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Californian thrash metallers Sadus became a pretty big deal for a teenage me after I discovered their 1988 debut album "Illusions" through an Albums Of The Year list that was published by legendary metal record store & promoter Metal For Melbourne some time in 1989. I was only fairly fresh to thrash at the time, having only cottoned onto Metallica in late 1988 through their classic fourth album "...And Justice For All", but my initial dealings with Slayer had seen something raw & primal explode inside of me shortly afterwards & I was now on the lookout for ever more vicious releases. Sadus' "Illusions" certainly ticked that box even if it may have been more of an attempt to emulate Slayer than it was genuine competition for them. 1990's "Swallowed in Black" sophomore album saw Sadus upping the ante on the technicality & creativity at the expense of a little bit of raw intensity & I found that I actually preferred their more complex sound. A muddy guitar tone didn't help their cause but once got word of the release of Sadus' 1992 third album "A Vision Of Misery" I immediately made a visit to the record store to pick up a copy on cassette. Since that time, I've always felt that "A Vision Of Misery" was Sadus' strongest record which doesn't seem to be that common a position amongst fans so I thought I'd give it a more detailed viewing in order to see if those are still my true feelings.

Sadus' third full-length was their most technical to the time with the individual band members all being at the peak of their powers. The rhythm section of fretless bass virtuoso Steve DiGiorgio (Charred Walls of the Damned/Terra Odium/Testament/Artension/Control Denied/Death/Dragonlord/Ephel Duath/James Murphy/Sebastian Bach/Soen/Autopsy) & drummer Jon Allen (Dragonlord/Testament) in particular play an absolute blinder with DiGiorgio confidently reiterating why he's still my favourite metal bass player all of time. The riffs of guitar duo Darren Travis & Rob Moore are very classy, often even hinting at a more progressive approach, while Travis' trademark raspy vocal delivery is as aggressive & screamy as we'd come to expect from him. Bill Metoyer's production job is definitely worth mentioning though as it's a little unusual & seems to have been tailored to highlight the rhythm section with the guitars being a touch less in-your-face than I would have liked. It seems to work though, perhaps on the strength of DiGiorgio's amazing performance alone.

The tracklisting kicks off in stunning fashion with opener "Through the Eyes of Greed" being an outstanding example of the technical thrash metal subgenre. The band weren't done yet though as you'll find a number of other classics scattered across the album. "Machines" & "Echoes of Forever" are utterly brilliant & challenge "Good Rid'nz" from "Swallowed In Black" for Sadus' best work to the time. "Facelift" is also a favourte of mine & when you consider that there are no real lulls on this record you can see why I've awarded it such a high score. As much as I love Sadus' earlier work (including their excellent 1989 "Death To Posers" demo), "A Vision of Misery" simply takes me to another level & I consider it to sit amongst the best couple of releases to come out of the tech thrash subgenre overall. I honestly can't see too many Atheist, Coroner & Ripping Corpse fans not foaming at the mouth over this material so "A Vision of Misery" should be considered to be essential listening for any self-respecting member of The Pit.

When it comes to the “big four” of thrash metal, I’ve always been a huge fan of Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax, yet, for reasons unexplainable, I’ve never been able to get into Slayer. 1986’s ‘Reign in Blood’ is often hailed as one of the all-time greatest metal albums, though, other than it’s absolutely killer opening and closing tracks, I find the record to be mindless drivel (ooh, controversial...).

Yet here we are; 1988’s ‘South of Heaven’, the album where the band infamously “slowed down”. Admittedly, the songs are a bit more polished here, and the riffs are more than just open-string chugging away. Although the album as a whole is still pretty repetitive, and doesn’t sound any different than anything the band have done before.

Still, I’ll give Slayer their due. ‘South of Heaven’ is better than anything they had released beforehand, and if vocalist Tom Ayara could somehow implement just a little bit of melody in his singing, they could really be onto something. Instead, as always, while the musicianship is of a high standard, I find the vocals tend to just sit on top of the riffs, without really fitting in too well.

If I had to pick any highlights out, I’d say the title track, as well as ‘Silent Scream’, ‘Live Undead’ and ‘Mandatory Suicide’ are all decent enough, and there’s ‘Behind the Crooked Cross’, which I instantly recognized due to its use in 8-bit midi glory in the video game ‘Doom’ (a game I played religiously in my childhood, years before I should have been allowed to). But as is always the case with Slayer, I’m just not that big a fan, and would much rather listen to any other member of the big four.

German thrash metal heavy-weights Sodom & I have enjoyed a generally fruitful relationship since I first discovered them through the "Ausgebombt" video clip shortly after the release of their 1989 "Agent Orange" album. Sodom’s early work was a bit too rough for my taste but, once they hit their stride with 1987’s “Expurse of Sodomy” E.P., I found them to offer a consistently energetic, high-octane brand of thrash that very much appealed to my tendency towards the more aggressive & generally gnarly exponents of the genre. Interestingly though, it’s 1990’s “Better Off Dead” fourth full-length that still sits at the top of the pile for me which is a little unexpected given that it saw Sodom watering down their approach a touch, instead focusing on some high-quality song-writing that was ultimately very successful. My positive experiences with that record saw me hanging out for the follow-up in 1992’s “Tapping The Vein”, an album that I’d purchase on CD as soon as it hit the shelves & one that would see Sodom turning up the heat significantly on the sound I’d enjoyed so much on “Better Off Dead”. Sodom had very clearly made a conscious effort to produce their most intense thrash record to date & I for one was totally up for it. “Tapping The Vein” is still a record that I revisit every so often these days but I’ve never gone to the effort of seeing where it sits in the overall Sodom back catalogue until now so let’s see how it’s faired, shall we?

“Tapping The Vein” is a rip-roaring, middle-finger-raising beast of a thrash record that would seem to be very much an attempt to draw back any parts of their fan base that they may have lost with their more accessible sounding previous record. The Harris Johns production job is nice & raw which suits the generally frantic material very well & most of the eleven-song tracklisting is made up of light-speed thrashfests with new guitarist Andy Brings showing some very impressive right-hand speed & endurance. In fact, I’d suggest that the dude must have seriously gone to town on himself as an early teenager based on the evidence here. There’s not a lot of originality or creativity in the majority of the riffs though with many of them sounding suspiciously like Sodom’s previous work or relying heavily on straight-forward, tremolo-picked bottom-string pedal-points. Band leader Tom Angelripper performs his role admirably, spitting out his words of war with an unbridled ferocity that only adds to the album’s dark & aggressive feel.

The tracklisting is pretty consistent with only the lacklustre German-language speed metal track “Wachturm” failing to reach a reasonable level of quality. “Bullet In The Head” relies on similar musical themes with Motorhead’s more metallic numbers being the order of the day. Sodom had successfully slowed things down a number of times on their last couple of albums & “One Step Over The Line” is another solid example of them taking more of a classic heavy metal direction, although it's admittedly pretty similar to the popular “The Saw Is The Law” single from “Better Off Dead” if you look at it closely. The rest of the record can only be described as a relentless bombardment of maximum-velocity Teutonic thrash metal which may not take many risks but still offers plenty of reward for an old-school thrasher like myself. The high point comes in the form of the wonderful “Hunting Season” which I rate alongside most of Sodom’s best work although opener “Body Parts” & the excellent title track are also worthy of mention as some of the stronger inclusions.

While “Tapping The Vein” can be seen as being fairly regressive from an artistic perspective, I’m not sure that most of Sodom’s fan base cares to be honest. I certainly don’t, particularly when the results are as rock solid as this collection of German thrash anthems are. I honestly can’t see too many Kreator, Slayer or Destruction fans complaining too much when presented with a vicious, bruising affair like “Tapping The Vein”, even if it might not be the Sodom record that they immediately reach for when they feel like revisiting the band. After looking at it closely, I’d suggest that “Tapping The Vein” might even slip into my top five Sodom releases these days, sitting just behind “Better Off Dead”, “Persecution Mania”, “Agent Orange” & “Expurse of Sodomy”. I’d easily take it over their highly regarded pre-1987 works but then I’ve never been much of a fan of releases like “In the Sign of Evil”, “Obsessed by Cruelty” or their earlier demo tapes.

My initial exposure to Miami-based death/thrash outfit Solstice came through the tape trading scene of the early-to-mid 1990’s when I picked up a copy of their 1992 self-titled debut album from one of my trade contacts. From what I was hearing from the metal grapevine Solstice sounded like they’d be right up my alley & that certainly proved to be the case with the album becoming a mainstay on my Walkman over the next year or so. In fact, I’ve found myself returning to “Solstice” several times over the many years since as it’s become a proven performer when I feel like expending large amounts of energy in a short time period by thrashing my body around my loungeroom or car. For that reason, I’ve been very much looking forward to finally taking a detailed look at the album with the intent of awarding it a well-informed Metal Academy rating & review.

There’s no doubt at all that “Solstice” is the type of metal record that takes no prisoners & has no fucks whatsoever to give about it either. It’s full of energy & is violently aggressive in the way it approaches its task. The production job feels a little closer to a death metal one than your average thrash record while the use of blast-beats from drummer Alex Marquez (Brutality/Cephalic Carnage/Demolition Hammer/Hellwitch/Malevolent Creation/Resurrection) also draw the record towards that space along with the vicious vocals of guitarist Rob Barrett (Cannibal Corpse/Hateplow/Malevolent Creation) which sit somewhere between Death’s Chuck Schuldiner & Pantera’s Phil Anselmo. Despite the clear hints at death metal though, the majority of the instrumentation simply feels more closely aligned with thrash to me so I tend so think of “Solstice” as more of a brutal thrash record than I do a death/thrash one, particularly given that Barrett’s vocals possess a bit of an angry hardcore edge to them that does tend to lack a little in the sophistication department at times.

The tracklisting is very solid with only the silly decision to include a novelty crossover thrash track (i.e. “S.M.D.” aka “Suck My Dick”) tainting an otherwise extremely consistent record. With that said though, I can’t say that there are any genuine classics on offer with Solstice earning their stripes through their overall sound at the expense of any particularly memorable song-writing. They opt to give the listener a royal battering but you’ll rarely find yourself humming along to their riffs afterwards which is the difference between a record like “Solstice” & the heavy-weights of the brutal thrash game like “Epidemic of Violence” or “Idolatry”. Still… there’s something to be said for a bit of “good, friendly violent fun” & Solstice certainly deliver that in spades. It’s hard to deny the pedigree of a band like this one too with guitarist Dennis Munoz (Demolition Hammer) & bassist Mark van Erp (Monstrosity/Cynic/Malevolent Creation) having already spent some time with some household names of the extreme metal scene. Hell, we even get to enjoy the legendary James Murphy contributing guest guitar solos on a few of the tracks which brings some much needed additional melody to the table.

If brutal thrash is your bag then I’ll be surprised if you’re not already acquainted with this record but, if not, then try to picture a combination of the relentless thrash metal assault of Demolition Hammer & Exhorder & the thrashy death metal of early Malevolent Creation. Perhaps, “Solstice” won’t go on to become the classic release it had the potential to on paper but it’s a damn fine record nonetheless.

I've always had a real soft spot for the more brutal end of thrash metal. That's really where my extreme metal roots lie & it's a sound that appears to have discovered a bit of a revival in recent years. One of the earlier exponents of the sound was New Orleans' Exhorder whose 1990 debut album "Slaughter in the Vatican" made some pretty big waves in this early 90's teenager's Walkman at the time. The band's 1992 sophomore record "The Law" has often been overlooked though, perhaps struggling a little to overcome the links to Pantera & the groove metal genre. I was very quick to pick up on "The Law" & have always thought of it as another excellent Exhorder thrash record with its brutal production job giving it something of a differentiator from the crowd. It certainly didn't see Exhorder following the trend for thrashers to move into a grungier & more commercial sound at the time either. I've been looking forward to revisiting "The Law" for quite some time now & have blasted the shit out of my ear drums on the way to work this week. The album has lost none of its zest so let's take a look at it in a little more detail.

"The Law" is a record that simply sounds like no other. In fact, it's instantly identifiable from its ball-tearing guitar tone alone with the searing metallic high-end threatening to sheer your eye drums in two & leave you with ringing ears for a week (like I have right now actually). When these guys hit on a huge thrash, groove or sludge metal riff it's accentuated ten-fold by the extreme amount of metal that's been genetically infused into that guitar tone & I for one applaud them for it. It may pound the listener into submission at times but it also gives me a visceral, primal reaction that sees me returning to it time & time again. If I had to guess I'd suggest that Exhorder were aiming to get close to Exodus' ultra-crunchy tone from records like 1989's "Fabulous Disaster" or 1990's "Impact is Imminent" but things got a little out of hand & they just decided to run with it. Thank goodness they did because it's resulted in one of the most metal records you'll find.

"The Law" does sound a little different to "Slaughter in the Vatican" from a stylistic point of view too though. It's less of a balls-to-the-wall thrasher with more variety in the tempo department. When these boys thrash out they do it with a hell-for-leather reckless abandon that few can keep up with but when they slow things down they can manage to muster some of the most immense riffs from the bowels of Hell. Just look at the outro of opening track "Soul Search Me" for example! How can that riff be beaten?? Answer: It simply can't & it's these moments when the influence on Pantera's sound can be seen as plain as day. Vocalist Kyle Thomas sounds exactly like Phil Anselmo for the most part with his vicious delivery being the perfect foil for the aggressive instrumentation around him. Despite the uniqueness of the guitar tone, you can easily see the parallels with Dimebag Darrell's as they both accentuate the power of the riff in a magical way. And those devastating groove riffs often see the two bands running alongside each other in parallel too. Exhorder are far more consistently fast & thrashy though & aren't tarnished by the same yobbo-isms that Pantera's less sophisticated work has been.

The tracklisting kicks off in splendid fashion & never lets up for the entire 39-minute duration in a super-consistent display of savage metal worship. The incredible "Unforgiven" & the blistering title track were genuine classics in my teenage years but the other seven songs are nothing to scoff at either. Even the sludgier rendition of Black Sabbath's "Into The Void" is a welcome addition in that it not only suits Exhorder's ability to maximize the impact of a big groovy riff but it also takes the original to a slightly darker & more imposing place. Almost every track contains stellar riffs that'll see you struggling to sit still while Thomas grabs the back of your head & progressively smashes your face into the table or seat in front of you. Boy, these guys must have been something to behold in a live environment & I once again find myself reaching for Exodus as a point of comparison. On the negative side, I have no doubt that the iconic guitar tone would tend to make things sound a little samey if you're not committed to the cause. Thankfully, I'm totally onboard with what Exhorder are dishing out though so I've never felt that "The Law" suffered from that affliction.

Now for the elephant in the room i.e. the whole groove metal thing. Look... there's no doubt that "The Law" is a true showcase of where the rumours that their mates Pantera ripped off their sound come from. It's fucking obvious to be honest but that doesn't make "The Law" a groove metal release overall in my opinion. It's far too fast, thrashy & aggressive for that with the groove metal riffs being greatly outnumbered by the thrash ones. In fact, there's only really the one song that should qualify as groove metal in my opinion in the rock solid & more rhythmically structured closer "(Cadence) Of The Dirge". The rest of the original pieces are thrashtastically energetic extreme metal numbers that have been custom made for casual mosh pit murder & I for one can't get enough of them.

Perhaps "The Law" isn't Exhorder's best record but it's a damn fine one nonetheless & I wish more metalheads would give it the credit it deserves rather than simply overlooking it because it sounds a little different to the debut album they've placed on such a lofty pedestal. For those that are uninitiated, if the idea of taking classic Pantera & combining it with Steve Souza-fronted Exodus & then feeding it Demolition Hammer level amounts of testosterone sounds appealing then you know what you need to do & quickly too.

Chilean thrash metallers Critical Defiance & I have enjoyed a very fruitful relationship over the last five years. In a scene that has largely maintained itself purely off the back of its distant heritage, these South Americans have managed to release a couple of records that have proven to been worthy of my interest in their own right, particularly 2022's "No Life Forms" sophomore album which I consider to be fairly essential for fans of the modern-day Chilean thrash scene. So, I think it's fair to say that I had high hopes for the brand new follow-up album "The Search Won't Fall..." which has predictably been receiving a fair amount of praise from the underground thus far. It hasn't disappointed either with Critical Defiance delivering yet another solid piece of thrash metal designed specifically for an audience that have been starved of high-quality material in recent times.

The production job that "The Search Won't Fall..." is built on is pretty decent but is perhaps a little too heavy on the mid-range frequencies & I think the album could have done with a little more highs as a result. The musicianship is top notch though with the five instrumentalists all proving themselves to be highly proficient in their chosen crafts. As with "No Life Forms", we once again see the unusual inclusion of a third guitarist, a differentiator that the band make good use of but probably won't be picked up by the band's less informed listeners. I really enjoy the shredding Slayer-esque guitar solos which are generally well timed with former Demoniac shredder Nicolás Young being a welcome addition to the band. The song structures feature a crap-tonne of changes too although I struggle to see any justification for the tech thrash claims that seem to be associated with the album as I honestly can't hear anything particularly technical here. Front man Felipe Alvarado's aggressive vocals are well-suited to this style of music but its drummer Rodrigo Poblete (also formerly of Demoniac) that's the clear highlight of the album with his powerful, precise & exciting contribution clearly indicating the role that Slayer's Dave Lombardo has played a clear role in his musical up-bringing.

Stylistically, there's a bit more to Critical Defiance than your run-of-the-mill 80's-worshipping thrash outfit these days. They tend to mix things up a bit by throwing in some well executed curve balls & also varying their track lengths & song structures fairly drastically. You'll no doubt notice that there are a few longer & more expansive pieces included than we found on "No Life Forms" with some progressive options having been explored. There are a couple of tracks that showcase a clear black metal component too (particularly the outstanding "Full Paranoia") while "Long Distance (The What's to Come)" & "Absolüt" are built as much on speed metal as they are on thrash. You can also expect to receive a classical guitar piece ("The Blind Divine"), a progressive rock instrumental ("Margarita") & a full-throttle grindcore number ("All The Powers") so you can hardly claim "The Search Won't Fall..." to be samey. There aren't any weak inclusions either so it's a very consistent affair from a highly competent & experienced artist.

"The Search Won't Fall..." really does pick up where "No Life Forms" left off. It's another very solid Critical Deception release that will likely come into consideration for my end of year list & will no doubt be receiving return visits from me in the future too. I'd suggest ignoring the tech thrash claims & going into the record expecting more of a Kreator/Vio-lence brand of aggressive thrash only with a slightly more adventurous edge that sees them drawing upon a more diverse array of artists such as Hellripper & early Emperor for inspiration at times.

Critical Defiance were a band back in 2022 that should have no shot at being as good as they turned out to be. I was starting to dig myself out of the pessimistic hole that I self-inflicted when it came to modern thrash metal, only for fellow Metal Academy alumni Ben and Sonny introduced me to the world of Chilean thrash. Critical Defiance have been the darlings of this geographical style ever since and knew before being selected to April's featured release for the Pit that I was going to have to give it some attention.

Now, I rarely keep up with the revolving door of band members anymore because heavy metal is known for having lineups that are as flimsy as the relationship between Israel and Palestine. But upon completing a first listening to The Search Won't Fall, I was practically forced to check out what lineup changes had been made since No Life Forms, since this record is drastically different from their previous output. This record is significantly more technical; more long songs, experimentation in styles with "All the Powers" tinkering towards grindcore, "Margarita" being the slow, calming interlude carried by a soaring melodic guitar solo, and "Bulldog" as another guitar solo instrumental, but closer to the bands original thrash sound before shedding your face off with the almost ten (10) minute closer "Critical Defiance". For me though, the biggest surprise was the drastic inclusion of black metal influence on "Long Distance (The What's to Come)" and occasionally appears throughout the rest of the album. Let's just say that I was less than surprised when I read that guitarist Nicolás Young and drummer Rodrigo Poblete were ex-members of Chilean tech-thrash outlet Demoniac.

And I'm not against experimentation in thrash metal. The opener and "Long Distance (The What's to Come)" are both solid experimental, tech-thrash tunes, but why does Critical Defiance have to go down that route? There are more than enough tech-thrash bands tinkering in the world of black metal (even within the Chilean thrash scene) that Critical Defiance could have won easy brownie points by just doing what they've always done; straightforward, no fat, meat and potatoes thrash metal. Instead, the compositional choices here make it sound like Critical Defiance want to be further embraced by the critic spaces instead of making fun, headbanging thrash metal.

Which makes it even harder when "44 Minds" comes on and reverts back to the quick and efficient thrash style of No Life Forms. And it stays like this until the closing track on the album. It's almost like Critical Defiance really wanted The Search Won't Fall to be a progressive/technical thrash masterpiece similar to Demoniac's most recent album, then remembered that they are in fact, not Demoniac, and had to re-direct the ship so that the remainder of the album had Critical Defiance's most integral compositional elements.

And it isn't like the extreme metal influence hasn't always been there in the sound. The production of The Search Won't Fall is muddy, typically embraced by a wall of reverb in the guitar riffage and Felipe Alvarado's harsh screams. They give the soundscape a sense of rawness that most American thrash/groove bands would not dare employ, even as they attempt to replicate Slayer's Reign in Blood for the forty-eight thousandth time. Songs like "44 Minds" and "Absolüt" have a roughness to them that is greatly appreciated. In fact, most of this album has a lack of pristine performance, which was a large part of thrash and punk music's appeal and took me down the path of appreciating Chilean thrash metal as much as I do.

As it stands, I really wanted to enjoy The Search Won't Fall by Critical Defiance. And if you take this album at face value, then you'll find a lot of things to enjoy here. However, Critical Defiance are losing some of what made Critical Defiance such a great project in the first place. They served as a break and dumb fun from the tech-trash/quasi-black metal sound that has become widespread in Chilean thrash metal. But now it seems like they are becoming one with the meta.

Best Songs: Long Distance (The What's to Come), The Search Won't Fall, 44 Minds, Bulldog, Absolüt

Critical Defiance are back with their third album in five years, looking to cement their position as one of the most kick-ass thrash bands in the world. Hailing from Valparaíso, they have been forged in the furnace of Chile's white hot thrash metal scene. This time around main man Felipe Alvarado has secured the services of guitarist Nicolás Young following his departure from Demoniac, joining fellow ex-Demoniac-er, drummer Rodrigo Poblete who has been a member of Critical Defiance since 2018 and has appeared on all of their albums to date.

The Search Won't Fall delivers on all the aspects of thrash metal we have come to expect from the chilean scene and Critical Defiance particularly. Hi-octane, thundering tempos and a blackened edge adding extra visciousness, along with technically tight performances and great production values equals energetic and thrilling thrash metal that destroys almost everything the genre has produced since it's heyday back in the 1980s. I guess there could be an argument that they are a bit over-the-top with their supercharged riffs, heightened aggression and searing soloing, but I think they keep a lid on it sufficiently that it never becomes self-indulgent or out of control, but rather comes over as an exuberant and glorious celebration of metal. The playing is phenomenal with Rodrigo Poblete's work behind the kit worthy of particular praise due to his powerful and busy style that, despite the crazy tempos he is sometimes asked to keep, never misses a beat. With three guitarists the riffs are incredibly strong and, despite the tempo, the guitarwork always remains distinct and razor-sharp, never losing focus or descending into blurry chaos as other, less skilled, thrash practitioners are wont to do.

Very few bands can pull off this level of aggression and sheer musical velocity within a thrash metal framework as successfully as these guys and I know I am starting to sound like a broken record in this respect, but the chilean thrash scene has rarely failed to deliver on quality over the last few years. Bands like Critical Defiance and Demoniac are at last seemingly receiving the credit they have long been due and no longer do they have to watch from the sidelines while lesser lights take all the accolades. Anyone who thinks thrash metal died off in the early nineties are missing out massively if they can't move beyond their old Slayer or Megadeth albums and start appreciating the young bucks from South America who are storming the barricades with a vigour and passion long thought lost to thrash metal practitioners the world over. If an album like The Search Won't Fall doesn't get you excited about thrash again, then I suggest that the problem is yours and not theirs. Me, I'm holding on for sheer life and going along for the ride.

By this point, Chinese black metal act Liu Zhenyang, or Hoplites, has tried a lot of different sounds with the same emotional core at the front of them.  Blackened death and dissonant death were the first two, having been featured on his first album as Hoplites, and on the second album he went with a punkier and thrashier atmosphere to bring out the energy and attitude from his powerful and noisy sound.  This third album, Antitimoroumeni, brings out the most of his experimentation and delivers a fully-fleshed Hoplites sound that keeps surprising you.

It must be noted that these songs can be very repetitive, relying on a repeating beat of a few notes with slight variations in the background much like an EDM album.  But the progression that appears in the foreground takes some drastic and sometimes instant turns that flow very well by both staying true to the vibe and fucking your head with is drastic measures and shifts.  Within these repetitive songs are a number of influences across the metal spectrum that have been dying to go together for ages: black, thrash, prog, core, avant-garde and death.  Even though it has a completely different sound that my ideal extreme album, the collective is exactly the kind of extreme album I would make.  This is the kind of album where batshit insanity like Schattousa goes perfectly with simpler punkish rampages like He tes ubreos aggelos, which are paired next to each other.  I would even go as far as to say that among these good and great tracks, Anti Theon is a work of sheer brilliance.

Hoplites really upped his game again with this release.  It has all the insanity of a good Deathspell Omega album but with a great genre range, despite the repetitiveness that plagues some of the tracks.  But I can see why Hoplites is making a name for himself on RYM (sadly the same is not true on Metalstorm or Metallum): he's one of the more inventive black metal acts we currently have.  This third studio album is a real testament to his abilities and a redefining album for his future.

Having been impressed enough with their latest offering to write a review to share my largely positive thoughts, I have taken time recently to revisit the short discography of Louisiana's Exhorder. I have been all the way back to the debut (again) and I can report that (again) I am still completely underwhelmed. Likewise, the follow up, The Law has little to get the blood pumping for me. Having completed this revisit I find myself firmly of the opinion that latter day Exhorder is better than 90’s era Exhorder by a long chalk.

Mourn the Southern Skies is better than I remember it being, in fact it is better than Defectum Omnium which achieved a three and a half star rating from me earlier this month upon its release. I will come to the reasons why Mourn the Southern Skies trumps their 20024 offering shortly but for now I want to reflect on why I think Exhorder as a band are better with age.

The first couple of Exhorder albums are not bad per se. They are over-hyped (the debut in particular) but they aren’t without some merit. What they lack by way of comparison to the later output is any real bite. Modern day Exhorder know how to add flair, panache, variety to pace, hooks, and memorability to their songs. The groove element is much stronger than on earlier releases (better production helps also) with the band being less liable to include much in the way of out and out thrash metal nowadays. All too often, my experience of modern groove metal is that it soon sounds disjointed or cumbersome, something which Exhorder do not suffer from despite having line up changes to contend with over the years.

In terms of why I think Mourn the Southern Skies is better than Defectum Omnium, well quite simply put, it is the guitar work that sets the earlier album apart. The lead work on this year’s offering is sub-par at best. Pat O’Brien’s style fails to match the vibrancy of Vinnie LaBella and Marzi Montazeri and the rhythm guitar is not as solid either as it was in 2019. Mourn the Southern Skies is stacked full of riffs that just hack away at your brain (Yesterday’s Bones) that are backed up by richer melodies and leads to apply variety to proceedings. End to end, MtSS is a more energetic record that whilst far from flawless (still too long and guilty of some filler therefore) is thus far my favourite Exhorder release.

By 1992, Ben & I had been fans of Californian thrash metallers Testament for a good few years & were very familiar with their entire back catalogue. I found their trio of 1980's albums to be very solid thrash records indeed but, despite it still being reasonably enjoyable, I hadn't found 1990's "Souls of Black" to be quite as engaging. For that reason, I was a little cautious about racing out & buying Testament's "The Ritual" album upon release. There was an easy fix that would represent somewhat of an each-way bet for me though & I chose to act on it by purchasing the CD for Ben for his birthday & ripping it to cassette a good week before Ben had even received his present. What a great brother I am! By the time Ben received his present I was already well across "The Ritual" & didn't even try to hide it, the smug fucker that I was at the time (& arguably still are). Anyway... I'd suggest that my initial impressions of "The Ritual" kinda validated my cautiousness so let's spend a bit of time examining why.

The early 90's was a tough time to be a thrash metal band in the wake of the grunge & groove metal explosions. Where Testament's first four albums were predominantly thrash metal releases, "The Ritual" saw Testament taking a popular approach for thrashers in a post-"The Black Album" market by diluting their sound for greater accessibility, the result seeing the first half of the album sounding much more like Ozzy Osbourne or Metallica's infamous self-titled album than it does genuine thrash. Things get a little heavier across the B side but there's no question that this was Testament's least heavy record to the time. The other major talking point (at least for me personally) is Tony Platt's production job which leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion. The most important component of any Testament release must surely be the guitars but here was see the riffs being smothered in the mix which sees them lacking the potency they deserve & this has clearly had a detrimental impact on the overall effectiveness of the album.

Thankfully, the song-writing isn't too bad with only the flat opener "Electric Crown" (seriously, why is this the most popular track on the album people?) & clunky thrasher "The Sermon" failing to see me entertained. As was the case with the last couple of Testament albums which both included a ballad, "The Ritual" actually presents us with two decent ones in the very solid title track (one of my album highlights) & the reasonably pleasant "Return to Serenity". The other album high points come from energetic heavy metal number "So Many Lies" (with its mind-blowingly superlative guitar solo) & the most thrashy number on the record in "Agony". There really isn't a classic metal tune to be found here though & I'd suggest that Chuck Billy's inability to stay in tune while attempting to sing over a more accessible sound doesn't help in that regard. He's always been overrated in my opinion & "The Ritual" is a pretty good example of why.

As with most Testament albums, there's an argument for listening to "The Ritual" purely for lead guitarist Alex Skolnick's stunning solos but there's probably enough interesting material to justify a few listens anyway. I can't say that I regard it as being an essential Testament release though. I'd suggest that I find it marginally more enjoyable than "Souls of Black" but there's not a lot in it to be honest. They're both merely acceptable more than they are impressive as far as I'm concerned but I can see "The Ritual" offering the most appeal to fans of post-2000 Megadeth, "Kin"-period Xentrix & the more accessible Death Angel albums like "Act III" & "The Art Of Dying".

Much like Exodus' notorious "Force of Habit" album that I reviewed last week, Teutonic thrash metal heavyweights Kreator's sixth album "Renewal" is widely regarded as the releases that signaled the end of the band's classic period. It saw Kreator going for a fresh new sound & taking creative risks but the public seemed to shun any notion of their German heroes morphing into anything other than the band they grew up with & "Renewal" bombed pretty hard. I was just sixteen years old at the time though & lived in Sydney, Australia where I was somewhat sheltered from the wider global reception. I'd been a HUGE Kreator fan for a good three years by that stage & "Renewal" would be the second of their albums that I'd pickup at the time of release. I went into it with extremely high expectations but, although there's no doubt that "Renewal" was different to what I expected, I was open to following the band down whatever musical rabbit-hole they'd take me on. I don't recall the album being as divisive amongst the local metal community I was a part of at the time either, potentially because we were younger & less inclined to want our metal pigeon-holed into specific genres. It's been a few years since I've heard "Renewal" now so I thought I'd find out if my feelings of nostalgia were still strong enough to see the album holding up in 2024.

"Renewal" sees Kreator taking several bold moves away from the vicious thrash metal attack of the past. For starters, we see them utilizing down-tuning for the first time which was always gonna give them a different feel. The riffs are much simpler too with a stronger focus being placed on building a cold atmosphere than ripping the listeners face off. There's certainly an industrial component to a couple of the tracks but it's not as significant as some critics will have you believe. The elements of groove metal are more noticeable though as we find many of the riffs veering away from thrash altogether & taking a chunkier & more rhythmic approach. Front man Mille Petrozza's vocal delivery is very serious as he barks & spits out social commentary in a fashion that deviates from his traditional raspy tone. I'm not sure I like it as much but it does feel like he's finally grown up a little bit which is possibly something that can be said of the band as a whole as everything sounds more measured & controlled. Possibly the only element that suffers noticeably from the new approach is the guitar solos which are as theoretically incorrect as ever but sound much more incompetent in their newly exposed surroundings.

"Renewal" certainly isn't as immediate as past Kreator albums & takes a few listens to really dig its talons in. It's a darker record than we've seen from Kreator in the past with several parts even feeling doomy. There are no weak songs included in the consistent tracklisting & I ironically find the most popular number "Renewal" to be the least effective piece these days, even though (& perhaps even because) it was the very first song my old death metal band Neuropath covered back in 1993. There aren't many genuine highlight tracks though either & I feel that this fact has been instrumental in the general feeling that "Renewal" is a creative failure which is a very harsh viewpoint in my opinion. The wonderfully doomy "Karmic Wheel" is by far my favourite piece of the nine on offer & has always been an anthem for my early 90's youth.

Look, "Renewal" no doubt presents a very different Kreator to the one we'd known & loved up until that point but it was never intended to be "Coma of Souls Part II" & this is obvious in its title which should have provided a hint as to Kreator's intent. There are still plenty of thrashtastic moments for those that require them but there's also a greater focus on song-writing & a stronger social message than the past which is simply the result of the band maturing & striving for relevance in a changing musical environment. I liken "Renewal" to Sepultura's "Chaos AD" album in many ways & wouldn't be at all surprised if it had been an influence as you'll find many of the same adjustments have been made, although the Brazilian's 1993 fifth album would be infinitely more popular for one reason or another. Regardless of that, I think people are missing out on a really strong Kreator record here, mainly due to the universal impatience that sees a large portion of the listening public only giving a record a listen or two before forming their opinions on it. For me personally though, I'd take "Renewal" over a few of Kreator's more widely celebrated releases like the "Out of the Dark... Into the Light" E.P., their debut album "Endless Pain" & even their highly acclaimed third album "Terrible Certainty" these days.

I'm late to this February '24 Infinite feature. Listened to it once, didn't think of much of it then here I am listening to it again today a month later. It is not sticking with me, and it didn't on my first listen either. I have never heard of this band before until the feature and I am doing my best at keeping up with these but this one isn't sticking with me to have much to write about. The production definitely feels 90's, the thrash elements feels early 90's so it's not in it's best form but still has very bright moments. I'm not a big fan of the vocals but I also wonder if that has to do with the production and mix.  This isn't a bad album either by any means and when it does go, the guitars really do have a place. The progressive elements are here, but I almost had to look for them or otherwise they were so blatant that it did take away from the overall piece. Maybe they just didn't lean into the prog elements enough here. Maybe someday I'll check into the rest of the discography because I do hear some cool bits here but overall still not super impressed. The cover is more memorable than what's on the album.

By 1992 I'd already been an Exodus fan for a good few years & had enjoyed everything they'd done to the time (with the exception of their primitive 1982 demo tape). Their 1985 debut album "Bonded By Blood" is unquestionably one of the greatest examples of the thrash metal sound & is still an all-timer for me while the two records that followed it ("Pleasures of the Flesh" & "Fabulous Disaster") were both very solid releases indeed. 1990's "Impact is Imminent" had seen many fans jumping off the train but I honestly think it's been harshly treated over the years as it wasn't too bad in my opinion. I mean, it was certainly a step down from the first three records but I still got a fair bit of enjoyment out of it, even if it may not be a release that I regard as essential when exploring the Exodus' back-catalogue. 1992 would see things getting a lot worse for Exodus though with the their fifth album "Force of Habit" bombing in a major way & triggering claims of selling out to the new Pantera groove metal sound. Ben & I picked the album up upon release (on cassette from memory) & I recall us both being pretty disappointed with it. I couldn't exactly recall why when I attempted to draw upon those brain cells recently so I thought I'd give it another chance with a fresh & open mind.

Let me be clear about one thing straight up, "Force of Habit" is a hugely self-indulgent record. It's run time has been stretched out to a ridiculous 68 minutes with a few of the thirteen songs exceeding the duration they should naturally expire at by a considerable margin. We'd started to see Exodus making longer songs for a couple of albums now & it was something that I thought I'd keep an eye on as it didn't always sit comfortably with me but here it can be a little grating. The other major change of note is the stylistic variety on offer with Exodus now including a good half a record (well... a whole record for most bands) of material that wasn't strictly thrash metal. While I do think the calls to tag "Force of Habit" as a groove metal record are extreme given that the few tracks that take that direction don't amount to even 20% of the album, there can be no doubt that their experiments with the newly popular genre were a creative failure as songs like the title track & "Climb Before the Fall" are nothing short of awful. They're actually not all that bad from a purely instrumental point of view but Steve Souza's vocals performances sound completely at sea over the top of this material. He's absolutely phoned in some of these efforts in & I wouldn't be surprised if his poor contribution here had played a role in Exodus going into a twelve-year hiatus following this record because he really is that bad at times & that's coming from someone that's generally a big fan of him too. Another interesting talking point is the inclusion of a few tracks that reside more in the heavy metal camp than they do a thrash or groove metal one & the results aren't too bad actually with some of the better tracks on the album falling into this space.

Unfortunately, the tracklisting is massively inconsistent with none of the thirteen songs achieving classic status. Down-tempo heavy metal chugger "One Foot In The Grave", thrashtastic closer "Feeding Time At The Zoo" & the eleven-minute US power metal epic "Architect of Pain" (my personal favourite) are all classy efforts that are worthy of inclusion on any of the Souza-fronted albums while "Me, Myself & I", "Fuel For The Fire", "When It Rains It Pours" & "Good Day To Die" all offer enough to keep me interested. In fact, there's enough quality material included here to have made for a solid four-star, forty-minute record that would have surpassed some of Exodus' also-ran releases like "Impact Is Imminent" & "Tempo of the Damned" for overall consistency. Why must Exodus insist on including sub-par cover versions on their albums though with The Rolling Stones' "Bitch" or Elvis Costello's "Pump It Up" having nothing of interest to say? It's frustrating to say the least & I can't imagine how Gary Holt must have felt when listening to the final result because there are some ripping guitar solos on this record but they're partially nullified by poor creative decisions & below-par song-writing. It's no wonder I put "Force of Habit" aside & didn't return to it until now. Thankfully "Architect of Pain" takes up a fair chunk of the run time which sees my rating staying closer to a respectible mark than is probably warranted but a three-star rating is still well below expectations for one of the biggest names in thrash metal.

Exhorder, as all good thrash heads know, dropped the highly-regarded Slaughter in the Vatican way back in 1990, followed it up with The Law in '92 and then seemingly dropped off the face of the planet altogether. These two albums, however, lead to Exhorder, for better or for worse, being credited with inventing groove metal. As the band were big mates with Pantera, then this isn't too much of a stretch, although Exhorder's Kyle Thomas is quoted as saying that Pantera deserve all the praise for popularising the form as they worked much harder than his band. Now, in all honesty, I am not the biggest fan of groove metal and only a handful of albums have garnered any decent scores from me with Pantera in particular failing to resonate. So when Exhorder released the groove metal-oriented Mourn the Southern Skies upon their return in 2019 I wasn't particularly impressed, although there were plenty of commentators who took against it even more than myself, cursing it for not being Slaughter in the Vatican.

So here we are five years further down the road and Kyle Thomas and the guys are back with their post-return sophomore, Defectum Omnium, and this time they have long-time Cannibal Corpse guitarist Pat O'Brien on board. Now I don't know if I am just in a particularly good mood at the minute, or if this is a genuine improvement, possibly because of Pat's involvement, but actually this isn't half bad. A genuine energy and enthusiasm seems to ooze from every pore of this release, lighting a fire under the band and allowing them to turn in one of those late career successes that a select few bands are fortunate enough to produce. The album still sits nearer the groove end of the equation, but the riffs are so cool that their inherent grooviness in no way detracts from how absolutely badass they are, aided by a thick guitar tone that highlights their power.

There is also some decent variation in pacing with the surfeit of fast-paced aggressiveness countered by some slower, ominously hulking sections that preface even more fist-to-the-jaw sonic violence. The band are also unafraid to drop in a really catchy groove now and then, "Divide and Conquer" and "Taken by Flames" could both easily be released as singles, such is the catchiness of either track. Look, groove metal is never going to be a genre I salivate over and Defectum Omnium is probably not going to be in my top twenty albums of 2024, but respect where it is due, this has given me far more than I ever expected going into it and it's bloody-red-meat grooves have had me happily nodding along throughout the several listens I have given this so far. Definitely an album I can see me slamming on when I feel like a bit of no-nonsense metal riffing and memorable hooks might lighten up my day.

I am not the biggest fan of the seminal debut album from New Orlean's groove metallers Exhorder. Whilst filed firmly in the "overrated" pile of releases that seem to get undue praise, I still give it the odd spin now and again to make sure it is not just me being a dick (it isn't). Not to say that Exhorder are without their merits of course, just that I am easily put off by releases that promise so much but deliver so little - it is purely an expectations thing. It has been thirty-four years since Slaughter in the Vatican was released and Defectum Omnium is still only Exhorder's fourth full release ina career that spans nearly forty-years. In keeping with the debut, Defectum Omnium has some truly standout moments and at the same time, some other moments you hope to soon forget.

By far the strongest element here is those chunky, groovy riffs that blaze their presence across the surface of the record on many of the tracks here. Listening to the infectious riffing of Three Stages of Truth/Lacing the Well as I type this, I am reminded of PanterA and the many hours I spent with their albums as a teenager; the rolling riffs of Walk and I'm Broken being specific reminders I take from this record. Supported by a solid if never remarkable shift on the drum stool, the rhythm section of Exhorder put in a truly memorable effort. Unfortunately, the lead work leaves a lot to be desired. It is directionless and only serves to detract from some of the better tracks in particular. In fact, overall, the songwriting is not the best from a band who have been at this for four decades. They are trying to talk about all the right things you would expect a groove/thrash metal to; combining a punkish element in attitude at least in places. Yet, despite having relevant themes, they just come oue in a jumbled mess that sometimes gets translated by the structure of the songs but on so many other occasions fails to become barely legible really.

I do not know how many halfway decent groove metal records we should expect in 2024. I do not know how many we would expect per year over the last twenty years or so in fact. However, whilst Defectum Omnium most definitely does have its defects (could not resist) it is more of a disappointment than an absolute failure. There is power in the grooves here, a frantic pace to the more aggressive sections and a sense of a band still able to apply some relevance to themselves in an over-saturated sub-genre. A trim on the track numbers would certainly help and some more thought in the lead work is a must if there is to be another Exhorder album after this one. However, there is promise here, it just needs some space to develop into in without being compressed by sub-par and mediocre tracks and ideas.

I believe that I first came across Poland's KAT when a European tape trader sent me their highly regarded 1988 third album "Oddech wymarłych światów" back in the early 1990's, a release that I quite enjoyed & which led me to explore their 1992 "Bastard" album shortly afterwards. "Oddech wymarłych światów" had seen KAT moving away from their heavy/roots metal roots towards a thrash metal sound that was more in line with my musical preferences but it just lacked the consistent quality in the riffs & those couple of genuine highlight tracks that would take it from being a pleasant one-off experience to a more engaging one worthy of multiple revisits. "Bastard" would see KAT taking their sound to the next level & shows clear evidence that the four-year gap between albums had not been wasted. You see, "Bastard" is much more than your standard early 1990's thrash metal release. It's a complex & expansive beast of a technical/progressive thrash record that takes risks & subsequently offers greater rewards than it's more widely acclaimed predecessor. That's not to say that "Bastard" doesn't have it's flaws though because it certainly does.

The production job isn't amazing with the rhythm guitar tone being a little flat & overly dry but the main detractor is the dodgy Polish vocals of Roman Kostrzewski which don't seem to fit as comfortably over the more technically inclined brand of thrash that KAT were dishing out at the time. I would definitely have preferred a more classically capable singer here to tell you the truth. Thankfully though, the instrumentation is pretty wonderful & offers more than enough in the way of mind-bending rhythmic gymnastics to keep this ol' trasher interested throughout a blemish-free tracklisting.

As with "Oddech wymarłych światów", I wouldn't suggest that there are any genuine classics amongst this lot though. My issues with the vocals goes a long way to ensuring that but there is some good variation in style included to keep the listener on their toes. With the exception of the more straight-forward title track, the first half of the album generally indulges in a challenging technical/progressive thrash sound but KAT change things up a bit in the middle of the record with a two-minute instrumental neoclassical metal piece called "N.D.C." which is very effective in showcasing the flashy sweep-picking skills of guitarists Piotr Luczyk & Jacek Regulski. The tracklisting is also closed out by "Łza dla cieniów minionych" which I could only suggest was an early example of gothic metal & is a far cry from the aggressive tech thrash of the rest of the album. It doesn't seem out of place or jarring though which is a credit to KAT's creative vision & ability to execute in a fluent fashion.

I have to say that it's kinda strange that no one seems to mention "Bastard" when talking about the better examples of the technical/progressive thrash sound as it's emphatic in its statement in that regard. In fact, I'd suggest that it's one of the best examples of that style I've experienced to be honest which is really saying something. KAT are generally compared with bands like Venom, Sodom & fellow Poles Turbo but "Bastard" sits much more comfortably alongside artists like Аспид & Obliveon as well as the more technical Annihilator material in my opinion & if those acts bring a spring to your step then it's a safe bet that "Bastard" will too as long as you can handle the Polish language vocal delivery. It's certainly a step up in class from "Oddech wymarłych światów" in my opinion & is probably the best of the six KAT releases I've heard over the years.

I class the first four Metallica albums as being a true “golden run” of records - I have stated this on MA before I am sure so let’s not go over old ground.  Needless to say that for as much as I can see why …and Justice for All gets criticised, it is still a vicious and scathing thrash metal album that from the off is clearly made by a band on the attack.  One of the key strengths of Metallica’s 1988 offering is how technical yet spontaneous it manages to still sound.  The flurry of activity that is the razor sharp album opener, “Blackened” is evidence of an album that is going to be positively spilling over with riffs and chops, all blending, transitioning and morphing into a thoroughly entertaining experience end to end.  Whilst not flawless, the bands fourth album is a celebration of energetic thrash metal that clearly showed a band able to carry on without a key member so tragically torn from their ranks.

Now then, let us get this bass discussion out of the way at this early stage of the review.  I agree, it is a travesty (however it happened) that Jason’s four strings get so little (if any) air-time.  However, the fact is, I do not miss the bass in all honesty.  This is the real clever part of …and Justice for All for me, to produce an album of such intensity without the bass being prominent shows quality as far as I am concerned.  Is the album sterile or brittle sounding as a result of this component lacking input?  Not to my ears, no.  Does any of the messaging land poorly because we do not have the rumble or twang of the bass?  Again, no it does not.  Not to my ears anyway.

If I am to point to a critical finger at the record then it is the contrasting quality of the song writing that gets the digit wagged at it.  It is hard to believe that the same album that contains the title track, “Harvester of Sorrow” and “One” also has “Eye of the Beholder” in at track number three.  It risks an early derailment of the promise of the first two tracks that thankfully does not come to fruition.  Although it does marginally better than “To Live is to Die” which although I get the sentiment of, just does not manage to move me as perhaps it should.

In a world were it is more or less universally recognised that Metallica are a shadow of their former selves, their final true thrash metal release is a celebration of their early career before the band chose an increasingly commercial path at whatever crossroads they visited latterly in their lives.  If you like your thrash metal full of grit, steel and technical prowess then you should own a copy of …and Justice for All as a mandatory release in your collection.

I first wrapped my ears around Texas-based thrash metal outfit Devastation when I experienced some of the material from their 1989 sophomore album "Signs of Life" back in the very early 1990's & I quite liked what I heard too just quietly. The band seemed to offer a fair bit of potential so I found myself checking out the full-length album shortly afterwards, a record that I liked enough to see me heading back to their very ordinary 1987 debut album "Violent Termination". The debut did very little for me unfortunately but when 1991's "Idolatry" third full-length was released it wasted no time in repaying me for my initial faith & is easily Devastation's finest work. It's the record that I reach for whenever I think of this band & is pretty much the only one you NEED to own as a respectable thrash metal fan.

"Idolatry" is often referred to as being a death/thrash hybrid but that's not an accurate depiction of what you can expect because there's really very little in the way of death metal to be found across the eight tracks included. Instead, you'll find a very pure thrash metal sound that's heavily influenced by bands like Slayer, Dark Angel, Exodus & Kreator but simply "feels" more brutal than most other thrash releases primarily because of the savage production, the powerful, driving double kick drum work & the aggressive vocals of front man Rodney Dunsmore which are probably the weak point for the band if there is one as they could certainly have been a little more accomplished. Thankfully though, the same cannot be said for the instrumentation which is absolutely devastating (see what I did there?). Guitarists Dave Burk & Henry Elizondo totally slay with their solos generally placed over the most intense parts of the songs & being made very much from the Kerry King & Jeff Hannemann mold. Drummer David Lozano is the hero here though & proves himself to be an elite exponent of his craft. He doesn't try too many extravagant rolls & fills but what he does contribute is exciting & super-precise which gives Devastation an exceptionally solid basis to work over.

The album kicks off brilliantly with opener "Deliver the Suffering" being one of the highlights of the 44 minute run time. There aren't any weak tracks included. In fact, there's nothing short of being a very solid example of the classic thrash metal model with "Forsaken Hatred" (my personal favourite), "Subconscious" & super-shredding closer "Never Believe" being the other major highlights. Devastation are definitely at their best when they're really going for it at the higher tempos but the slower, chunkier material is also very entertaining as the band seem to have mastered the art of the riff with "Idolatry" providing somewhat of a smorgasbord of delights for underground thrash fans. There's a noticeable class about everything they do with note selection & riff complexity being placed upon a pedestal & Lozano providing the perfect support for each section.

"Idolatry" really does sound like it was tailor made for someone with my particular background & taste profile as it combines so many of the things I look for in my metal. It's such a shame that it'd represent Devastation's final hurrah as the band seemed to have so much still in the tank. Perhaps it's best to leave the scene on such a high though as it certainly helps in maintaining the aura around the band for all eternity. Fans of the more brutal end of thrash metal (think Demolition Hammer, Dark Angel & Morbid Saint) should regard "Idolatry" as the very epitome of the hidden gem & one of the best thrash releases of the 1990's. It's a genuine thrash classic in my opinion.

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 am a man of unsophisticated taste, particularly in music, as illustrated by my indifference to the dissonant and avant-garde, jazz in particular being anathema to me. In relation to this, for the longest time I considered technical death and thrash metal as also outside my comfort zone, but a dive into the earlier years of death metal resulted in the discovery that a certain level of technicality was indeed something I could enjoy, as epitomised by the Death and Atheist back catalogues. There is, however, a degree of technicality beyond which I switch off as it becomes more and more "jazzy" as per Gorguts and their ilk.

Anyway, this lengthy preamble to a review of Norway's Sovereign is relevant as they play a technical style of deaththrash that sits right slap-bang in the middle of my sweet spot for technical metal whereby the technical flourishes are sufficient to bring variety and interest without pushing into a more jazz-adjacent territory that I am more uncomfortable with. To be more precise, they play thrash metal with tech-death aspirations, influenced by mid-period Death albums and possibly by the current South American thrash metal, particularly that of Chilean bands like Ripper, Demoniac and Slaughtbbath.

Although this is the band's debut full-length, they are not newbies, with members, or ex-members, of Stormbeist and Execration and with Nekromantheon's live guitarist, Tommy Jacobsen taking on lead duties, a duty he discharges with impressive aplomb. His leads are incendiary and thrilling, with a high level of dextrous competency, sitting squarely on the right side of shredding, becoming neither flaccid nor self-indulgent and reminding me a little of how James Murphy's work lifted Death's Spiritual Healing, which is meant as high praise indeed - check out the final minute of Nebular Waves for a stellar example. They may not be the tightest band to play technical deaththrash, but they are sufficiently skilled that a slight looseness makes them sound more passionate than the stifling necessity of technical perfection often allows for. They have some solid riffs with energetic songwriting that incorporates the technical flourishes to add colour to the tracks rather than becoming the whole raison d'être. This is definitely an approach I wholeheartedly endorse and it has resulted the band coming up with an album that just sounds better with each repeated listen and which is one of a select few brand new thrash albums not from South America that I will happily keep returning to.

OK, an EP may not be the best way to discover a band, but it's what I've chosen after stirring up some curiosity from the stoner/speed metal sound of Mutoid Man's new album Mutants and that band's new bassist being part of this one. And it really paid off! I never knew until now how perfectly mesmerizing it is to blend stoner/sludge metal with speed/thrash metal, despite me going the Straight Edge-like path of staying away from drugs (you know what the deal is about stoner rock/metal).

High on Fire has been active for over 25 years and inspired many metal bands including Mastodon who first formed in one of High on Fire's earliest shows. This Oakland band won a Grammy award for the title track of their 2018 album Electric Messiah, so what's next? A 3-track EP consisting of an instrumental and two covers, that's what!

Bat Salad starts with its title instrumental which, as if the title's reference to that Black Sabbath instrumental isn't enough, pays great tribute to that band with blend of sludgy heavy/stoner metal. Absolutely nothing wrong there! The band's cover of "Into the Crypts of Rays" by Celtic Frost (whose album cover for To Mega Therion is parodied for the EP) does proper justice to that band's earlier sound and is an excellent cover, sealed by the gravelly voice of frontman Matt Pike (also the guitarist for Sleep). Another cover, "Don't Bother Me" from Bad Brains' demo album Black Dots is another terrific thrashy cover that shall certainly delight fans of that band.

So what we have is a stoner/sludge instrumental and two thrashy cover songs. The two sounds aren't combined together, but when put into the same EP, they perfectly fit side by side. Totally worthwhile and smashing for a short EP!

Favorites: all 3, but I certainly enjoy the title instrumental

My introduction to German extreme metal outfit Protector came via their 1989 sophomore album "Urm the Mad" which I quite liked at the time & that experience led me to follow the band throughout their entire career. I've been pleased to see that they've been able to maintain a fairly consistent standard throughout with just the one blemish along the way too. Protector's 1987 debut "Misanthropy" E.P. has been a particular talking point for me over the years actually as, despite being claimed by many to be a thrash metal release, I regard it as not only being one of the earlier examples of genuine death metal you'll find but also one that eclipses some of the more prominent releases of the time as well. The Protector record that's most highly regarded though is unquestionably their 1991 third album "A Shedding of Skin" & with good reason too because it's an absolute beast of a death/thrash album.

Those of you that are new to Protector will not be left waiting long to find out what they're all about. The inclusion of a short one-minute intro track at the beginning of the record was a strange one as its pleasant new-age atmosphere has no place on an extreme metal release like this one but as soon as the proper songs kick in the listener is subjected to a savage beating like they've rarely experienced before. This album presents Protector's sound as the perfect amalgamation of death metal & Teutonic thrash metal with the death metal component taking the ascendency for the most part. The raw production is perfectly suited to this style of music with the guitars possessing a face-ripping quality that accentuates the aggression in the performances beautifully. The growled vocals of main man Olly Wiebel are deathly & evil which only provides further weight to the fully committed metal assault Protector unleash here with the Hannemann/King style guitar solos generally being saved for the most intense sections of the songs too. The influence of Teutonic thrash bands like Kreator & Sodom is important as the speeds that Protector reach during the thrashier sections is one of the record's main calling cards too.

There are clearly enough highlights included to justify my elite ratings but unfortunately I can't quite get there. The issue is more around quality control as, despite not including any real duds apart from the previously mentioned intro track, "A Shedding of Skin" is definitely a few tracks too long which sees it including a couple more filler tracks than I'd like. I feel that the duo could easily have dropped off two or three of the more thrashy numbers & still comfortably achieved an appropriate run time for a release like this one but, as it is, this is still a very fine death/thrash release that almost got there anyway. Fans of bands like Merciless, Possessed & Poison (the German one) will absolutely froth over this stuff so I hope a few of you will be converted to what is a largely overlooked but thoroughly deserving band.

Missouri-based thrash metallers Anacrusis & I have had a fairly long affiliation that kicked off in the early 1990's through their 1990 sophomore album "Reason" & would expand to cover their entire discography over the next couple of years. I have to admit that I always quite liked them too but my brother Ben would go on to be a much bigger fan of them than I was. During more recent times I've revisited their supposedly classic 1993 "Screams & Whispers" fourth album which is generally considered to be Anacrusis' finest work & found that it has lost a fair chunk of its luster over the years. I certainly got some enjoyment out of it but can't see the justification for it being claimed as any sort of classic. It did however lead to me wondering whether 1991's "Manic Impressions" might suffer a similar fate which saw me nominating it for The Infinite feature release status this month.

My first revisit to "Manic Impressions" was a pretty challenging one to tell you the truth. The album's flaws immediately presented themselves as an obstacle to block my path to any sort of enjoyment & it took a full four listens before I felt that I'd managed to develop a firm & justifiable position. The first & admittedly pretty major flaw is the production job which presents this material in a format that I wouldn't have accepted for a live release or even a demo if it was me. Music of this complexity requires a crisp, clear production that allows the listener to take in all of the finer nuances but here we find a rough & ready sounding record with the ultra-dry & noticeably raw guitars being too far back in the mix & the tinny drums booming out over the top. The vocals also seem to hide behind the instrumentation most of the time & I can understand why they might have voluntarily gone with that approach given that guitarist Kenn Nardi's vocal skills are very patchy indeed. In fact, I'd go so far as to suggest that he can't sing to save his life so I was understandably doing it really tough early on.

Thankfully there are some great musical ideas hidden beneath the mess described above though. Unlike "Screams & Whispers" which is entirely focused on the progressive side of the equation, "Manic Impressions" is a much more pure representation of its progressive thrash metal tag which is an immediate plus in my book. In fact, I can see strong similarities to artists like Atheist, Voivod & Watchtower which can't be a bad thing now, can it? There are a number of tracks that eschew the thrash elements altogether though for an undiluted progressive metal sound or one that's heaped with US power metal ambiguity but at least half of the tracklisting sits very comfortably in thrash or tech thrash territory. It's kinda sad that many of the more technical & complex sections are left sounding really messy due to production issues that see the instrumentation lacking any sort of cohesion. Tracks like "I Love The World" & "What You Became" are the most obvious examples & are subsequently the biggest failures but "Something Real" & "Dream Again" aren't much better to be honest. Luckily, the back end of the album sees things taking somewhat of an upward turn but it's too little too late as far as I'm concerned with the impact of the stronger material still being curtailed by the production issues.

This latest experience with Anacrusis has not only left me disappointed with the widely praised "Manic Impressions" but has also led to me questioning my long-time position on Anacrusis as a whole given that neither of their two most popular records have managed to secure a respectable four star rating out of me. I'm not sure if my taste has just changed & become more refined over time or if I was simply naive to begin with but there's no way that I can justify these records being held up on the pedestal they so often seem to be. "Screams & Whispers" is clearly the better of the two though & I wouldn't hesitate in recommending that you give "Manic Impressions" a miss in favour of that release if you're new to the band.

Norwegian thrashers Sepulcher are back with their first release since 2018's well-received Panoptic Horror album. Veins of the Void is a sixteen-minute EP, featuring three tracks, Derealization, Cryogenic Sleep and the title track. The production has the band's usual pseudo-lo-fi feel - it isn't actually truly lo-fi, it is as if they deliberately want to give their sound a garage band aesthetic, whilst still using a modern recording set up. I'm not an expert on the genre, but I guess Sepulcher could well be tagged as a stenchcore band with this crusty production and the thrash, death and trad metal genre fusing on show.

Opener Derealization starts off with a looming, sludgy feel with a quite infectious riff before alternating between fast bursts of deathly aggression and lethargic slower-paced moroseness. Middle track Cryogenic Sleep is the shortest track here, running for a touch over two and a half minutes, and is a slice of adrenalised crossover thrash with an energetic fast tempo and a bouncy, punky riff to it. In truth that is the only track with any significant thrash content. The title track closes out the EP and has a deliberate, sludge-like pacing with a chunky riff, a quite groovy drum track, a weird guitar melody and Andreas Fosse Salbu venting his frustrations at all and sundry with his pissed-off, shouted vocals.

Whilst no classic, this is reasonably interesting and with a fair bit of it running at a slower tempo than usual I'm not sure if this EP is signalling a change in direction for Sepulcher, or if they are just clearing the decks ready for the next full-length.

It's been decades since I've heard "Point Blank" but I've got to admit that it's delivered exactly what I remembered it being capable of in that it's a decent listen but isn't one that commands much in the way of return listens, despite presenting some clear potential. The tracklisting kicks off in very strong fashion with the opening two songs being amongst the highlights of the album but the remainder of the run time is a little hit & miss to be honest, even though there's only the one track in the proper tracklisting that I consider to be a genuine failure in the flat industrial piece "Shit Pinata". There's a fair bit of variation on offer, despite Nailbomb being predominantly an industrial metal band. The thrash metal component isn't really enough for a primary tag & I'd suggest that there's much more crossover thrash than there is your more conventional thrash metal anyway. You'll also pick up some clear groove metal & sludge metal influences along with some smatterings of martial industrial & conventional industrial music along the way for a result that sounds very much like a combination of Sepultura's "Chaos AD" & Ministry's "Psalm 69" with smatterings of Fudge Tunnel's "Hate Songs in E Minor" tossed in for good measure. It's just that "Point Blank" never quite reaches the heights of those records which is the real shame. Don't get me wrong. It's by no means a bad record but it does struggle to command the attention it once seemed to receive with very little effort these days.

I often find myself being too harsh towards releases under the "technical" banner due to a number of structural issues that keep me from enjoying them subjectively. Now I know that this is part of the point since no one has the exact same tastes in music styles, but I'd like to be more open towards technical music going forward and rate them based on what they are, rather than what I want them to be. 

And so Dissimulator have come along to glowing praise and I feel like most of it is well deserved. As the thorough, audible assault that Lower Form Resistance is, I have to commend this albums songwriting prowess. It has been a really long time since I heard stylistic whips and tempo jolts pulled off as smoothly as these ones before. Technical music has a sporadic feel to it (like mathcore) most of the time, which makes it nearly impossible to latch on to the main theme or idea that a song is constructing itself around. And while Lower Form Resistance still does have enough of that, something about these interjections feel well thought out and connected with integrity. 

The compositions themselves are mostly adequate. To be honest, I found parts of this debut to be quite pedestrian in the way they were presented. Such as "Cybermorphism/Mainframe" starting off with a clean guitar intro, before inevitably resorting back to the same technical death/thrash timbre and performance that we've heard countless times throughout the record. It does not really give the record a lot of time for breathing or regeneration following a long stretch of continuous moshing. However, because the structures of these tunes are so well enforced, I tend to forget that there hasn't been a calmer interlude, which tells me that I'm having a lot of fun being chased down by these riffs relentlessly for over forty (40) minutes.

By association, the instrumentals are not very diverse, but they don't have to be. The bass is not the most upfront, but it can be heard providing some foundation behind the guitar riffing, which is fierce. The percussion is extremely well performed and frankly carry this albums intensity. The first time Lower Form Resistance brought in the modulated vocals a la Cynic's Focus was really cool and matched the literal technical nature of this album. These guys are clearly influenced by fellow Quebec tech-thrashers Voivod, and these vocals interjections felt like something that should have always been there. However, I felt them becoming less impactful the more they were used, which is a little bit disappointing. But they are not nearly as bad as the unfiltered clean singing during "Automoil & Robotoil"; the monotone delivery does not help with keeping the albums intensity up and do not highlight the bands strengths. Otherwise, the harsh vocals are a  little choppy, but impactful.

Overall I enjoyed Lower Form Resistance a lot actually. The technical aspect is both figurative and literal; where the album production sounds almost synthetic with its pin-point precision. The performances, while certainly not innovative, are backed up by some of the best compositions I've heard on a technical album in a very long time. The album is produced like gold, and the only aspects that really bugged me were the vocals, which are already sparse as it is on this record. A solid find if I do say so myself, and would be a great recommendation if you frequent bands like Voivod, Revocation or Cryptic Shift.

Best Songs: Warped, Outer Phase, Hyperline Underflow

Thrash was in a sorry state in the late 90’s. Most of the old guard had fizzled out or changed genres, and it had absolutely no place in the mainstream world. It was up to the underground, then, to keep it alive, and most of those bands did so by mixing it with more extreme styles of music.

Desaster were one of many bands going for a Blackened Thrash style, going back to the roots of the genres by worshipping the infernal overlord and reigning hellfire upon the world. By ’98, nothing on this album was particularly new or inventive, but it was done well, and that’s what matters. Songs traded places between aggressive Thrash beats and Blackened chords, leads and blast beats. The production, the style, the lyrics, they all sounded very 80’s, and for Thrash fans, there’s no better era to be. However, the music itself, especially the guitar playing and vocal approach, leaned far more towards the Black Metal style. In fact, so much so that I don’t think I could truly call this a Thrash album at all; it sounds much more like Thrash-influenced Black Metal (or plainly said, first wave Black Metal).

The band is at their best going full speed aggressive assault and focusing on darker riffs. When they slow down into more Blackened Heavy Metal territory, or play at a goofier, medieval sound, the material doesn’t work as well.

Hellfire’s Dominion wasn’t enough to revitalize either genre, nor did it add anything new to the mix. However, the album is great fun and full of competent songwriting, playing, and of course, riffs. I do find it a bit overrated, though.

On Sunday 13th September 2009, Faith or Fear's basist Clarence "C.J." Jenkins died on stage after suffering heart failure during one of the band's performances.  The fact that the band were still able to perform or put together anything at all just some three years after the tragedy speaks volumes for their dedication after losing a valued bandmate and friend.  Although this is by no means a glittering review of Titanium, I am of course mindful of this fact.  I have also not heard any other release by Faith or Fear (they have only one other album in a very stop/start career that dates all the way back to 1982)to compare this album with.  My research for The Pit playlist each month takes me to all corners of the associated sub-genres, often taking me out of my comfort zone and Titanium certainly has managed to do that.

There are two main problems for me with this record.  Firstly, Tim Blackman is not a very strong (or talented) vocalist.  His gruff yet unconvincing style fails to hide his shortfalls in trying to front a thrash/groove metal band and when coupled with the frankly childish lyrics they become even less tolerable.  Secondly, Faith or Fear show a distinct lack of songwriting capability on Titanium, regurgitating the same ideas over and over whilst not allowing enough room for the real strengths to shine.  The stop/start rhythm (to match their career) to many songs soon becomes irritating and the fact is that when they abandon the vocals and go into ful flow they can pull off some impressive riffage and hint at some real power in the engine department.  There is also evidence of some decent lead work here and there.

Again, I could understand the sub-par record off the back of the tragedy of C.J.'s death (in fact the bassist who played on this record, Rob Guidotti also passed away in 2022 it is sad to read).  Sadly though, even the closing track that pays homage to their lost comrade does little to dispell any of my disatisfaction with this album.

"Hi, kids! Do you like violence? Wanna see me stick nine-inch nails through each one of my eyelids?" Oh, sorry about that, I just got confused by some Eminem lyrics. I could have sworn they were the opening words of Cancer Christ's debut album God Is Violence.

Anyways, my initial thoughts on this debut record were certainly of lowered expectations. When I found it on another music reviewing website, its genres were listed as crossover thrash and grindcore. I was speculative that these two styles had no business being included simultaneously on the same album, since one implies accessibility, while the other does the exact opposite. Overall, the record feels a lot closer to your crossover thrash record from bands like Enforced or Power Trip, but the grindcore comes through in the songwriting being abortive at best, and care free at worst. 

Over time, I came to accept that this kind of album is not meant to be taken seriously. There is a lot of vulgarity here and plenty of gruesome violent imagery, and it does not feel like it contains any deeper socio-political messaging. And I think part of that comes from the frankly absurd rumours I've heard about this bands live shows and the wacky antics that are played on stage. If you compare this to bands such as Suicide Silence and their last album, SS are meant to be taken dead seriously and the humor found was unintentional. Whereas Cancer Christ are clearly laughing at themselves the whole time.

Although I've never accepted the argument of "it goes harder in a live setting" as a legitimate one. If the music of God Is Violence is so slapdash and unfinished, then why the hell would I ever want to see it performed in a live setting? Because I might get a rained on by a balloon full of piss, blood or other bodily fluids during the show? It is an interesting concept; one that I'm not fully opposed to, but the execution needs to be far more pronounced and cared for if it is to have any lasting effect.

Best Songs: God Hates Cops, Bring Back the Guillotine, Satan is a Bitch, Make Them All Dead

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.

"Yeah, draw people being grabbed by giant arms going off to the left. Nude, but make sure you can't see their penises, we don't want to be obscene or anything."

Oppressing the Masses is one of those albums where the vocalist talks about politically charged subjects with the dignity and class I expect from a teenager who is butthurt about his parents. (Because they didn't get him a Playstation, or in 1990 terms, they didn't get him an Amiga) Talking is the right word because this guy barely sounds like he's singing. He's got a nice rythmn to him, at least.

The backing band are not interesting to compensate. I dare say that they intended to be bland to compliment the vocals. They do have a few things going for them, like a proto-groove metal sound, but ultimately this just sounds like something you've heard done much better by other people long before.

I was going to review this album a few times and every time I come here and I see that 2.9 or even a 2.8 clan rating and I have to go back and listen again if I missed something. So fun, this is the most underrated album on this site that I've listened to yet. Especially for the clan challenges. This isn't a perfect record, no but man did this vibe with me. Most of the heavy metal releases of this time had a very particular high pitched near power metal vocals that don't work with me. In 84 we got Powerslave, Metal Church, Last In Line by Dio,  Jag Panzer, Mercyful Fate, and so much more so there was definitely a plethora of other releases that are known much better and though I've heard these guys before I am more impressed. The vocals are different from those other bands, and it has the speed. 

Prisoners of our Time may be my favorite song, it's so catchy and I find myself singing it all the time. I could just list all the songs though they're all so good. I have a good time with this album and glad I found this one. I know that these guys have gone full power metal at times and even pirate concept so eventually i'll be doing a deeper dive and I hope I enjoy the others as well. 

First off, I have to say that this is an enjoyable slab of metal but, in truth, it isn't really any more than that and I'm not sure I can get onboard with all the hype that has been behind this release. I think people are playing up the black metal content because, beyond the shrieking vocal style I don't think there is too much by way of black metal here. What it is is high-octane speed, thrash and good old heavy metal with a shit-ton of energy and vibrancy that exploits an assosciation with black metal by utilising black metal vocals, allowing an out-of-fashion musical style some relevancy within the modern metal scene.

Obviously James McBain, the sole muso behind Hellripper, is one hell of a talented guy and he can write riffs and hooks seemingly effortlessly as he glorifies fist-pumping metal hedonism, to which end his soloing is energetic and over-the-top. He certainly can't be accused of being boring or lacking ideas, but maybe therein lies the rub. It feels ocasionally like a pick'n'mix metal comp of Eighties worshipping retro-metal bands where every track works really well in isolation, but when consumed all together it becomes a bit too much. The only truly consistent factor is James' shrieking black metal vocals which do work very well in most instances.

Like I said at the start this is enjoyable stuff and I feel like a bit of a curmudgeon for saying it, but I really can't feel it enough to get me reaching for those higher scores. Maybe it just doesn't chime 100% with what I look for in my metal listening nowadays but it can't be ignored and has rightly has earned much praise for it's creator.

I can still vividly recall the first moment I became exposed to legendary Sydney extreme metal establishment Sadistik Exekution. It was 12th August 1992 & I’d arrived super-early to the Morbid Angel show at the Enmore Theatre so that I could achieve the greatest vantage point for the band that I regarded as being probably my favourite act at that point in time. Surprisingly, I’d managed to situate myself right in the middle of the front row of seats so I was literally only a metre away from the stage. Melbourne deathgrinders Necrotomy opened proceedings & did an admirable job at warming me up for what was my very first international death metal show. What they didn’t prepare me for was the band the followed immediately after them though with Sadistik Exekution giving me a new appreciation for what an extreme metal stage show could be. I’d never experienced anything so completely over the top & it was very hard for a young guitarist like myself not to be left in awe of the pure bad-assery of notorious top hat-wearing shredder Reverend Kriss Hades when he was so close that I could almost touch the blood dripping down his forearms due to the line of bobby pins he’d inserted through them prior to the show, his axe neck looking more like a skeletal spinal chord than an instrument & his fingers flying over the fretboard at previously unrecorded speeds. I’d very quickly realise that the Sydney audience had a love affair with these four nutters that I didn’t fully understand at the time but I’d certainly get my chance to understand it over the years that followed.

Shortly afterwards, buoyed by my experiences at what I still regard as the greatest metal show I’ve ever witnessed, I’d start my very own death metal band & we’d go about building a repertoire & a presence in the local scene. It would be a couple of years before we’d be mixing it with the in-crowd of Sydney metal but I'd eventually find myself being introduced to the Sadistik crew a their entourage of rabid worshippers. You see, Sadistik are an absolute enigma in this country with their music playing second fiddle to the circus sideshow of antics & personalities & young metalheads just seem to lap it all up. Sadistik shows were few & far between but when they did take place you would see all of the old faces coming out of the woodwork with most of them getting completely shit-faced along the way. It was at one of these early-to-mid 90’s Sadistik shows at the Lewisham Hotel that I’d meet bassist Dave Slave for the first time & he’d present me with a copy of “The Magus”, Sadistik Exekution’s debut full-length which was supposedly recorded around 1988 but failed to see a proper release until 1991. It was a release that I’d find was all around me over the next five years given its significance to the Aussie scene &, looking back at it from the outside, it’s perhaps a little easier to see why. My relationship with Sadistik Exekution would become closer during the middle of the decade once I started a three-year relationship with one of Dave Slave’s close friends & I can recall many a drunken conversation with the various band members over the years that followed. They were mostly gentle, lovely guys who were almost unrecognisable from the pure insanity of their music & (particularly their) stage shows.

So... this brings us back to “The Magus” which, if it really was recorded back in 1988, would have to have been some of the most extreme metal music in the world at the time. The production job is generally of demo quality & there’s a fair amount of variation in sound quality between the various tracks so it would seem to be pretty likely that it was recorded in multiple sessions. That aesthetic definitely suited Sadistik’s attack though so I wouldn’t see that as a negative. As with most of the extreme metal of the late 1980’s, the material crosses over between the full gamut of extreme genres with death metal, thrash metal & black metal all playing their part in a result that I think is best described as blackened death/thrash. The remnants of iconic Sydney demo band Slaughterlord are still easily visible in the muddy riffs & rapid-fire lead guitar work of Sandy Vahdanni while Dave Slave’s light-speed bass playing is given plenty of room in the mix to cause devastation. Sloth blasts away on his kit with a rare intensity for the time as the consistent use of blast beats within death metal was still yet to be seen in 1988. It’s ring-leader & front man Rok who steals the show though with his vicious delivery making for the perfect foil for the rough-&-ready Sadistik Exekution instrumentation.

“The Magus” jumps around a bit from a stylistic point of view. The tracklisting opens with a well-executed dark ambient piece entitled “Transneobathasaurikaldelusionsoftheunknown” before hurling itself into a full-on death/thrash frenzy via the very solid “Cautness Darling Blood”. The title track lifts the intensity even further & is one of the best tracks the band ever produced in my opinion. I’d even suggest that it traverses similar sonic territory to war metal bands like Blasphemy & Bestial Warlust which is significant when you consider that Blasphemy’s legendary “Blood Upon The Altar” demo was still another year from seeing the light of day when/if this was recorded back in 1988. “Agonising The Dead” sees Sadistik adding a blackened atmosphere to their death/thrash attack but the quality takes a step back at that point with the production turning a bit thrashier & the band’s death/thrash sound being a little more traditional, if not for the greater emphasis on blast beats. I consistently find myself reaching for comparisons with Brazilian black/thrash metallers Sarcofago during a lot of that material but things take a drastic turn for the final two tracks though with both taking the form of doomy black metal dirges. Interestingly, it’s the hidden track “Spirits Are Coming” that I find to be my favourite on the entire album as it presents an unhinged darkness that seems a little more serious than a lot of Sadistik’s more ridiculous material & leaves me feeling a strangely pleasant & transcendent feeling of squeamish uncomfortability.

There’s little doubt that the 35 minutes duration of “The Magus” is quite an experience for even the more seasoned extreme metaller with a lot being crammed into the relatively short run time. Some of the performances can get pretty sloppy at times but this can easily be forgiven when you consider the sheer intensity on display. The faster tracks leave me feeling like my hair is flying back behind me as my face is attacked by a tsunami of extremity which gives even the less significant material through the middle of the tracklisting more weight than it might appear to have on the surface. All of this amounts to the best Aussie metal album to see the light of day up until 1991 in my opinion & I don’t think that position is being impacted by any past relationships or experiences I may have had with the band as a young, starry-eyed youth. I've often seen the music of Sadistik Exekution playing second fiddle to rumours & legend but, even if many of the stories are true, their music has enough meat on its bones to justify your attention in its own right.

Industrial metal is not a genre that you would expect all metalheads to enjoy. Many of them often get turned away by the excessive amount of keyboards, riff repetition, and drum machinery that all leave no space for any guitar solos. I only just started loving industrial metal a couple years ago, and being the open-minded person I am, I've taken a dive into this brief side-project by Max Cavalera of Sepultura and Alex Newport of Fudge Tunnel. 6 months after Chaos AD came the sole Nailbomb album Point Blank. The sound is an underrated blend of industrial groove with F***ING HARD THRASH!!! The aggressive riffing will definitely remind some of Sepultura's pre-Chaos AD albums!

Cavalera continues to display his political side, and I know some people aren't into politics. I'm not either, but I am familiar with it through the more hardcore bands I've listened to out there, and it fits well for the thrash madness. Although this industrial sound stands nicely between Skrew and Ministry at that time, the riffing is more varied than those two bands. All in the name of deathly thrash!

Right from the start, "Wasting Away" blasts through speedy riffing and Max's signature growls, "Carve your rights into your arm so that they don't get taken away". HOLY SH*T, that's the kind of raging hate you would expect from Arise. It has made me positive that the album is filled with more anger than I've ever heard before. Also great in the instrumentation is "Vai Toma no Cú" (Go Take It in the A**). Then "24 Hour Bullsh*t" continues blending Sepultura's thrash with the industrial metal of Godflesh. Same with "Guerrillas" which is another one of my favorites here.

"Blind and Lost" is a shorter song of energetic hardcore with a message of "F*** mentality". Electro-infused "Sum of Your Achievements" is pretty worthless. "Cockroaches" stands out as another favorite, having some of the highest quality here. "For F***'s Sake" continues the well-done industrial thrash mix. Absolutely fantastic instrumentation!

"World of Sh*t" brings out more of the industrial experimentation of O.L.D. at that time. The vocals in their cover of "Exploitation" by hardcore band Doom come out as weak, though the instrumentation continues to rage on. The punky attitude is maintained lyrically in "Religious Cancer". Screamed rants about church and religion flow through dark industrial metal. "Sh*t Pinata" does nothing for me at all. "Sick Life" has the last bit of industrial metal for me to enjoy. 10 minutes of silence lead to an awesome hidden jam.

In between the extremeness of Sepultura and the mainstream of Soulfly is an album full of f***ing aggressive riffing and a sh*t-load of killer industrial. You can't deny how much this Nailbomb album can kick a**....

Favorites: "Wasting Away", "Guerillas", "Cockroaches", "For F***'s Sake", "Religious Cancer", "Sick Life" (including hidden track)

Despite the fact that my attention had well & truly been drawn more towards more extreme forms of metal by 1991, I still maintained my interest in the thrash metal that had played such a huge role in my musical development. For that reason, I was still picking up every Anthrax record immediately upon release with their “Attack of the Killer B’s” compilation being one of the last to receive that privilege. I recall quite enjoying my CD copy too, it has to be said. It’s been decades since we crossed paths though so I thought it’d be interesting to see if my feelings have changed over the years.

“Attack of the Killer B’s” is a compilation that draws together a collection of B-sides, cover versions & live recordings &, as I’ve recently discovered, with fairly mixed results too it has to be said. There’s no doubt that Anthrax were a class act at that point in their evolution but there are some misguided decisions on show here. The tracklisting kicks off in really strong style with cover version of S.O.D.’s crossover thrash classic “Milk (Ode To Billy)”, the rap metal collaboration with Public Enemy “Bring The Noise” & an acceptable live version of “Keep It In The Family” (one of the highlights from Anthrax’s last album “Persistence Of Time”) all being very strong inclusions. Things start to get noticeably hit & miss from that point on though & I find that the misses generally align with Anthrax’s notorious sense of humor which won't be a huge surprise for anyone that knows me as I’ve never been a fan of silly novelty tracks like “Startin’ Up A Posse”, “Pipeline” or “N.F.B. (Dallabnikufesin)”. These missteps are offset by some high-quality efforts like Discharge cover version “Protest & Survive” (my personal favourite), S.O.D. rehash “Chromatic Death” & a speed metal reenactment of Trust’s “Sects”. Even though both are excellent songs in their own right, the two live cuts are both a little disappointing as the production is simply inadequate.

 I have to admit that I was expecting a little more from “Attack of the Killer B’s” as I remembered it being more consistently great than this. Still… there’s some good shit to be found here if you’re patient enough to sit through the filler. There’s also a lot more to this release than just Anthrax’s signature thrash metal sound too with crossover thrash, rap metal, heavy metal & comedy rock all playing important bit parts in the outcome so it may have some crossover potential for a wide range of fans. I doubt that it'll make too many best-of lists though.

The late 80’s saw the metal world starting to experiment a little more than they had previously which was perhaps inevitable after the two most senior genres (i.e heavy metal & thrash metal) had already peaked. The incorporation of external influences was becoming quite common with artists repping everything from rap to classical to folk to surf rock. One of the more popular styles to dabble in was funk though with a number of acts reaching some level of commercial success sporting a funk-infused metal sound (Faith No More, Living Colour, Primus. etc.). None of those bands had taken things as far in terms of extremity as San Francisco’s Mordred did with the funk-driven thrash metal sound of their 1991 sophomore album “In This Life” though.

My earliest experiences with Mordred came through older school mates who supplied me with their 1989 debut full-length “Fool’s Game” which I quite liked. A dubbed copy of “In This Life” would enter my tape deck shortly afterwards & I found it’s stronger focus on the funk elements that had been hinted at on the debut to give it a slight edge. The production job is pretty weak with the guitars sounding noticeably thin but there’s enough creativity on offer to allow me to look past that obvious flaw. You see, this record really does achieve what it says on the tin in that it’s the perfect amalgamation of funk & thrash metal. It kinda sounds like a combination of the funk metal of Faith No More & Infectious Grooves & the Bay Area thrash of Death Angel & particularly Testament which is a prospect that certainly sounds interesting on paper, even if I do tend to like my thrash a little more on the pure side. There's some great musicianship on show on "In This Life" too. Front man Scott Holderby has an unusual voice for a thrash metal artist but I'm not sure he always nails it. He certainly tries to be as versatile as possible though. 

The tracklisting is pretty consistent with only the flat funk metal excursion “Esse Quam Videri” not reaching an acceptable level of quality. There’s a really strong stretch during the middle of the record that includes a quality acoustic interlude (i.e. “A Beginning”) followed by the two album highlights (alternative US power metal number “Falling Away” & funk thrasher “Killing Time”) but there aren’t really any classics here & the production issues do kinda limit the potential for me to consider my higher ratings too. Still… Mordred are a bit of an enigma in the thrash scene & should be respected for their ambition & creativity in a thrash scene that’s dominated by copy-cats.

Two years after Kill Grid and Enforced lavished 2023 with another thirty three minutes of chopping and chugging thrash metal that picked up exactly where the aforementioned release left off.  The frenetic pacing and no nonsense approach to the delivery of the ten songs on show again take me on that nostalgic trip to a handful of classic thrashers as mentioned on my review of Kill Grid.  But there is a lot more to Enforced than just nostalgia.  Enforced are effortlessly keeping up with the cream of the modern thrash metal pack with each release they put out.  Standing shoulder to shoulder with the likes of High Command and Judiciary, the band churn out some of the finest punk-influenced crossover in the business.  Equally as energetic as early Slayer and Exodus I can see Gary Holt being at home in the ranks of Enforced should such a collaboration ever occur.

Their energy levels here match Drain on their opus from this year but there is a more down and dirty element to Enforced that carries the aura of an Iron Reagan or even a Cro-Mags.  Enforced are a fun band talking about serious topics.  Revelling in highlighting the hypocrisy inherant in politics, religion and war, they blaze a bruising and scarring commentary on War Remains.  It is a state of the world address without the bullshit, minus the glitter and with the turd firmly centre stage with all eyes forced toward it.  This disdain exudes forth from War Remains in every gruff chant, every scathing riff and every predatory drum strike.

Three albums in and Enforced can still do no qrong in my eyes and continue to improve on each outing without having to make any major changes or introduce any curved balls in terms of direction or influence.  No frills thrash metal with a powerful message behind it that should resonate with anyone with a shred of interest in world affairs and as we rollover into 2024 the thems in discussion on War Remains feel ever so relevant.  

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.

Our prayers for the masters of underground deathly thrash metal Sadus to return have been answered! Many fans of the band can deem their beginning trio of Illusions, Swallowed in Black, A Vision of Misery true classics. While they lost their earlier spark in Elements of Anger and Out for Blood, their music has never disappointed me.

After going on hiatus sometime in the 2010s, the band began recording their first album since 2006. However, their trio is down to two. Talented bassist Steve Di Giorgio left to focus on Testament. Vocalist/guitarist Darren Travis is still determined in keeping Sadus alive, taking over bass duties, while still having longtime drummer Jon Allen by his side. The duo continue ripping through their highly praised extreme sound in The Shadow Inside, bringing back their earlier fury while having some technicality.

The headbanging "First Blood" starts ominous in the ambient intro before the feral riffing and tight speedy drumming is unleashed in hellfire. Travis still has his skin-shredding shrieks staying as strong as he had 35 years ago with the band's first two albums. An extreme start for the band's comeback offering! Leveling up the fury is "Scorched and Burnt". That song and "It's the Sickness" greatly display the band's dark thrash riots. The latter is the album's first single and a true gem. This will certainly have the band competing with Kreator for some of the most vicious thrash possible. Insane dark riffing and percussion will get you hooked to the band's talented passion.

Attacking again is "Ride the Knife", another intense single that shall make an instant classic. "Anarchy" is a hellbent two and a half minute blaster with the closest they have here to the death metal of Vader. On the flipside of brutality, "The Devil in Me" explores mid-paced territory with a catchy chorus through Travis' tortured-ish screams.

Slowing down further is "Pain" which has more sinister atmosphere. "No Peace" brings back the speed and tempo changes that continue to show the genius minds of this duo. Travis' guitar lead melodies thunder through in harmonic rage. "New Beginnings" is a mysterious instrumental to set you up for the grand finale... The closing title track builds up in slow doom before letting out the last of their earlier velocity, melodic soloing, and vocal ferocity.

The older fans of Sadus who have heard of this band for over 30 years will have a delightful dose of nostalgia in The Shadow Inside. A new era has begun for the masters of deathly thrash. Maybe the thrash scene too if bands like Coroner, Dark Angel, Demolition Hammer, and Sabbat have their comeback albums ready. For the future of thrash!

Favorites: "First Blood", "It's the Sickness", "Ride the Knife", "No Peace", "The Shadow Inside"

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.

My relationship with Canadian thrash metal outfit Sacrifice began in very strong fashion when I discovered their 1987 "Forward to Termination" back in the late 80's/early 90's & I quickly headed back to their 1986 debut album "Torment in Fire" which I also loved. Both possessed an excitingly raw & energetic brand of thrash that offered significant appeal for me when I was still very much in the middle of my thrash metal heyday. 1990's "Soldiers of Misfortune" third album wasn't quite as successful in its quest to embed itself into regular rotation on my early 90's playlist though for one reason or another. It's certainly a professionally produced & executed thrash record but it sounds a little less exciting than its predecessors, perhaps losing some of its steam in the quest for a more mature & refined sound. I still love the snarly vocals of front man Rob Urbinati but there a quite a few chuggy riffs that I consider to be a little bit flat & indicating that there may not have been enough time put into quality control with "Soldiers of Misfortune". The best tracks are when the band simply go for it like they do on the classic album highlight "A Storm In The Silence" but those moments are simply too scarce with the bulk of the record feeling decent & acceptable more than it does invigorating. The lengthy progressive metal piece that closes out the album "Truth (After the Rain)" is a prime example as there are plenty of ideas there but it doesn't a result in a truly compelling experience in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I do quite like "Soldiers of Misfortune" with only the lacklustre heavy metal number "Existence Within Eternity" failing to hit a par score but I do find the album to be a little disappointing after receiving such joy from Sacrifice's first two efforts.

This is very impressive technical death/thrash metal that isn't ashamed to share a thoughtful melodic side. It reminds me compositionally of what you might expect out of a band like Allegaeon, but with the heavier technical elements that make it sound more sonically like Vektor or Revocation. The albums individual songs are relatively short for this type of metal, which is beneficial for its replayable factor. I will say that that the vocals are likely the least developed part of the record as they don't really reach the same potential. I'm not asking for Xoth to have clean singing in their music, but a little bit more variety in the delivery would have been nice, and no I don't mean the half spoken/half screamed vocals that sporadically appear because they don't fit the intensity at all; almost makes it feel closer to pretentious art rock, which I've been blissfully ignoring these last two years. If you can forgive the sonic discrepancies, then Exogalactic is a very interesting and close to great technical metal album whose greatest asset is the melodic songwriting. If technical metal sounded more like this, I would likely enjoy it more.

Best Songs: Manuscripts of Madness, The Parasitic Orchestra, Sporecraft Zero, Battlesphere 

My first experiences with Phoenix-based thrash metallers Sacred Reich came through late-night underground metal radio programs in the very late 1980's with both their 1987 debut album "Ignorance" & 1988 "Surf Nicaragua" E.P. offering me plenty of appeal & commanding further attention. The first Sacred Reich record I'd purchase though would be their 1990 sophomore album "The American Way". It'd come in the form of a cassette copy that Ben & I would give a good hard flogging over the next year or so. The highlight tracks had received plenty of radio play in the weeks leading up to the purchase so I was pretty pumped when we finally picked it up & in some ways this revisit has indicated that perhaps I let that excitement cloud my judgement a touch.

"The American Way" sees Sacred Reich slowing things down from the approach they took on their more frantic debut album, this time opting for more of a mid-paced, groove-oriented sound that still highlighted their politically & socially motivated themes very well. It's a heavily riff-based record that's built around a unified sound & tight performances. Listening back now, I'd have to suggest that the drum sound wasn't ideal but it's not a deal breaker by any means. Front man Phil Rind's vocals are strong & clear which helps him to get his powerful messages across very well & there are some absolutely belting riffs on offer here too.

The tracklisting kicks off with the true classic of the album in "Love... Hate" which was very much an anthem for my late teenage years. Every time Sacred Reich kick back into the main riff after the chorus is a masterstroke & sees me thrashing around like a madman. I have to admit that some of the other tracks that I loved so much as a kid have lost a bit of their gloss if I'm being honest though. "Crimes Against Humanity" & "State of Emergency" are certainly very strong inclusions but neither reached the classic status I thought they might whereas the title track now seems to fall well short of the pedestal I've always placed it on. The album fades significantly in the back end too with "Who's to Blame" being pretty flat & the pointless funk rock novelty track "31 Flavors" tainting what had the potential to be a really strong thrash record.

Look, there's still easily enough great material to warrant your attention here but I can't say that I consider "The American Way" to be essential thrash metal listening any longer. It's more the type of album where I'd pull out the best few tracks for a gym playlist as some of this stuff (like the chorus of "The Way It Is" for example) hasn't stood the test of time as well as I'd hoped, potentially due to the relative simplicity & reduction in aggression from previous efforts. Despite the obvious production issues Sacred Reich experienced with "Ignorance", I consider it to be a step up from this record. "Surf Nicaragua" too actually.

I first became aware of Teutonic thrash heavy-weights Sodom through their classic 1988 third full-length "Agent Orange" which I purchased on cassette in the very late 1980's or early 1990's & it impressed me enough to see me very rapidly purchasing the remainder of their back catalogue (also on cassette). I wouldn't say that I ever regarded them as a tier one thrash outfit but they certainly offered enough energy & menace to keep this ol' thrasher satisfied & sat comfortably at the top of my tier two bucket. The main issue for Sodom throughout the 1980's was always their ability to write freely flowing songs. They were masters of writing fantastic riffs but the song structures often sounded really jerky & pasted together to my ears which saw them lagging behind their superior local peers Kreator the majority of the time. 1990 would see Sodom releasing their fourth album & it'd be the first that I'd purchase on release (on cassette again -go figure). The better tracks had already been flogged on late-night underground metal radio programs so I was pretty pumped for what I hoped would be the record to see me finally elevate Sodom to the top tier where they belonged.

So, did they manage to do it? Well... not quite but they gave it a damn good crack. "Better Off Dead" is a beautifully conceived & composed thrash record that saw Sodom finally overcoming the song-writing challenges of the past to present some fully-developed & naturally flowing song structures. Of the twelve tracks, two are cover versions but they're both well executed & work as nice change-ups (particularly the Tank one which is really very good & suits their sound nicely). Stylistically, the majority of the record takes a familiar but highly professional German thrash direction but the band regularly change things up with not only a couple of those Motorhead-style speed metal numbers they're so good at but also a few genuine heavy metal tunes. They're damn entertaining too & easily trigger the ear worms to take control of your body for the remainder of the day to reflect on.

The highlight tracks on "Better Off Dead" are sublime. Elite thrash numbers like opener "An Eye For An Eye" & album highlight "Bloodtrails" are crushingly heavy & never fail to get my head banging but the surprise packet comes in the form of a stunningly ambitious track like "Resurrection" which is a much more controlled heavy metal number that utilizes some unique choir sections & features Motorhead's Lemmy on backing vocals. The consistency of the tracklisting is another major selling point as there's not a weak track included with only the Thin Lizzy cover of "Cold Sweat" sounding inessential. New guitarist Michael Hoffmann's bluesy Fast Eddie Clarke-inspired guitar solos fit Sodom's dirty sound like a glove too which isn't something I thought I'd be saying going in. I guess it goes without saying then that "Better Off Dead" is an essential Sodom album, isn't it? But I'll go one step further by claiming that I'm now comfortable to voice the internalized feelings I've always harbored that "Better Off Dead" was Sodom's best release to the time. Yep! I went there & I'm holding my ground too.

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.

I first got into Berkley thrash metallers Testament after blind-purchasing their 1989 third album "Practice What You Preach" shortly after release, having been driven by the comparisons with my beloved Metallica. I'd share my CD with Ben who was just coming to grips with thrash himself & together we'd investigate Testament's earlier albums with Ben perhaps becoming a little more enamored with the band than I was. This would result in Ben purchasing 1990's "Souls of Black" CD as soon as it was released & we'd once again give it a bit of a flogging together over the next month or so. Strangely, I haven't returned to "Souls of Black" as regularly as I have Testament's first three records over the years & I recently realised that I wasn't quite sure as to why so decided to give it a revisit.

"Souls of Black" shares some common traits with Exodus' "Impact Is Imminent" from the same year in that it's a very similar record to its predecessor which inevitably draws like-for-like comparisons, only neither come close to matching their elder siblings for overall quality. The production job is a clear obstacle with the rhythm guitar tone being noticeably thin & tinny, a failing that was always going to hurt a band like Testament which lives & dies by its classy guitar work. The tracklisting begins in muscular fashion with the impressive flamenco intro track "Beginning of the End" leading into my personal favourite "Face In The Sky" but the quality immediately takes a step down from there with only the more technical "Malpractice" seeing it rising to the same heights again. The album is completely devoid of classics & there are a few inclusions that I can only deem to be failures too (see "Absence of Light", "Love to Hate" & particularly the misguided attempt to emulate the ballad from Testament's previous album in "The Legacy"). Front man Chuck Billy does his best to work with the material he's got but the song-writing is simply a little light-weight & isn't helped by the production job. The saviour would be lead guitarist Alex Skolnick as usual & his contribution is once again the clear standout of the release.

Don't get me wrong. "Souls of Black" isn't a poor album as such but it's certainly not the record Testament were looking for at the time. I enjoy 70% of the material but I never really came close to awarding four stars as the production & the few filler tracks were always going to be an insurmountable obstacle. Drummer Louie Clemente is another as I've always said that he has no place in a thrash metal band with his simple, rocky style seemingly fighting to keep Testament from sounding too extreme. I've never felt that Testament were deserving of a tier one thrash metal status & "Souls of Black" does nothing to change that opinion even if it's definitely worth a few listens.

Exodus' fourth album is generally regarded as one of their weakest but I've never agreed with that position personally. I bought it on cassette upon release after having thoroughly flogged my "Bonded By Blood" CD & my dubbed copies of "Pleasures of the Flesh" & "Fabulous Disaster" in the previous year &, while I definitely see it as a step down from those records in terms of overall quality, I've never thought of "Impact is Imminent" as any sort of disappointment. The classic Exodus sound is there with that flesh-severing guitar tone, those thrashtastic riffs & Steve Souza's snarly vocals being things that have always appealed to me while the Holt/Hunolt dual guitar attack is as potent as ever with some seriously shredding solos.

Where the album falls down is in a few areas though. Firstly, it's such a similar album to "Fabulous Disaster" that it's difficult not to compare the two with the former easily coming out on top. A large part of that is due to the inclusion of a few genuine thrash classics on that album whereas "Impact Is Imminent" doesn't have anything that gets above a very solid level. The other thing that counts against Exodus' first 90's effort is the length of some of the tracks, particularly across the B side which is clearly not as strong as the A side with the tracklisting being noticeably top-heavy. Songs like "Heads They Win (Tails You Lose)" & the lacklustre "Changing Of The Guard" seem to have been intentionally extended for the post-"...And Justice For All" market but that was never going to work out positively for a band like Exodus who are all about urgency & violence. Nonetheless, there's only really the one track that I don't like in "Changing of the Guard" so it's still a pretty reasonable Bay Area thrash record for mine.

My first exposure to popular San Francisco Bay Area thrash metallers Death Angel came through the song “Mistress of Pain” from their highly regarded 1987 debut album “The Ultra-Violence” when I heard it played on a late-night underground metal radio program some time in 1989. That experience led me to investigate the band’s first two albums through the older skaters at my school which left me with mixed feelings to be honest. You see, while “The Ultra-Violence” is certainly a raw & super-thrashy effort that reeks of naïve enthusiasm, it’s also inherently unpolished & sounds like it needed a little more work to me. I get a fair bit of enjoyment out of it but have never found it to be essential with the pitchy vocals of front man Mark Osegueda being particularly questionable. It was definitely a step up from 1988’s “Frolic Through The Park” though which I found very little joy in & still regard as Death Angel’s only real failure to this day. Somehow though, I managed to see past that blip & would purchase 1990’s “Act III” third album on cassette shortly after it was released which would coincide with my brother Ben getting into thrash metal quite nicely because “Act III” contained the sort of crossover appeal that could draw new listeners into the fold. It’s hard to tell how much of my affection for “Act III” is drawn from nostalgia for a simpler time these days though because those were certainly exciting years for the two of us as we discovered an endless run of classic metal releases in such a short period & would share the experience between us a lot of the time which brought us closer together. Still... going into this latest revisit I was fully expecting to be dishing out a solid four-star rating based on my memories of a strong & creative offering. Let’s see how that assumption stacked up now, shall we?

Where “Frolic Through The Park” was very much a failed attempt to break away from your standard thrash metal model, “Act III” sees Death Angel returning with a better understanding of what they were trying to achieve, this time giving the same concept a much better crack. The production & musicianship are excellent & the song-writing is more fluent & fully developed. While “Act III” is still very much a thrash metal album, it often doesn’t “feel” like one as it sees the band branching out into several disparate subgenres to great effect with funk/alternative metal & acoustic rock being the most prominent new directions. The vast majority of the tracks include riffs that clearly utilize the thrash template though which never lets you forget who you’re listening to. It’s a very consistent record with no weak tracks to speak of & Oseguado seems to have finally found his niche from a vocal perspective as I find him much more easily swallowed on this occasion. The lead guitar work is excellent too which is always a good thing for someone like me.

Opener “Seemingly Endless Time” is the fan favourite & with good reason as it’s a wonderfully catchy thrasher that kicks things off well. Interestingly though, it’s the funky alternative metal tracks “Discontinued” & album highlight “Stagnant” that I find to be the other standouts with Death Angel proving themselves to possess an uncanny knack for stretching their creative boundaries & writing catchy vocal hooks, often supported by well-placed gang vocals. Even the two ballads "Veil of Deception" & "A Room With a View" are pretty decent inclusions that I never feel like skipping. That being said though, I consistently found myself reaching out for that four-star rating I assumed I’d ultimately achieve this week but I never quite managed to grab onto it. At the end of the day, I just couldn’t find enough timeless metal classics to get it over the line, instead being left feeling generally positive without being overly enthused. This left me wondering if I’d simply overrated “Act III” back in the day due to the fact that I found it to be their most appealing album to the time & really wanted to love Death Angel like most thrashers.

I’m not sure about that but what I am sure about is that “Act III” is still Death Angel’s most complete record, even if I can see why some of your more hardened thrash fans might struggle with it a bit. I guess it’s saying something about my limited passion for the band that I can’t get my favourite Death Angel album up to a four-star rating but I think that’s an accurate reflection of where I sit with them actually. The Bay Area bands seemed to inevitably garner big props from the global scene but I’m not sure it was always based on merit with some of those artists not being any better than many others from around the globe. For those with a taste for a slightly different take of the Bay Area model though, I'd recommend having a bit of patience with "Act III" as there's some gold to be found if you can accept its conscious diversity.