Slayer - Repentless

Slayer’s music has been highly criticized among both hardcore fans and casual listeners since around the turn of the century. Some say it started with Diabolus in Musica and others say it started with Undisputed Attitude. Personally, I don’t really count the latter simply because it’s a cover album and not a full album of original material. Of course one of the obvious reasons that the past 3 Slayer releases (not including this one) have been shrugged off by so many people is the simple fact that Slayer’s sound has remained very consistent (some might use the word stagnant) over the course of their career, but even more so with recent material. While you had them doing some experimenting with different styles, speeds, and structures in albums like South of Heaven and Divine Intervention, their more recent albums have all stuck to the same formula, boring a LOT of people.

Personally, I am a huge fan of God Hates us All and World Painted Blood, but despite that, I do agree that their material is much more stripped-down and straightforward, more so in Christ Illusion than anything else. But the reason why I am writing a review on Repentless and not any of their other new albums should be obvious to anyone that knows about what the band has gone through over the past what seems like 5 years now. Yes, the death of founding member, lead guitarist, and key songwriter, Jeff Hanneman, led many people (myself included) to basically say “well they put out a good amount of classics, they did good, I guess this is it for Slayer”. But of course with the amount of money the band makes and egomaniac (I’ll try to make this the only time I drop that accurate label on him) Kerry King finally being in the lead guitar and songwriting position, why would they stop?? When they announced that they would move forward with King on lead guitar and that Exodus guitarist Gary Holt would become the new official rhythm guitarist, most of the reactions I saw were somewhere along the lines of “not excited, but okay sure why not”.

One last note before I move on to talking about the album (sorry for my wordiness, it’s been months since I’ve written anything) is that Dave Lombardo is no longer in the band (again). Being a HUGE Lombardo fan, this upset me. But in an attempt to stay optimistic, the guy that they chose to replace him is the most appropriate (and only) drummer to do the job, and that’s Paul Bostaph, the guy that replaced Lombardo the FIRST time he parted with Slayer (1992-2001). So okay, new lineup for this album consists of Tom Araya, Kerry King, Paul Bostaph, and Gary Holt.

Slayer is a pretty predictable band, and that has worked in their favor for the most part in the long-term. What I mentioned before about them basically recycling their sound being unpopular among most people may be SOMEWHAT true, I feel that Jeff Hanneman was the main factor that kept things from going totally 100% stale. That’s what I feel kept Slayer on top; Jeff was a master at creating simple, recognizable, easy-to-digest riffs and songs that would get stuck in your head. Yes, diversity did end up becoming an issue as time went on, but still, even after the quality of their music dwindled, there were still amazing things coming out of Jeff’s head. It’s very easy to write a Slayer-inspired thrash metal riff…why the hell do you think there are more underground Slayer copycats than the world will ever know about? Why do you think that most of the underground thrash bands you here are regarded as “sounds like a boring version of Slayer”? The general public was pretty good at predicting that King would only be able to emulate Jeff’s style and sound and would never be able to continue it.

Moving on to the first three songs (not counting the intro track): Repentless, Take Control, and Vices. What the hell does the opening riff to Repentless sound like? IT SOUNDS LIKE FUCKING HANNEMAN. Who wrote it? Kerry King. This whole song is actually surprisingly good! It has energy, groove, it sounds like Slayer, and I am motivated to replay it almost every time I’ve listened to it! Yes, the structure of the intro for the track is WAY overused and is a common tactic used by Slayer dating back to their first album, but admit it, 90% of the time, no one does it as well as Slayer (Havok and Kreator are the only exceptions in a few cases). And this song is one of the best examples of that. After hearing this song, a good amount of faith and excitement in me was restored and I was ready to hear the rest of the album. Maybe King isn’t so bad after all. Maybe after playing with Hanneman for over 30 years, he’s become so accustomed to his style and writing process that he actually has the ability to write riffs just as good.

Take Control is a bit of a step down, but still very promising and keeps the excitement and energy flowing. Classic Slayer sound, but not really anything too memorable, making it easily forgettable. Vices is probably one of the most unique songs off the album due to its lack in speed but huge increase in groove (mainly in the drums). Great headbanging song, if you loved songs like Exile, Skeletons of Society, and Live Undead, you’ll love Vices just as much. This song is also where I started noticing something a bit off. Although I loved the fuck out of this track, the speed and style changes within the song felt much less dramatic than ever before.

When I noticed this, I went back to the other two tracks and noticed that the changes that took place in the song were either minimal or nonexistent. In previous albums, even though each song had the same sound or mood, there were dramatic changes within most of the songs to keep things interesting. Sometimes it was a breakdown, other times it was a slow song that would suddenly break out into full speed with a guitar solo, or just a new riff and speed altogether taking place halfway through the song, etc. There was always SOMETHING thrown in each song that made it special or interesting. And that key feature is one of the main reason that this album gives me the feeling that something’s missing (I just couldn’t put my finger on it at first).

Is this what always set Slayer apart from the hundreds of mediocre bands that tried to emulate their sound? The song structure? After going through some of the underground bands that just sound like a bunch of Slayer covers (some of them are actually really good) like Invasion, Battery, Thraw, Amok, and Hatchet, and Beast, I can now see much clearer why most of these bands seem so boring and..well…mediocre to me. And the second part of this is going back to all the older Slayer songs that were written by Kerry King himself, and I am hearing the exact same thing that I am hearing on both this album and from all those other bands; monotony.

Kerry King is great at writing riffs and songs that are easily recognizable as Slayer songs, but unfortunately, it’s not enough. Some might say it’s because he half-asses it and doesn’t care, I personally think that he is doing his best, but that his best will never be good enough. What’s another way that you can tell? Listen to Piano Wire and notice how much it DOES change in several parts…guess who wrote that…HANNEMAN. This is the one song that he wrote that they decided to throw in, obviously out of respect and in his memory.

As the album goes on, it starts to drone on. I feel like I’m listening to one of the countless mediocre Slayer imitators when I listen to this album. It’s not a BAD album and should definitely be listened to once by anyone curious, but this is about as average as thrash metal can get; it’s boring. Yes, the musicianship is outstanding…Bostaph is an amazing drummer, Holt does a great job and fits in so well that you don’t even notice that he’s there, Araya’s bass playing is great as always and so are his vocals, and King does a fantastic job at shitting out some fun solos and is never sloppy as far as speed and technique goes. Repentless is a song that, although remains the same throughout, is very fun to listen to and has endless amounts of energy. But this sounds old, tired, and dry. I honestly never thought that Slayer would go from being the band that everybody tries to copy to sounding like all the bands that are trying to copy them. This gets an 8/20 from me. 

RIP Oderus Urungus

Everyone has those random sleepless nights; you're just not tired for some reason. Last night was one of those nights for me. Despite being in my warm, cozy bed, I wasn't tired at all. So while rotating between reddit, twitter, and my rss feed with Marduk playing in the background, one of my fellow twitter buddies retweeted that dreaded blabbermouth post that you may have seen. This was about 11pm PST or something like that, it was around midnight at least. Blabbermouth did an excellent job of not jumping to any conclusions by carefully wording their article using terms such as "sources claim" and "reportedly" and other indefinite words, obviously in hopes that this was all just some sort of sick hoax or stupid rumor. I was part of the crowd that wanted to hear/see more evidence before having a meltdown. 

Then I started to notice high-profile people tweeting "RIP" related stuff. Earache Records, Relapse, Dez Fafara, Broken Hope, and a few other twitter accounts belonging to musicians/labels/etc. were all saying "RIP Dave". Well shit, if this was all a hoax, why would so many people be setting themselves up for embarrassment by falling for a stupid rumor? Dez said one of the members called him and told him...okay....then I went to Instagram and, not even 3 minutes before that, Randy Blythe made the post you've probably all seen by now. 1. I know he is personal friends with the entire band. 2. He would NOT take the time to write such a deep and touching post about this if it wasn't a hoax. I heard on facebook people such as his family and girlfriend were confirming it. There was just too much evidence supporting the reality of this and next to no evidence that it was a rumor. Dave was active on twitter, but all day yesterday, his account was pretty silent, which was all the more I needed to believe it without an official statement from the band (in this case, it was their manager). 

GWAR in general is one of the most notable and best bands to exist. And anyone that has seen them live can agree that there is not a SINGLE show on this Earth that can ever come close to a GWAR show. It's a one-of-a-kind, once in a lifetime experience that is truly unforgettable. I saw GWAR once, it was in 2011 with Every Time I Die and Warbeast. I'm not a fan of Every Time I Die at all, and Warbeast is alright, but GWAR put on one of the SINGLE best live shows I have EVER experienced in my life. Everything from the theatrics to the Dillinger Escape Plan-worthy craziness of the crowd, it was one of the best nights of my life. Because it was at the Showbox SoDo, there was a barricade in front of the stage, so one of the two times I crowdsurfed to the front, once I was on my feet on the other side of the barricade, just as I was about to run off to the side, Oderus and I made eye contact for a split second. This followed with him spraying my face with...whatever the hell it was (I'm pretty sure it's not fake blood, it tasted weird though) until my hair and face were soaked. I almost puked due to it being at the same time as I was trying to catch my breath. 

Man, that was fun! I'm glad he was around! He did a lot of crazy shit and was one of the single best, most creative, and most humble musicians ever. Not to mention his songwriting. Unpopular opinion: GWAR's most recent album is my favorite, one of the best of 2013. Really wish I could have seen them again, but that one show is enough for me to never forget. Rest in Peace Dave. 

Death Angel - The Dream Calls for Blood

Death Angel is an interesting band. When I first started listening to them, everyone in the band except for the vocalist was related. Not even months after I discovered them (I didn’t find out about this until years later), two of these members dropped out for reasons I honestly couldn’t give less of a fuck about. If you know the predictability of the thrash metal community, you can already correctly guess that this was a big blow to Death Angel’s reputation and caused a lot of thrashers to basically slide the band into the “no longer relevant” category. But for me, because my first time seeing these guys live was after this had already happened (plus the fact that I didn’t know it had happened at all), I was blown away by the performance of all of the members; so I don’t have any negative thoughts toward the band at all regarding that infamous lineup change. The reason why this is so relevant right now is because their 2010 album, Relentless Retribution, was really a major hate-target for the old school thrash metal bigots because it wasn’t the same Death Angel they had been listening to since the early 1980s. If there’s anything more important than the first effort, it’s the follow-up to show that they can still hold together. But in all honesty, I couldn’t care any fucking less about the lineup as long as their lead guitarist and vocalist stay in the act.

People that have listened to Death Angel more than once already know that innovation and progression is not something that should be expected from these guys. If you’re looking for the progressive thrash bands, you’re barking up the wrong tree. These guys deep it raw and traditional, but in no way are they a band that resorts to the bare minimum. Death Angel know the thrash metal style well enough to be able to be unique, new, and interesting without stepping too far out of the boundaries. This is probably because they don’t see any boundaries and that they know that pure thrash metal is what they do best. And to be honest, I’m glad that they’re sticking to that plan because they’re standing as one of the top dogs and examples to look up to. They’ve been around long enough, they haven’t grown progressive, they don’t have their heads stuck back in the 80s; they have evolved with the genre while at the same time still having the Death Angel sound, and they haven’t gone down the borefest of tremolo picking, ridiculous shredding solos, and blast beats that many have gone down.

Relentless Retribution was a perfect example of that, and really showed a lot of experimentation with slower, less “thrashy” speeds. This new record is obviously making up for the speed and brutality that its predecessor lacked. How soon is this apparent? 25 seconds into the first track, it’s instantly brought to your attention that The Dream Calls for Blood is NOT a record that will leave you fully intact afterwards.

The main highlight that I would like to bring up first is the number of guitar solos. Compared to most of their discography, The Dream Calls for Blood has A LOT of guitar solos, and they aren’t the typical randomized over-the-top shredding solos you may be used to hearing. The way in which the solos are presented is very traditional; the whole entire band suddenly shifting into overdrive in order to intensify the first squealing notes of the solo. But these are the big solos, the memorable ones. There are A LOT of shortish solos at act more as filler during major transitions within a song. The reason why i say “shortish” is because although it’s obviously being used as a filler, it’s a lot longer than usual; it’s not just a simple blasting 3-second riff, but at the same time isn’t long enough for me to consider it a full-blown guitar solo.

It’s easy to cover up not being tight with speed. If you have the guitar distortion sounding just right and the cymbals are louder than anything else, it just sounds like grinding speed and...well...who doesn’t love grinding speed in their thrash metal? Death Angel never does this. They have their guitars sounding very pure in the sense that you can hear precisely what they’re doing and they can palm-mute easier. You can hear the exact speed they’re tremolo picking (the title track is a perfect example of this). It’s the same deal with the drums, you can hear everything, and if you have a good set of subwoofers, you will be very glad with how the drums and bass guitar are mixed. And you can probably assume from what I said earlier about Death Angel being tight that the drummer is top-notch in terms of both technicality and never falling even a LITTLE bit out of time.

The other thing that Death Angel has always been very good at is avoiding monotony. They always have a good mix of different-sounding songs on every album. This is where I think they’ve fallen a bit short this time around. Although every track is immensely brutal and always filled with the best headbang-worthy breakdowns and catchiest solos, the song’s don’t differ from each other nearly as much as they have in previous efforts. So by the time the 8th track comes on, the euphoric feeling feeling the first few tracks gave me is still there, but isn’t nearly as intense. The only major turning points being a short interlude acting as the first part of Don’t Save Me. But although the monotony this album has is noticeable by most, it’s minimal and most likely won’t be an issue for you due to the things this album DOES have to make up for it. For me, it’s not so much that I get irritated DURING the record after a while, but the lack in variety doesn’t make my hand move towards the replay button. It leaves me feeling less satisfied than I would want to feel after listening to Death Angel.

So if thrash is your thing, I would HIGHLY recommend you pick this up. If you’re into thrash but really hate the new wave of boring bands that have risen out of the USA recently, chances are you’ve either already heard this album or at least Death Angel. If you haven’t, you’re missing out on one hell of a fucking band. This album has offered up some of the best guitar solos I’ve heard in years, and that’s saying a lot because I haven’t even been listening to extreme metal for 10 years yet, most of the bands I know are ones I’ve discovered sometime within the past 3-5 years or so. Despite a lack in creativity and variety, The Dream Calls for Blood is enough to prove that the Oakland thrashers are FAR from going downhill. Death Angel has still got it and gets a 16/20.

Evile - Skull

2013 has been a pretty big year for thrash metal. A lot of albums are being released and a lot of new bands are popping up. Bands like Mental Devastation, Lost Society, Annihilator, Sodom, Blood Tsunami, Farscape, Diamond Plate, Atomic Head, Lord Dying, Invasion, Rotten State, Megadeth, Havok, Warbeast, Gama Bomb, and countless other thrash metal bands have released albums this year. Some of them, unfortunately, have been terrible. Most of them have been in the mediocre area. But a few (only a few), such as Havok and Blood Tsunami, have been fucking fantastic. Well, someone on Twitter recommended that I check out Evile, a new-ish thrash metal band. I’ve been hearing about these guys quite a bit around the net and at concerts, but I haven’t bothered giving them a listen until that someone gave me a link to their new album. Well, it’s time to add Evile to that “fucking fantastic” thrash bands of 2013 because their newest album, Skull, is definitely taking the cake to be the thrash album of the year.

But honestly, what makes this new Evile album any different from all the other underground thrash records being released right now? Isn’t it just going to be another record with tremolo picking, fast guitars, blast beats, fast punk-style drum patterns, and epic shredding solos? The answer to that question would be yes, but there is a hell of a fucking lot more to it than just that. There are a few qualities about these guys that make them sound a thousand times better. Not just because they’re unique qualities, but because they’re done RIGHT. The first thing that these guys have that every good thrash band needs is energy.

Energy is more important than anything in this style of music. In order to create the most energy possible, there are several things that need to be done. The biggest thing that will kill the energy in any thrash album for me is when it’s all one speed or style. If it’s all blast beats and tremolo picking with little to no breakdowns or tempo changes, it’s boring. If it’s only hardcore punk-style drumming and chugging riffs, it gets old very fast. Evile implements EVERYTHING into their music. Everything from blasting speed to crunchy breakdowns to melodic parts with singing can be heard on this very record. But it’s not just that, they also know how to perfectly time everything. They never drag anything out; Evile changes tempo at the perfect times and in the perfect ways. Evile prove that they have mastered the art of keeping the music interesting and engaging by frequently changing the mood and speed of the song. And in the process, this has made every single track memorable and unique.

While we’re still on the topic of frequent stylistic and tempo changes, the drummer is the member we should be paying attention to. The second biggest issue that I have with a lot of thrash metal is that the drummers tend to pick one or two patterns and just stick to that. They don’t ever feel the need to try something different or new, they just stick to those few drum patterns and it gets very irritating and boring. Along with exceptional instrumental skill, the drummer that you hear on Skull is one that needs to be appreciated because THIS, THIS RIGHT HERE IS EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED. This guy does EVERYTHING right! I’m not even going to get into how he never screws up or anything because although that’s important, he has everything that even the better than average thrash drummers don’t have. His tightness is tungsten-solid, his creativity is amazing, and he keeps the music interesting.

The guitarists do a great job of following the drums, but not too closely. Their riffs weave around whatever the drummer is doing greatly. I wouldn’t say perfectly, because some of what they do is a little too predictable and can be a little bit goofy. But seriously, they don’t overdo anything. There isn’t too much tremolo picking, there’s just the perfect amount of solos, and along with the drums, they change styles and melodies dramatically. The solos tend to differentiate from each other, which might be because the guitarists are taking turns (I can’t know for sure unless I go into deep research about the specifics of the album). Some of them are crazy Slayer-style shredding while some of them are tamer and have a lot more melody and color.

There is one issue I’m having with this album. If I could have just a little more bass, we would be set to go. And although this is adding up to be the best thrash album of the year (so far), this is one little issue that I can’t leave unmentioned because those random bass fills are very important in keeping the groove going (i.e. Overkill, Exodus, Venom, etc.). The vocals are also one of the much more unique traits of this band.

Their vocalist has a deep voice; which if you haven’t already realized, is NOT common in thrash metal. The number of thrash vocalists with unusually high-pitched vocals is a bit staggering. I don’t know if it’s something that’s done on purpose, but there needs to be more variety. Well, one of the guitarists does the vocals on this new Evile album, and it’s very refreshing to hear a deeper voice. The tone of his yells is strong and full of energy. His possibly Metallica-influenced singing is always on key and the harmonizing sounds awesome. So the uniqueness of the vocals really adds a lot to the uniqueness of this record.

Skull is a fantastic album. At this moment, I haven’t really heard anything else by these idiots, but this is certainly one hell of a first impression and I’m glad that I decided to look this up. If you’re a fan of thrash metal, you NEED to look this up because this is an album crafted to impress even the strictest of elitists. Although there are some things I would change about Skull and that some of the amazing things aren’t absolutely mind-blowing, I would give this a near-perfect score of 18/20. Mainly because although this is a fantastic record, I haven’t found myself going back to it again and again, so there really isn’t much about it that I would call “memorable”. But regardless, this needs to be fucking heard!

Invasion - ...And So It Begins

Looks like we have a new thrash metal debut on our hands. This time, it’s from the Swedish trio called Invasion. The actual band has been around for almost seven years, but due to other musical groups among the members, Invasion only released two demos and weren’t able to put together and release a full-length until now. Judging from the promo photos of the band and the artwork, these guys appear to be a band that’s true to the genre in its most basic form. The logo looks cool, the artwork is that of a city in apocalyptic ruins (the most common album cover in thrash metal), and the song titles represent the typical themes about war, destruction, and politics that pretty much every other thrash metal band writes about. But since I don’t let any of that shit distort the quality of the actual music, let’s jump right into …And So It Begins.

The guitars have a very broad, metallic sound that’s similar to the guitars on Overkill’s Ironbound record. The guitarist’s playing style is minimalistic, but not in a thrash metal sense. There isn’t very much really fast tremolo picking at all. If there is any really fast guitar playing, it’s a little short bit or a small section like in 50 Megatons Later, Incoming, and Dystopia Arise. This major of absence of fast guitar playing helps us appreciate the lesser-thought-about slower and choppier style of thrash metal guitar playing. But after you get about ¾ of the way through this Invasion record, you really start to notice and feel the absence of the faster guitar playing. But for some people, this style of guitar playing is just what they’re looking for, so if that’s you, this is something you should check out. Why do the guitars seem so simple and slow? Well, part of it is the drums.

I’m not quite sure how this is, but their drummer’s stage name is “Metal”. Not that stage names really mean anything, but that’s like having a musician with a stage name like “Munky”, “Dead”, “Bug”, “Clown”, or “Head”. But before I go off on a ramble about nu metal and all of the silly stage names that went along with it, let’s talk about this drummer guy, because he’s the issue I’m having. I know that he isn’t doing this on purpose, but I hear fatigue in his drumming. He’s a very chaotic drummer. If you were wondering where all the speed and chaos from the guitars disappeared to, the answer is the drummer. This guy is constantly blasting out ridiculous fills, solos, blast beats, constant double-kicking, and some of the most over-the-top thrash metal drumming you’ll ever hear. But he isn’t a good drummer. Why? Because he can’t keep time. He’s overworking himself to where I can hear him slowing down and falling out of time. And not only is it obvious and very noticeable, it’s way too frequent. Once or twice is fine, but if you’re constantly fucking up like that, you either need to re-record all of the drumming or find a record label that won’t rush you as much, because this is disappointing.

Drumming is the #1 most known trait of thrash metal. Some of the most legendary metal drummers are/were thrash drummers. Some of the most recognizable names, Lars Ulrich, Dave Lombardo, Andy Galeon, Paul Bostaph, etc. are some of the biggest drummers in the metal and rock world because of the thrash metal shit that they did. The Invasion drummer NEEDS to improve and make a more solid recording for the next album. I’m letting this one partially slide because this is Invasion’s first album and this guy shows immense skill and creativity. All he needs to do is lift some weights and work on keeping time and keeping up with what he’s trying to play.

Invasion’s only unique trait is the vocalist. His vocals are VERY rough and are borderline mid-ranged screaming. Think of a low-pitched Rob Dukes, and you’ll have a good idea of what he sounds like. Or an even better example would be the vocals on the first few Sodom albums. The grittiness of the vocals does an excellent job of bringing up the brutality of the rest of the music and giving Invasion a much edgier sound.

Other than the vocals, there isn’t really very much left to say about Invasion; everything is just as you would expect from a 21^st century thrash metal band. All of the songs sound pretty much the same, but In the Trace of the Warhead, Dystopia Arise, and 50 Megatons Later each have their own catchy riffs that make them stand out a little bit from the others. If you’re a thrash metal fan, I would highly recommend this to you because there’s definitely a possibility that you could get quite a bit of enjoyment out of this brutal thrash metal record. Otherwise, I wouldn’t recommend it, but it’s surely nowhere near being bad enough for me to hope that none of you hear it. I would give this 11/20 (the extra point being added for the unique vocals and brutality). Invasion are just another thrash metal band to me. But in this album, although they’re not headed in the right direction, they sure as hell are facing in the right direction. So if they fix the drums and improve themselves, I’ll look forward to hear what they bring next. 

Destruction - Spiritual Genocide

It’s surprising how much Destruction has gone under the radar lately. Ever since the release of Inventor of Evil in 2005, you don’t really hear a whole lot about them in the media or anything, which is unfortunate because they’re one of the few old school legendary thrash metal bands that are still great. Well, Nuclear Blast Records made sure to do A LOT of promotion for Day of Reckoning before its release in 2011, so that was something that a lot of people heard about. But the majority of the people that I’ve talked to had no idea that since Inventor of Evil, the German thrash masters have released four albums, including their new one, Spiritual Genocide. Not even an entire year after the release of Day of Reckoning, Destruction is back with another full-length that I wasn’t even aware of until three months after it was released. But nevertheless, here it is, Spiritual Genocide.

The thing that lots of thrash metal bands have done is lost energy. And it’s not just that they’re not as heavy as they were back in the 80s and 90s, you can literally feel an exhausted, worn-out vibe in some of these band’s recent albums (i.e. Anthrax, Tankard, Venom, Megadeth, etc.). And it’s sometimes really difficult to listen to these types of albums coming from the bands that released Rust in Peace, The Morning After, and other timeless classics. But Spiritual Genocide is proof that Destruction is far from losing any amount of energy. I personally thought that the brutality and energy that Day of Reckoning brought was ridiculous for a band as old as Destruction, but here they are, less than a year later, with another record just as creative and heavy.

Destruction doesn’t spend very much time fucking around with different styles and other shit like Overkill and Exodus have been doing. Destruction has kept their music raw, pure, and heavy as fucking hell in the same way that Slayer has done. So what you should be expecting is a lot of speed, a lot of really fast double-kicking, and a lot of simple guitar riffs. But the guitar work on Spiritual Genocide is much more interesting than other similar records you might hear. The guitar solos are very colorful and are each strikingly unique. Even the simple guitar riffs are consistently keeping you engaged because the riffs almost always end up not being what you expected. It seems that age has induced wisdom in this band because everything about the guitars that I have a problem with when it comes to new thrash metal bands is solved on this album. In order to keep guitar riffs from growing repetitive, the guitarist either starts playing the same riff in a different key (something I would like to hear more often in this genre because it really intensifies the music) or just completely changes everything altogether.

The vocals can get a tad bit irritating after a while, but that’s only if you’re not a huge fan of the really high-pitched yells (I’m not too keen on them). Even though that may be true, the vocalist does a PERFECT job of matching the intensity of his vocals with the intensity of the music. Also, something that I know the vocalist has experimented with in the past is being used in every song on this album. The vocalist takes his signature yells and overlays it on deep growls. And to be honest, it sounds really cool; because other bands that have done this absolutely butcher it due to not having the right-sounding voice (not exactly their fault). In songs like City of Doom, To Dust you will Decay, Carnivore, and Under the Violent Sledge, the addition of the growls act as the perfect element to lower the intensity and increase the brutality of the music. So this is definitely something that we will be hearing from these guys in the future.

It’s important to have one or two breaks from all the intensity on a thrash metal album, even if it’s not a complete break and not that long. That’s the one thing that this album is missing, because after I’m finished listening to it, I’m mentally drained from the constant bombardment and speed. But from another perspective, is that really a bad thing? But if they threw in a song or even a section of some more melodic stuff; that would make Spiritual Genocide a complete thrash metal record. But regardless, this is proof that Destruction are still going at full force and are still at the top of their game. If you’re not aware of this album, listen to it; it’s an album that NEEDS to be heard. I’m going to give Spiritual Genocide a high score of 17/20. 

Havok - Unnatural Selection

Havok is my favorite thrash metal band, so it’s more than obvious why I was so excited for this album’s release. Unlike most other thrash metal bands that I would make a big deal out of (Slayer, Testament, Kreator, Destruction, Overkill, Exodus, GWAR, Metallica, etc.), this is only Havok’s third album. And they have quite a bit to compete with this time around considering that last year, Kreator released a monster of an album and Overkill released an album that landed on the #2 spot on my “Best albums of 2012” list. But to most other people, Havok is just another better-than-average thrash band. But nearly constant touring over the past two or so years has really paid off; causing Havok to be among the biggest 21st century thrash metal groups with Warbringer, Bonded by Blood, Municipal Waste, Black Breath, and a few others. So here we are, the third full-length from the mighty Havok, the magical third that, if good, will both solidify their reputation and their sound.

If you’re already a fan of these guys, don’t expect anything you haven’t heard before; these guys are a fairly generic thrash metal band. The thing that’s special about Havok is how much fucking energy and variety they put into their music. It’s not only the same old tremolo picking, those intros that start off with one guitar playing one power chord really fast, really fast punk-influenced drum patterns, etc. They have more than just that (I’m not saying they don’t do all of that generic stuff). Havok is known to take those generic traits and simply pound them into different shapes; sort of like what Kreator, Warbringer, Destruction, and other thrash bands have been doing recently. Nothing new, just the same thing presented in a new way.

The artwork on Unnatural Selection is strikingly similar to the Time is Up album cover, some weird-looking fellow sitting at a desk. But although political themes have always been present in Havok’s music, they seem to be the main topic on Unnatural Selection. With quotes such as “When the people fear the government, there is tyranny, when the government fears the people, there is liberty” and politically biased song-titles, it’s obvious that this is the primary theme of the album.

When compared to the majority of thrash metal, Unnatural Selection stands as one of the stronger records of the past year or two. But when compared to the two previous Havok records, Unnatural Selection doesn’t quite live up to expectations. As far as creativity and catchiness goes, everything’s fine; there’s nothing wrong there. It’s the energy where I’m having issues. This collection of songs just isn’t getting me as hyped up as Burn and Time is Up do. But that’s in the overall music. The vocals have increased with intensity; often times to the point of screaming instead of yelling. But if we took those vocals and applied them to thrash metal with the same energy that songs like The Root of Evil and Scabs of Trust, then we would have one hell of a fucking thrash record. So I’m enjoying the direction that the vocals have taken, but the overall energy and the apparent lack in variety really brings all of that down.

So in other words, Unnatural Selection acts as a disappointment when compared to other Havok material. But really, in general, this is nowhere near a bad thrash metal album; Havok still know how to bust out some fucking heavy music. So I would recommend this to thrash metal fans only that have already heard Havok’s other stuff, because this isn’t their best work. But trust me, if you’re a thrash fan that doesn’t have ridiculously high standards, this is something that you should give a listen. Unnatural Selection gets my score of 16/20.

Hatchet - Dawn of the End

It’s not too often where you get introduced to a band during a live show that’s THIS good. When I saw Soilwork just last month with Jeff Loomis, Blackguard, and Bonded by Blood, there was one opening act that I had never heard of before that took me by surprise; a band by the name of Hatchet. Their musical style was obvious the instant the band walked on the stage. All of the members being skinny, having long hair, one with a Kreator shirt, one with a Megadeth shirt, one with an Edguy shirt, and their drummer simply wearing a black shirt with the sleeves torn off. Yes people, it appears that we have a thrash metal group on our hands. While they were tuning up and doing soundcheck, I went up to one of the biggest thrash metal fans of the greater Seattle area. He knows more about thrash (both old and new) than anyone I’ve ever met, and whenever theres a show with even ONE thrash metal band, there’s a 97% chance he will be there. So basically Hatchet is more or less your typical California thrash metal band. They’ve put out two albums (so they’re not too new), and they apparently have a hell of a bassist.

And to be honest, that almost sums up Hatchet. But remember, playing a genre in its pure and generic form isn’t always bad. In fact, thrash metal seems to be one of the genres with the largest number of generic bands that are still really fucking good! Even if a band is generic, they still have to have SOME unique qualities to set them apart from other bands. Hatchet’s most unique quality is the vocal style. The vocals seem to have two sides, the first side being a mid-ranged “yell” that isn’t completely belted out like Slayer or something like that. The other side is that the highs aren’t clean yells, they’re basically just really nasty screams, being very similar to the Exodus vocalist Rob Dukes. Except the difference between this guy and Rob is that Rob’s screams sound much more developed and mature. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing because Hatchet has only been around for about seven years, so obviously, the vocals are going to be a bit underdeveloped. Other than that, the vocals really add a unique twist to their sound, especially during their live performances.

Their song intros are really cool. On more than half of the tracks off the album, instead of going Slayer-style and just jumping right into the speed and brutality, Hatchet starts off with a slow, and often times melodic intro before going into the traditional thrash metal intro with one guitar playing and the rest of the band playing short blasts before everything goes in at full speed. The third track off the album is what exposes how amazing their bassist is. Behind the intro to Screams of the Night, you can hear the bassist playing one of the single best bass lines in thrash metal.

This is an issue that I have with thrash metal. Although I know that complex bass lines aren’t typically part of the thrash metal blueprint, when they ARE there, it makes the interest-factor skyrocket, especially when the bass riffs are creative and sound good. The bassist for Hatchet is almost always playing something different for the duration of the album, which is part of what made me fall for this album. It’s fucking fantastic! Everything that he plays not only fits the music, it also creates the right amount of contrast in all the right moments. The guitarists don’t really do anything that interesting, but when one of them breaks out into a solo, holy shit does the energy explode. Solos can always be good, but there’s just something about some guitar solos out there that causes all hell to break loose (huge circle pit anyone?).

The drummer is PERFECT for the style of music, but I’m not sure about him being over-the-top good. That’s another thing that I have trouble with in thrash metal, there aren’t enough drummers that are over-the-top great. But then again, it’s the generic and basic thrash drummers that make those fantastic drummers look even better. But overall, this is one of the best thrash metal albums that ISN’T by a legendary band that I’ve heard since 2009 when Havok released their debut, Burn. The quality is great, the band is extremely tight, the bassist is amazing, the guitar solos are exhilarating, and the vocals are unique. This is an album that I would recommend to any and all thrash metal fans. Dawn of the End gets a score of 17/20.

Jeff Hanneman RIP

Dead at age 49, one of the greatest guitar players of all-time. I don't even know how to react to this shit. Damn.....half of the online metal webzines have had their servers overloaded by all the traffic. One of the only ones left seems to be the one I write for, www.louderthanhell.net but I might be speaking too soon.

Revocation - Chaos of Forms

Combining the likes of thrash metal and technical death, Revocation come back with Chaos of Forms in 2011 with all of the force they’re capable of bringing to their audiences. I’ve seen Revocation live several times since they released Empire of the Obscene and have watched them mature and attract more attention with each release. After they got the attention of the masses in the extreme metal world when they embarked on a tour with Job for a Cowboy, Whitechapel, and Cattle Decapitation and Despised Icon’s farewell US tour, the next thing they had to do was come back with a release like none other they’ve ever brought to the world (which is only two albums). The thing that confuses me is that even though I’m blown away by their energetic performances and blasting technicality, I’ve never really bothered to follow them and actually get to know their music in an up-close manner. That is, until I sat down to review their Existence is Futile record. After analyzing that album, I realized the pure potential these guys actually possess. Now, it’s time for Chaos of Forms.

Revocation has never been a band to have the same sound for several albums in a row. In other words, each Revocation album sounds different. Empire of the Obscene is more of a traditional thrash death record with some melodic influences, Existence is Futile has a full-on technical sound with tons of thrash metal influences. Chaos of Forms is something completely different. It still has all of the extremely complex guitar-bass interplay, the hard rock guitar solos, and the extreme thrash metal-style drumming; but it brings a whole different mood to the table that reminds me of a revived old school thrash metal sound that’s been edited and influenced by Gojira, Atheist, Arsis, and Exodus.

The guitars are much less technical on this album than the other two Revocation albums. But don’t take that statement and apply it to the entire album, because the solos are filled with colorful technicality and complexity. Based on what I’m hearing on this album, the bassist plays a less technical part and focuses more on musical creativity and interplaying with the guitars.

Despite their complex compositions and structure, Revocation’s music is fairly easy to comprehend and swallow. Some of the progressive-heads see that as a big no-no, but in this case, it actually works in the opposite way. The band’s extremely catchy hard rock-influenced style (similar to that of DevilDriver) helps the listener to grasp every aspect of their sound almost instantly with no trouble at all, therefore causing the addiction process to begin to commence sooner. When I see something that’s extremely complex, yet easy as shit to grasp, I see a lot of musical knowledge because well…pulling off something like THAT isn’t anywhere NEAR being in the realms of being easy. The addition of the second guitarist helps add complexity to the guitar parts as well as have a soloist that plays with a different style. I know that Revocation has always cited classic rock and jazz as being influences on their sound (especially their solos), but I feel that this album has a stronger rock/jazz feel than any of their other records. Of course, the increased prominence of thrash metal in their music is one of the major causes for the catchiness, but the solos and crisp vocal harmonizations seem to have more of a jazz feel to them than ever before. As well as that, the bassist plays with more of a funky style in songs like Harlot and Beloved Horrifier.

And just by hearing all of this, I can tell that there’s SOME extensive musical knowledge going on here, and as a matter of fact, the vocalist/guitarist has gone through numerous studies of musical theory of all kinds including jazz, rock, blues, and some classical. When I read this, I INSTANTLY understood the reasoning behind all of those bluesy guitar solos that can be heard on all three Revocation albums.

This album is definitely a heavy metal highlight of 2011, there’s no denying that. After showing extensive progression and musical intelligence in each album, does Revocation have the capability of further raising the bar for themselves in the future? This is a must-have for anyone who likes hearing something new. A perfect blend of technicality, thrash, progressiveness, and death metal that has enough of everything to make anyone happy. I would rate this album 19/20 for not only being virtually flawless, but for completely destroying the walls of the realms of extreme metal and being one of the bands that strive to progress and create, not copy and perfect. 

Kreator - Enemy of God

One of the best thrash metal groups ever released one of their best albums in 2005. Although Kreator has always been huge in the heavy metal community, it was THIS album that really brought them to a much higher level. It brought them to a higher level not because it’s their best (it’s not), but because of their more complex song structure and their extensive outreach to the masses when advertising the album before its release. Probably the thing about this album that means the most to the band is that they crafted this album together for one reason: to remind everyone what true thrash metal sounded like. That’s what you hear from almost everyone, but actually, wasn’t that the whole intention of Violent Revolution? The whole point of Violent Revolution was to break away from their melodic/experimental/whatever it was they were doing and to go back to what REAL thrash metal was. Well, apparently this is like “Violent Revolution Part 2”. Except instead of going back to their much harsher sound, Enemy of God takes most of the elements from the 80s thrash metal sound and brings them to the modern stereotype of thrash metal.

When you talk to a metalhead from my generation (born in the mid-80s to mid-90s) and ask them to give you their understanding of thrash metal, there are two words that I guarantee you will ALWAYS hear: yelling, and SPEED. And when you listen to modern thrash metal records, they all have the same Slayer-influenced sound of just playing SPEED SPEED AND MORE SPEED. Of course, that speed and brutality was the original Kreator sound, so Violent Revolution didn’t really do them much good despite how amazing it was. As well as attempting to deliver a purer thrash metal sound in hopes of keeping the generic form of the genre alive, Kreator also cites the German death metal scene (Fleshcrawl, Morgoth, etc.) and melodic death as influences on the album’s sound.

Focusing more on the musical structure of the record rather than the technical details like speed and complexity, Kreator go as far as to bringing in traditional heavy metal influences into the guitar solos. That’s the first thing that this album struck me with; the guitar solos sound like something from a Judas Priest record or a melodic thrash metal album. One thing that this album lacks is energy. It’s not a significant amount, but it is definitely noticeable. You put this side by side with the albums released before and after it, Violent Revolution and Hordes of Chaos, and you can EASILY hear that Enemy of God has less of an energetic output than either of the other albums. I mean, the damn thing has everything that describes a thrash metal album, but could it be possible that Kreator, the band that released one of the single heaviest thrash records ever (Pleasure to Kill), might have put SO much focus on musical creativity that they forgot to play what they wrote with energy?

I think that it’s because the direction that their creative minds took them didn’t call for as much energy and anger as some of their other records. But then again, even though that’s totally acceptable in my book, I still feel that there’s something missing whenever I listen to this album, and it gets irritating. So in other words, if you’re hoping for a brutal and extremely energetic thrash record, look elsewhere in Kreator’s discography because this might leave you somewhat unsatisfied. This is where being a music review has paid off, because I can focus on different sections of the music and see how good it truly is instead of blindly ripping the fucking thing apart at the first sight of something negative. I will make a note that there are some pretty energetic songs on this record like Suicide Terrorist, World Anarchy, and Dying Race Apocalypse (my favorite song off the album).

Would I recommend this album? YES! I would recommend this primarily to thrash metal fans and also to extreme metal fans in general. This is an album to have for anyone! One of Kreator’s best and most musically creative releases gets my score of 17/20.

Kreator - Extreme Aggression

Extreme Aggression is not what I would consider to be a “highlight” in Kreator’s career. Especially not as much as Pleasure to Kill, Cause for Conflict, Enemy of God, and Hordes of Chaos. I’ve had Kreator’s entire discography for almost two years now and I will say that there aren’t any disappointing records to be found. But there are a couple of mediocre ones that I would only listen to if I was in the middle of a temporary thrash metal phase (like the one I’ve been experiencing for the past week or so). So while I’m listening to all of these thrash metal albums that I don’t normally listen to, I thought that it would be a good idea to review some of them while this phase is still present so that I can have a chance to actually get a closer look at these records.

The reason why I want to talk about THIS album in particular is because now that I’ve taken the time to actually LISTEN to it with great intensity, it turns out that this album is actually significantly better than I originally thought. Which lead me to conclude that the reason I’m not too fond of this album isn’t because it lacks certain elements and qualities, but because there are several things about it that just fucking bug me. But then again, there are some things about Extreme Aggression that lack importance and that are less than they are in other Kreator albums, so I guess I stand corrected. The first thing that bothers me about this album is that there’s not NEARLY as much edge in the music as I would like.

I don’t know what it is, but I’m not receiving that anger-filled energy that I’m used to getting from thrash metal albums, especially from Kreator. Pleasure to Kill instantly gave Kreator the reputation of being an extremely brutal and edgy thrash metal band. And their next album, Terrible Certainty did nothing but strengthen that reputation. The ironically-named Extreme Aggression speaks with more of a sound that Slayer’s first album does, which isn’t anything at all like Pleasure to Kill or Terrible Certainty. For those of you that think that I’m forgetting Endless Pain, I’m not, I’m just not including it because it has a whole different sound all together. So with more of a traditional thrash metal sound, but still with the unique Kreator vibe, the German thrashers (whom by this time were pretty big) decided to expand their musical horizons.

The guitars are more melodic and less focused on the REALLY FAST low chords with really crunchy distortions. The guitar solos on this album are slower and aren’t just pure high-pitched shredding. As well as that, the distortion isn’t nearly as loud and gritty as the previous albums. The bassist tends to follow the guitars more closely than ever before, which has led to a much less interesting bass line. I don’t have a problem what so ever with Kreator progressing their sound, but if they want to progress their sound, they have to progress ALL of their sound. In other words, they’ve moved their music in a softer direction, but the vocals still sound like they always have. Petrozza still does those extremely harsh vocals from when Kreator was a thrash black band. Although the grit is significantly less in Extreme Aggression, it still creates WAY too much contrast with the openly melodic changes in the music. So that’s what mainly bothers me about this record.

Extreme Aggression is by no means an album I would consider to be a good first impression for Kreator. In fact, I would only recommend it to the thrash metal fans that haven’t heard it yet. Despite the unnecessary contrasts and the roughness, the album checks out to be a good thrash record with a nice solid base. If you want to REALLY build up your thrash metal collection, this would be a great addition to have, especially if you’re looking for old school thrash releases. I would give Extreme Aggression 11/20. 

Slayer - God Hates us All

Slayer doesn’t need an intro. Even people that HATE metal know who Slayer is. If you don’t know who Slayer is, they’re the second biggest thrash metal band and one of the single most famous metal bands of all-time. Now that I’ve educated those that have lived out the majority of their pathetic lives underneath the dirt, I can now commence with reviewing one of the best Slayer albums ever released. It’s pretty obvious that Slayer’s lyrics tend to be up-front anti-Christian, but none have been so upfront as to having the album title be as blunt and just brutally simple as God Hates us All. I mean, it’s pretty hard to top that without going over to Satanism, which isn’t really an area that Slayer tends to go very often.

I consider Slayer to be similar to Motorhead. Not musically, but because both bands, throughout their careers, have played the exact same sounding music without making any major alterations to their sound AT ALL. But because that sound is so fucking AWESOME and since it was crafted to make room for a lot of creativity, it’s never gotten old and neither of them have worn out their welcome. You almost never hear people talk about Slayer or Motorhead and say “They’ve been playing the same goddamn stuff for the past 30+ years, they need to progress! They need to experiment a little!” You NEVER hear people saying that because World Painted Blood doesn’t sound any different than Seasons in the Abyss, which sounds a hell of a lot like South of Heaven which sounds very similar to Reign in Blood which is almost a fucking duplicate of Show no Mercy; and so on and so forth. Yes, I know that Slayer started putting less focus on speed starting with the release of South of Heaven, but I think it was a genius idea because it gave them enough elbow room to keep releasing thrashterpiece after thrashterpiece for the next two decades (with the exception of Diabolus in Musica).

When it comes to sound production, everything on this album checks out except for one thing: bass. Those of you that have read my reviews know that I’m a major bass junkie. I’m more understanding with the older albums because good equipment wasn’t as easily accessible as it has been for the past 10-12 years. The reason why I’m cracking down on THIS album is because..well…it’s Slayer! They have the fucking money to make sure that they have the BEST sound possible. Although I’ve come to realize that it’s normal for Slayer to turn up the treble a bit and turn the bass down a bit. It gives their music a lot more attack and gives the guitars much more of an edge. But that doesn’t make it any easier on the ears, man! I’m fine with turning up the treble on the guitars, but I want more bass on both the kick drums and on Tom Araya’s guitar! But obviously, this never acted as an obstruction for the world’s enjoyment on the album (since sound quality isn’t everybody’s #1 concern like it was in the 60s and 70s). All I have to do is turn up the bass on my computer speakers, and then the problem goes away in a fucking flash.

The only thing that I have to say about Tom Araya is that his bass skills continue to get better with each release while his yells, after 30+ years of Slayer, still sound the same. I’m serious, his yells haven’t changed AT ALL since the release of Show no Mercy. The master guitarist Kerry King does nothing but play beautiful brutality with his talent and quickly-acquired skill, as does Jeff Hanneman. Speaking of the guitarists, the guitar work in each of the songs vary JUST enough to eliminate any possible accusations of “repetitiveness” and “monotony” on the record. But honestly, there isn’t any TRUE variations in the guitar work (if you don’t count the godly solos). But remember! Although all of the songs ALMOST all sound the same, the sound that they portray never gets old. Now whenever Slayer is a topic of discussion, 94.2384% of the time it always funnels down to one name: Lombardo.

Dave Lombardo is always the most celebrated member of Slayer as well as one of the single greatest musicians in the entire thrash metal genres. Not only has he been in more than one legendary thrash band, he’s also made it a goal to play as many types of music that he possibly can. What other legendary thrash metal band, you ask? Well, while Slayer wrote and released Divine Intervention, Undisputed Attitude, and Diabolus in Musica, Dave Lombardo was busy with Testament while they were at the absolute TOP of their game, which includes their classic, The Gathering. Aside from that, he’s acquired extensive experience in rock, jazz, reggae, and numerous guest appearances for Apocalyptica, John Zorn, and Voodoocult. But then again, in God Hates us All, Lombardo sounds like a purebred thrash metal drummer that has been doing nothing but thrash metal.

There are no individual songs that I would recommend. Listening to only a few songs off this album is like enjoying the image on a jigsaw puzzle that’s only been partially done. The only option with this (and every other) Slayer record is to have the whole entire thing. It’s absolutely impossible to know the true power of ANY Slayer record without listening to the whole thing. I would give this album a rating of 18/20 and would recommend it to all thrash metal fans. For those of you that haven’t heard Slayer’s music, listen to Reign in Blood first like everyone else. 

Exodus - Shovel Headed Kill Machine

I was introduced to Exodus when I saw them open for Arch Enemy in 2010. Of course, bringing a legendary thrash metal band as an opening act wasn’t the best idea for Arch Enemy, because roughly 1/3 of the people left after Exodus finished their set. I heard this band and was blown away by the amount of brutality these guys delivered. The next day I played the first Exodus record I could find on the internet (I now own it on CD along with two other Exodus records), and it was called Shovel Headed Kill Machine. Since then I have grown to love this record all the way from the brutality to the production to all of the extremely unique qualities it has. Although Exhibit B became my favorite Exodus record when it was released, Shovel Headed Kill Machine is more of a monument for the thrash metal genre itself.

As far as each individual musician goes, I can’t see any FLAWS, though there are some areas that LACK some skill and creativity. No, I take that back, the areas that lack are in skill, not creativity; the creativity part of this album surpasses my expectations by miles. Since the vocals are what I like to talk about most on this album, I’ll save that for last. To me, the “old school thrash” sound has more of a rock n’ roll feel to it; sort of like if you took Motorhead and turned up the speed. Of course, with the exception of Slayer (who ALWAYS seems to be the exception) and a handful of other thrash bands that started in the mid-to-late 1980s like Kreator, the majority of the old school thrash metal bands had that sound, which included Exodus. As the 20^th Century turned into the 21^st Century, several thrash metal bands evolved their sound into what’s known as the “modern” thrash sound. Some examples would be Overkill, Destruction, Testament, Venom, and Sodom. Exodus was one of the bands that kept that old school sound a fairly big part of their music.

But then again, by the time the band came out with Tempo of the Damned in 2004, their sound had evolved into something unique. It definitely wasn’t old school thrash, but it wasn’t the typical tremolo picking and fast double bass that thrash has come to be. These bands that have evolved into their own sound (Artillery, Tankard, Metallica, Sepultura, Death Angel, etc.) are the thrash metal bands that I find most enjoyable to talk about, because they each have different things to talk about them, there isn’t just one slightly flexible description that fits all of them. So, back to where I was before: when Tempo of the Damned came out in 2004, it was more than obvious that Exodus had moved on from the old school thrash metal sound and created something of their own. Shovel Headed Kill Machine, on the other hand, works as a time machine.  

Of course, because they can’t create something that’s a COMPLETE resemblance of the old school sound, it’s a modernized-version of the sound that Bonded by Blood and Fabulous Disaster gave off. Here’s how it’s different: it’s just simply heavier. There’s no other difference, yes, there are certain contributors that cause the increase in heaviness (which I will talk about in this review), but really, if this monster was released in 1988, it would be considered simply as “a really fucking heavy thrash metal album”. What are these contributing factors that I just referred to? Well, the guitars have an insane amount of distortion that has a lot of crunch. And just about any fan of extreme metal knows that a crunchy guitar distortion makes for a heavier sound. Also, the amount of bass that this album carries is enough to flatten the Eiffel Tower. And if there’s one thing that I say in most of my reviews, it’s that “more bass=more heavy, more brutal, more awesome”.

The drummer is the hardest musician for me to describe. Not because I can’t think of adjectives extreme enough to describe his skill and creativity, but because it’s just hard to ACCURATELY describe his style. He plays with a lot of power and has these random explosions of just completely tearing up the drum set. The most noticeable thing that he does is those random kick drum explosions (you can really hear them in Raze). I don’t know why he chooses to do that, because it’s just weird and not something that you’re used to hearing. But yet again, it’s so awesome that I can’t imagine the music sounding good without it. Of course, the hot topic whenever it comes to Exodus is Mr. Dukes. His vocals are literally THE most unique in the ENTIRE thrash metal genre. Most of the time he’s pretty much borderline screaming. And in fact, he actually does scream quite a bit. I don’t know if he does these vocals on purpose or if it’s just his natural really nasty yell; but whatever it is, it adds brutality and infinite energy to Exodus’ music.

Shovel Headed Kill Machine isn’t my favorite Exodus album, but it can’t go untouched by ANYONE that chooses to give this bay area thrash metal band a listen. Bonded by Blood isn’t the only good Exodus record out there, man! There’s more to it than just that! I would recommend this to all thrash metal fans and also people that are looking to get more into the genre than just the major essentials (i.e. Metallica, Slayer, Testament, Kreator, etc.). I would give Shovel Headed Kill Machine 18/20. 

Tankard - A Girl Called Cerveza

The alcohol-driven melodic thrash metallers Tankard are back with what I believe to be their best album. I didn’t know of their existence until they signed a multi-album deal with the world’s best and most respected record label, Nuclear Blast (which I happen to follow very closely). Due to the slightly weird artwork, I initially let first impressions and prejudice get the better of me and I decided to wait on this one. But when I looked the band up on Spirit of Metal and was surprised by the 740+ members that had admitted to being fans of Tankard! After doing a bit more research, I discovered that these guys are not only one of the most famous European thrash metal bands (along with Kreator, Sodom, and Destruction), but are also one of the biggest thrash metal bands ever!

Tankard is one of the thrash metal bands that still sticks to the melodic old school thrash sound from the 1980s rather than converting over to a MUCH heavier and faster sound like most of today’s long-lived thrash bands have done. A lot of you know that I’m a HUGE thrash metal fan (my favorite being Havok), but I can also be pretty picky when it comes to all things thrash metal. The reason why I can be so picky is because of the vocals. Because most of these vocalists are yelling with their natural voice (as opposed to doing full-on screams or growls), if a vocalist doesn’t have the right sound, they can irritate me to death. This is the reason why I’m VERY picky with rap, because it’s not singing, and it’s not growling/screaming, it’s the natural human voice. And let’s be honest, regardless of whether the music is good or not, we’re not going to listen to a band that has a vocalist that we can’t stand. I know that different people have different tastes because even the music is good in almost all of these bands, it’s not long before Megadeth, King Diamond, Mastodon, and Limp Bizkit get on my fucking nerves and which is why I rarely (if ever) listen to these bands.

The vocalist for Tankard (who has an odd obsession of showing off his slightly enormous beer belly) isn’t one that bothers me because he has some roughness to his voice. When it comes to thrash vocalists, I like the ones with really rough vocalists (an extreme example being one of my favorites, Rob Dukes, who is pretty much borderline screaming). And then you’re going to come up to me and say “well what about Slayer?? Tom’s voice isn’t super rough! Why can you stand to listen to THEM?” and my response will be BECAUSE IT’S MOTHERFUCKING SLAYER, THAT’S WHY! Whenever I say this kind of stuff, people always like to find counterexamples to lower the validity of what I just said. Yes, I know that Dave Mustaine’s voice can be pretty rough sounding, but that’s not why I dislike his vocals, it’s just because the sound of his voice gives me that weird subliminal impulse to give myself a paper-cut to the eyeball.

Although Tankard is, in fact, melodic and that they don’t play the traditional Slayer-style where the guitarists and bass tremolo-pick low power chords and the drummer does seemingly constant double-kick, they can still be pretty damn heavy. You can tell in the recording that in many of the songs, the drummer is hitting the drum set as hard as he fucking can, which adds an immense amount of crushing blow to the sound. In songs like Witchhunt 2.0 and Not One Day Dead, the fact that the drummer is playing SO FUCKING HARD and with an impossible amount of energy is what gives these songs their heaviness. Listen to any one of those two songs and try to block out the drums and focus on the guitars, if you do this, you should find that the guitarist is playing melodic riffs! So if you have that and put the drums in, but with less intensity than Olaf, it would sound pretty fucking weak to thrash metal standards.

If you want a NEW “old school” thrash record, this is what you need to have. German thrashers Tankard broke the 30 year mark by releasing their best album since The Meaning of Life. I would recommend this to ALL thrash metal fans and to anyone looking for a more groovy and melodic side of the genre. This album gets 17/20.  

Tankard - The Morning After

These guys are the kings of alcohol-induced thrash metal. Tankard has been banging heads and breaking bottles since the mid-1980s. I don’t know why it is, but I seem to be “out of the loop” when it comes to the less-popular but still legendary classic thrash metal bands. Tankard is the latest addition to my thrash metal collection and goddamnit they hold a fucking solid spot that will never go away. I’ve listened to almost their entire discography very thoroughly and so far, this record has been the most enjoyable listen. To help tame my excitement for their upcoming release under the legendary Nuclear Blast Records, I’m going to write a review on my personal favorite Tankard album. For those of you that haven’t heard Tankard and are into the classic thrash metal sound, this record is what you want.

Tankard was one of the more underground thrash metal bands during the 80s and 90s, only being known amongst the metalhead community. I’ve heard mixed views on Tankard. Some, like myself, say that they’re a motherfucking blast to listen to, but others just refer to Tankard as “just another thrash band”, nothing more. Personally, I don’t think Tankard has been around for almost 30 years to be considered “just another thrash metal band”. And to be honest, ever since this album came out, they’ve been at the top of their game. But if that is so, then why are they still going unheard? Why haven’t I heard of these German fuckers? Well, thanks to Nuclear Blast, I now know who they are and understand completely why the label chose them to be on their roster.

Well, these guys are thrash metal, but what kind? You’ve got the slower thrash metal like Sepultura, the undeniably fast thrash like Slayer and Destruction, the more experimental, yet HEAVY thrash metal like Overkill and Havok, and the more melodic thrash brought to you by Artillery. What would I consider Tankard? Well, there’s an obvious amount of hardcore punk (The Exploited, Black Flag, etc.) influence in their music; primarily in the drums. The guitars play really fast, that when played along with the hardcore punk-style drums, has the capability of moving the pit to deadly levels.

The vocals are extremely harsh and remind me of Sodom’s earlier records where there was even some screaming involved. Either that or the vocalist was just drunk as a cockroach in a pool of beer as always. What people say about Tankard is true, these guys are heavy drinkers and enjoy it very much. Lucky them, they’re not angry drunks, they’re METAL drunks (yes, I know that was a bad joke). The style that the bassist plays runs back to the early roots of hardcore punk and crust (Black Flag, Napalm Death, Condemned?, etc.), which adds on a thicker punk layer to the drums. The guitar distortion is cheap and VERY crunchy. So this is going to be a huge enjoyment for people who love really under produced and “underground” sounding thrash metal…sort of like Motorhead, except more metal.

The biggest and best trait that the hardcore punk influence gives this album is its catchiness. The utter groove and catchiness is one similar to Exodus and Testament (more so Exodus). In fact, there’s even a PUNK song on this very album! What do you hear when you listen to the sixth track, Try Again? Well, I don’t know about you, but I hear good ol’ 1980s punk rock. That’s it, this is thrash for the punk rocker, which is probably why the members are always wearing Exploited shirts. Alright, here’s something about the guitarists: they get the job done, but they do the bare minimum. They don’t do anything special or over-the-top. Probably the most interesting thing that they do is a couple of shredding solos here and there. But the guitarists don’t really show much skill beyond the skills needed to play thrash metal.

Overall, this is a fantastic and fucking FUN thrash metal album to listen to. Giving this one 17/20, The Morning After has proved to be a thrash metal classic in its own sense by fusing punk rock and thrash metal better than Exodus did in the 1980s. I would highly recommend that you pick up a copy of this shit because we don’t know how much longer this band will stick around.  

Artillery - When Death Comes

I’m not going to let Artillery’s earlier material influence my opinion on this album because I don’t have any of their earlier albums and I’ve found everything else I’ve heard by them disgusting. Because I was completely unfamiliar with these Danish thrashers, I decided to pick the album with the highest average rating on Spirit of Metal. After well over a year of periodically (but thoroughly) listening to this record, I have yet to be disappointed. For those of you that have no idea who these guys are, they’ve released a few albums and a shitload of demos since 1985. I haven’t heard anyone mention them as an important contributor to the thrash metal genre, but they have been around since the mid-1980s (which definitely shines through their sound). For me, I seem to fall for the more modernized thrash metal records than the old school ones. But I have to admit, there are numerous classic records from the 80s that I just can’t stop listening to.

Here’s something that I’ve noticed about thrash metal; there aren’t very many mediocre records out there that I’ve heard. Most thrash albums are either amazing (i.e. Overkill’s two most recent albums) or unspeakably terrible (i.e. St. Anger). When Death Comes is one of those “mediocre” thrash metal records. Although it is mediocre (a term usually applied to generic records), it’s a very unique album that deserves to be talked about. If you’ve been listening to thrash metal and want something more on the melodic side (like Metallica), Artillery is a band that should be in your collection (well, this album at least). But remember, melodic doesn’t always mean slower. Artillery’s music still goes with the traditional “medium-fast to blazing fast” style that’s been done since the days of early Slayer and Metallica.

But, with that being a possible cause of excitement for some of you, don’t get your hopes TOO high, because this isn’t anywhere near a masterpiece. To be honest, the drummer isn’t really that good. He’s good by metal standards and gets the job done right, nothing more than that. But being an original member of the band (which formed in 1982), I would expect him to show a lot more experience and skill. And I’m not just talking about speed and complexity (which is what I like to hear in a thrash drummer), but also about creativity and musicality. His drumming fits the music great, but I would really expect something more impressive out of a drummer that’s been in an extreme metal band for so damn long. Then again, he may have the skill and talent to play amazing stuff, but felt that this particular record required a more generic and simplistic style of drumming.

The guitarists play a style that reminds me a little bit of the early days of metalcore (mid to late 1990s). It’s the guitarists that are mainly responsible for Artillery’s melodic sound, although the vocals definitely contribute. They play well in-synch, they express plenty of talent that shows that they’ve taken time to improve and use their experience to the best of their abilities over the past 20+ years that they’ve been playing guitar. The solos are really the zenith of the album. The solos can be described as traditional 80s-style shredding with more of a melodic touch.

The vocals aren’t impressive at all. They’re not disappointing, but I don’t think that the vocalist on this album fits the music very well. He would fit in perfectly with a power metal band, but even though his voice and singing help enhance the melodic sound of Artillery, there’s nothing about him that sticks out to me in any way. I don’t know whether to consider the vocalist a positive or negative element because I don’t HATE him and I definitely don’t LOVE him. He’s just another member of the band that happened to join a year before the album’s release, nothing more, nothing less. So overall, if I were to suggest any Artillery album to you, I would suggest When Death Comes. I’m not energized when listening to this album, nor am I disgusted and eager to turn it off. After listening to this record, I’m left generally empty and unsatisfied because of the album’s lack of ability to satisfy. In other words, this album is generally uneventful and unexciting. Being one of the more melodic thrash metal records in my collection, When Death Comes gets my score of 12/20. Think of it as…a fusion of 80s heavy metal and thrash metal. 

Overkill - The Electric Age

After being completely blown away by Ironbound, Overkill has continued to blow me away with their other albums, some of my other favorites being Killbox 13, Taking Over, Feel the Fire, and Under the Influence. When I heard that Overkill was releasing a new album, I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited for the release of a thrash metal album in my entire life. When the album came out and my pre-order arrived on my doorstep, I dropped what I was doing and listened to it on full-blast. I still remember that exactly 1 minute 16 seconds into the first track, absolute chaos was unleashed and blew me off my feet. The buildup couldn’t have been more perfect, 1 minute 5 seconds into the song speaks for itself, and I don’t even need words to describe the ultimate power of that part. The chaos never stopped and dragged me through the entire record from start to finish until I just couldn’t take it anymore; it was just too good to be true.

I could spend this entire review just going on and on about the first track, but I think you’re more eager to hear about the entire album as a whole. Well, the guitar distortion is much less metallic than Ironbound and previous albums. Instead, it has a much thicker sound with more body and less crunch (which isn’t a bad thing or a good thing). The guitars really haven’t improved in very many ways. But then again, the guitars aren’t the main focus in this album like they were in most of their previous albums.

Most of the focus has gone into groove and rhythm, especially in the realms of brutality and catchy riffs and headbanging parts. Obviously, the drummer is the one responsible for keeping this as the pinnacle for the duration of the record. The drums are considerably louder than the other instruments, but instead of sticking out like a big block, it sticks out farther in all the empty spaces and simply backs up everything else. If you ask me, I think that The Electric Age is the Overkill album with the best drumming, and I think most of you out there can agree with me.

Let’s talk about some of the awesome new grooves that Overkill has let into their music. This is relevant in some parts of the first track, but mainly in songs like Electric Rattlesnake. Electric Rattlesnake has some hard rock grooves weaved into the energetic thrash metal monster it creates, taking a lot of influence from Pantera and Motorhead. This sort of reminds me a little bit of The Gathering by Testament, but not quite as heavy and much, much faster. In other words, it is so fucking fun to listen to it makes me smile just writing about it (although I have it playing right now too).

The bassist also holds a huge spotlight in this album. You can hear him in every second of the album, and even holds a very important part during the second half of Electric Rattlesnake by driving the music along with some awesome rock riffs that have a classic 80s sound with modern influence. Everything he plays is overflowing with color and creativity, being a bassist myself, this is something I LOVE, I repeat LOVE to hear in any kind of music. It seems that as you keep listening to the record, every song is either just as good or better than the last; there aren’t any hiccups or bland spots anywhere!

Bobby is so good that he doesn’t need an introduction; he’s better than ever and acts as a rope pulling the rest of the music to otherwise unreachable heights. He paralyzes the listener with his scream at the beginning of Wish you were Dead and beautifies the music with his rough singing voice. Folks, this dude is flawless and deserves more credit than he’s gotten, especially for what he’s done in The Electric Age.

I’m not going to begin to pick favorites. Just as long as you listen to “Come and Get It” before anything else, you’re good to go. Electric Rattlesnake gives the headbangers and moshers a chance to rock out a bit while being bombarded with musical talent and creativity. Wish you were Dead pummels you with brutality and speed which is then followed by the PERFECT HEADBANGING TRACK, Black Daze to give the moshers some time to catch their breath with rock grooves and epic guitar solos. And it goes on and on. Perfect score, nothing less. 

Bonded by Blood - Feed the Beast

I guess being born in the mid-90s has caused me to listen to a lot more of the newer thrash metal than the older guys that saw the births of Slayer and Metallica. Well, if you’re an older thrash fan, let this review be a suggestion of one of the new thrash bands out there you probably haven’t heard of. If you’re my age and haven’t already heard of Bonded by Blood or just haven’t listened to them, YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO THIS RECORD! This album has received critical acclaim from critics worldwide and the band is loved by thrash metal legends such as Death Angel, Kreator, Destruction, Sodom, Testament, Anthrax, and Overkill! Just that alone suggests that these guys have to at least be SOMEWHAT musically talented and legit. Well, my review on this album does nothing but further support the hype that this album (and their second album) has created.

I’m going to start off by telling you my absolute FAVORITE thing about this album (which ironically has very little to do with the music itself). For some reason, I can be a real tight-ass when it comes to how the drums sound. Maybe that’s not the right way to say it…let’s say that I have a HUGE soft spot for albums where the drums sound AMAZING. Here’s what makes the drums for this particular album so great: it’s the first thing you hear when you start the first song! Once you hear that extremely juicy drum intro, you’re yanked into the blinding speed of the 21^st thrash metal sound at its best. But of course, this guy is nowhere near being the best in the genre, but that’s where my favorite part of this guy comes in, and that’s how his drums sound. The drums on this album have more PUNCH than any other thrash metal album in existence. Every piece of his set also has a really thick sound that has an immense amount of sharpness to make him sound more technical. Honestly, that’s the best way I can put it into words; LISTEN TO IMMORTAL LIFE to get the full experience!

The guitars have a really gritty crunchiness to them that helps make up for the punch of the drums. The bassist has also put quite a bit of distortion on his guitar in most of the album (except for when he’s soloing). There is one thing that took me some getting used to: the vocalist. I was a bit uneasy about his vocals having that belted-out girly sound because it didn’t seem to fit the music. After about a year of listening to Bonded by Blood, I got used to his yells and actually came to realize that he puts more power and force into his yells than most other thrash metal vocalists.

Before you get the impression that this is PURE thrash metal that has no unique or new qualities (which is what I thought at first), think again. There are GROWLS implemented in most of the songs throughout the album. Even though they’re far from being the primary vocal style used on this record, they do give it an interesting twist. There are some people (whom I’ve asked their opinion on this) that have told me they don’t really like this experimentation at all (some having stronger feelings than others). But most of the people that I’ve asked about this said that they don’t really know what to think of it, but it doesn’t bring down the music in any way. And yes, I know that this isn’t the first thrash metal band to do growls (others being Testament and Artillery), but this is still a mainly unexplored area that hasn’t been touched by very many thrash metal bands out there (let alone making it sound good).

Along with Killing Season (Death Angel), Let there be Blood (Exodus), The Formation of Damnation (Testament), and Death Magnetic (Metallica); Feed the Beast earns its position with these albums as being one of the best thrash metal albums of 2008. Although there are many other thrash bands out there that are far better, Bonded by Blood is one of the best thrash metal bands to form in the 21^st century (Havok being the absolute best). I would give Feed the Beast 19/20.