Alastor are a Portugese blackened thrash metal band and this is their sixth album.
Here Alastor give us 48 minutes of furious blackthrash, and they do it surprisingly well. I say ‘surprisingly’ only because I find this kind of subgenre quite disappointing most of the time, but must confess that when it’s done right, I really take to it. Continue reading
This is the seventh album from Swedish blackened thrash metal band Witchery.
Hot on the heels of last year’s In His Infernal Majesty’s Service, this Swedish supergroup, (Arch Enemy, The Haunted, among others), have returned suprisingly quickly with another collection of sharp, vicious tunes. Continue reading
Suppressive Fire are a death/thrash metal band from the US and this is their second album.
Shockingly hot on the heels of this year’s debut album Bedlam, it’s clear that Suppressive Fire are a hungry, ambitious lot, and rather than rest on their laurels, (Bedlam was quite the corker), they’ve seemingly just rushed back into the studio to produce their second album already. Continue reading
This is the sixth album from Witchery, a thrash metal band from Sweden.
Witchery have been around for some time at this point, with this album celebrating two decades of existence. Now, six years after their last album and with a revamped lineup, they return.
With a production that’s nicely rough and ready, Witchery Continue reading
Wolf’s Hunger are a Serbian black/thrash metal band. This is their second album.
Despite there actually being a fair few bands out there that play blackened thrash metal in a convincing and enjoyable way, I still always think of myself as someone that’s not a huge fan of mixing the two. I think it’s Continue reading
This is the latest EP from Polish Blackened Thrashers Bloodthirst.
I enjoyed their last album Chalice of Contempt, so this new EP was gratefully received. Here we have over 20 minutes of scathing Black Metal and 80s Thrash influences.
These songs continue the band’s previous path of combining second-wave Black Metal with atavistic Thrash elements, striking the right balance so that they’re poised between two styles, waiting to strike.
Blast beats and spiky riffs blur by in a whirlwind of energy and dark melodies. The songs have personality and the band embrace the roots of both genres, forging them together down the path they want to take.
I find it easy to be turned off by Black/Thrash a lot of the time, but I do enjoy Bloodthirst as they seem to have that intangible special something that raises them up to be greater than the sum of their parts. It’s the songs, of course, and the feel of them. Glorious Sinners just hits the spot for me and does what it sets out to do very well indeed.
A professional production rounds the package off, and Glorious Sinners is an eminently enjoyable listen.
This is the début EP from Turkish Black Metallers Persecutory.
This is ugly music for fans of Archgoat, Black Witchery, Von, Watchmaker and the like. Combining dirty, evil Black Metal with enough Blackened Thrash to give it extra bite, Persecutory waste no time in establishing themselves as true purveyors of darkened brutality and nastiness.
Sometimes Blackened Thrash leaves me a little cold, but this is more Blackened than Thrash and Persecutory deliver a very tasty noise that’s furious and aggressive.
The vocals are a combination of rabid screams and infectious growls, both serving to emphasise the cutting music.
Fast blackened melodies are included alongside some very tasty riffs. It seems that the band have quite a talent for making both riffs and melodies extremely satisfying, and these tracks certainly hit the spot because of it.
I like how these songs are written and that the band know how to inject pacing and energy into them, avoiding the one-dimensionality that can sometimes plague this kind of music.
An impressive first release. Here’s to the future!
Suppressive Fire are a Death/Thrash Metal band from the US. This is their début album.
I receive a lot of music promos, and I have to decide whether I’m going to give them a listen with a view to reviewing them, or not. There are lot of different ways I do this, lots of informal and flexible rules that sometimes vary quite a lot depending on how I’m feeling, what time of day it is, etc. Sometimes though, as with Suppressive Fire’s début, it’s all about the album cover. Something about the cover of Bedlam is just so unashamedly Thrash Metal, but without any retro-cheese-nonsense, that I just had to listen to it.
So here we are. As it turns out, sometimes you can judge the proverbial book by its cover.
Suppressive Fire play aggressive Old-School Death/Thrash Metal with a Blackened edge to it that makes it a far more aggressive proposition than most.
The songs are ugly, gritty and full of barely-contained spite. It’s pretty much a 50/50 mix of Death and Thrash Metal which gives the band an energetic sound that comes out in the riffs and galloping/blasting drums.
Featuring a suitably Old-School sound, the album rockets along powered by chemical weapons and nuclear fear. The guitars are riff-heavy and there’s plenty of solos to sink your teeth into.
It’s a decent collection of songs that have a subtle catchiness to them that initially seems buried under the barbed assault of the delivery, which essentially increases the longevity of the album as the songs don’t become too-familiar, too quickly.
So slip on the riot gear and descend into Bedlam.
Bloodlust are an Australian Black Metal band and this is their début album.
This is Black Metal that’s infused with a good helping of dirty Thrash Metal to produce ugly Black Thrash that has a very Old-School vibe.
Featuring a sharper, Blackened approach to the early Hellhammer, Venom, Celtic Frost, etc. sound, this is Satanic Black Metal based on these genre founders and with an added Thrash influence, (think early Kreator).
Spiky riffs and acidic screams are used to good effect and the band keep the spirit of proper songs alive in their delivery. Solos are also included in this rusty Metal warrior’s arsenal, and these are always good to hear.
The songs blast and pound with an excitable and ancient energy. There are a lot of bands playing Black Thrash these days but it’s still an enjoyable proposition when done well.
Give this a listen.
Manzer are a Black Metal band from France and this is a compilation of earlier releases and rare tracks.
Manzer play Thrashy Black Metal with a real underground feel and lots of savagery. Fast and furious, Manzer carve their way through an impressive 78 minutes of music on this collection. It’s a lot to sit through if you’re not completely in the mood for their Thrashed-up Blackened assault, but it’s definitely worth the effort as there are some real gems on this release.
The singer has a raspy voice that lets you know in no uncertain terms that this is not a band to be messed with. These occasionally descend into demented howling and early-Slayer-esque screams, bringing out the Thrash influence in the singer’s charismatic voice.
I like that these songs, for the most part, have a really good mix of Black and Thrash Metal in the right amounts. Old-School Thrash with lots of flair and character is dragged down into the filth and given a blasting, dirty, Blackened skullfuck until it knows its place and does its master’s bidding. First-wave Black Metal and Old-School Thrash collide, fight it out and result in Manzer.
It’s a very satisfying listen and gets straight to the point of the matter. Blackened Thrash can be a bit tiresome sometimes, but I find that, despite the length, I still enjoy this release a great deal more than similar releases from other bands that might have less than half the running time.
In addition to the original songs there are some live tracks and also covers of Venom, Abigail, Motörhead and Mercyful Fate.
A very enjoyable collection of volatile, raw Blackened Thrash. Recommended.
