that is most impressive to my ears. Setting a solid foundation early on the band build and build with each passing track and they certainly do have a penchant for song writing that can only get better with time.

The album does run out of legs I find though as we get near the finish line and I am not sure if this is just fatigue due to the sheer quantity of material that they throw into the track listing here. There is a lot going on during this album and absolutely all of it deserves your attention, however it does feel like the old shearing scissors got left in the draw too much as some tracks could do with a trim. For example, the middle section of the record that contains largely shorter tracks, not all of these are in the same league in terms of quality and I think we could easily cut one of these out and move the seven minute track that heralds the start of the final third of the album into a more appropriate position.

Arrangement gripes aside, Parkcrest have delivered a fine sophomore release here on which they are able to display a range of styles and technical ability without becoming boring. It is good to see a young band capable of delivering the riffs and yet keeping things interesting at the same time. I will certainly keep an out for Parkcrest in the future.

4/5

Overall an enjoyable listen, although I personally struggled with the tech-thrash trio after Pantera (although following them with that Voivod track was genius as all was then forgiven!). The rest was pretty kick-ass and Sick Boogie Murder deserves special mention for being so fucking off-the-wall. Nice job, Vinny.

This may be the first playlist that features a track from each of the big four and their contributions show why they are so-called - Slayer and Metallica both turning in genre-defining contributions. There's a few other big names too - Sodom, Sepultura and Possessed are all represented by kick-ass tracks too. Revelation of the list though must go to the final track from Terminalist - absolutely loved this one. All around, another damn fine list Vinny - thanks a lot.