Godless are a Death Metal band from India and this is their début release.
Godless play Death Metal with traditional muscularity mixed with a bit of thrash and groove. It’s well-recorded and has a solid sound overall, making for a good impression.
Continue reading “Godless – Centuries of Decadence (Review)”
Danish thrash metal band Artillery need little introduction, being decades-long veterans of the thrash metal wars. Their latest album Penalty by Perception has really upped the ante in terms of quality thrash, and it’s an album I already love. Guitarist Michael Stützer was kind enough to take some time out from reloading to answer a few questions…
Give us a bit of background to Artillery
Artillery was formed in 1982 by Morten Stützer, Per Onink, Jørgen Sandau, Carsten Nielsen and Michael Stützer and did the first demo ”We are the dead” in Dec 1982. After recording 2 new demos ”Shellschock” and ”Deeds of Darkness” in 1984 with new singer Carsten Lohmann Artillery signed with Neat Records which released the 2 albums Fear Of Tomorrow(1985) and Terror Squad(1987) now with singer Flemming Rönsdorf. In 1989 Artillery signed with Roadrunner and put out By inheritance. In 1991 Artillery took a break before releasing BACK in 1999 on Die Hard Records! After another break Artillery reunited in 2007 with singer Søren Adamsen and released 3 albums ”One foot in the grave… (2008) ”When Death comes” 2009 and ”My blood” and a DVD One foot in the grave… (2008) all on Metalmind Productions. In 2012 Artillery signed with Metal Blade and released ”Legions” (2012) and ”Penalty by perception” (2016) both with the current line up Peter Thorslund (Bass), Josua Madsen (Drums), Michael Bastholm Dahl (Vocals), Morten Stützer (Guitar), Michael Stützer (Guitar). Continue reading “Interview with Artillery”
This is the latest release from Bangladeshi Thrash Metallers Exalter.
Featuring three new songs and four older ones, this release showcases what Exalter have produced up to this point in their existence.
After being suitably impressed by some recent Thrash releases, (Artillery, Crisix and Exumer, for example), I’m in the mood to be wooed once more by Thrash Metal, and I’m pleased to say that Exalter don’t disappoint. Continue reading “Exalter – Obituary for the Living (Review)”
Artillery are a Thrash Metal band from Denmark. This is their eighth album.
These Metal veterans return with another 54 minutes of old-school Thrash Metal.
The vocalist’s melodic cleans are straight out of a different era, and in the context of 2016 sound flawless and delivered with a skill and passion lacking in most similar bands.
Savage riffs and sterling solos are moulded around classic song structures. The band obviously know exactly what they’re doing from the outset and this is a ridiculously strong collection of tracks. Catchy, memorable and charismatic, these songs are seriously good. They also awaken such a powerful sense of nostalgia in me that I honestly don’t know what to do with. I’ll just listen to more Thrash Metal I suppose.
Some of the riffs and melodies on this release get the hairs standing on end and the overall feeling is indescribable in some ways. Being exposed to this much authentic top-grade Thrash Metal in one go should come with a health warning.
Well, this really has made me sit up and take notice. I pretty much hate the vast majority of the retro-Thrash movement with its stupidity and moronic nonsense, so it’s great to hear a band that were forged in the original era when this kind of thing was first born produce something so strong and worthwhile. This should put all of the idiotic posers in their place and demonstrates what a force to be reckoned with Artillery still are.
Taken with the recent release by Exumer, could 2016 be the year that reignites my love affair with Thrash Metal? It’s shaping up to be that way so far.
This is what Thrash Metal is meant to be about.
This is the fourth album from these German Thrash Metal veterans.
With a crisp, punchy and professional sound, Exumer return with another album chock full of Thrash Metal anthems.
The songs are well-written and both catchy and memorable. The old-school Thrash vibe is present and correct, but the production and delivery is quite modern, resulting in an album that manages to tread different eras with ease, which is no mean feat.
The band sound focused and tight, intent on delivering a flurry of riffs and pounding drums strong enough to get even the most jaded of Metal fans moving.
I particularly enjoy the guitars on this release; Exumer have a talent for writing good riffs. I also like that the vast majority of these riffs sound energised and perfectly judged; a lot of old-school Thrash can easily sound stale and done-to-death, but Exumer seem to have the secret, (whatever that is), to producing songs that just hit the right spot.
Frequent solos accompany the cutting riffs and the singer’s vocals use good rhythms and pacing.
The Raging Tides is criminally enjoyable and I haven’t been this enthusiastic and excited by Thrash Metal for some time. For an album full of ripping Metal tunes you should look no further.
Crisix are a Spanish Thrash Metal band and this is their third album.
This is an endearing mixture of old-school Thrash and modern know-how. It’s fun without being stupid and authentic without being retro nonsense. I approve!
The album boasts a strong production that’s crisp and clear, lending the songs a sharp edge and professional veneer.
The singer grunts, groans, shrieks and screams his throat hoarse throughout these 39 minutes. Alongside a plethora of backing and gang vocals, he provides an energetic performance and one can’t help but wonder if he survived the recording process with his sanity intact.
As would be expected from the style, solos and leads are tossed around like they’re going out of fashion, alongside so many punchy riffs you could knock someone out with them. With some minor movie and Hardcore influences too, there’s a lot of catchy material here.
There’s a lot of enjoyment to be had on From Blue to Black, especially if you like early Anthrax and Pantera and always wondered what it might sound like if they collaborated on a Thrash Metal sideband. It probably wouldn’t sound too far off how this does.
Very enjoyable. Check this out.
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.
As I sit here listening to Collision’s latest release Satanic Surgery, it strikes me that in addition to being a very brutal record, it’s extremely well put together and just plain fun! As it’s a very enjoyable album that I keep returning to, when the opportunity arose to catch up with the band I grasped it with both hands…
For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!
We are Collision from the Netherlands! We play a crossover between grindcore and thrash metal with a lot of punk and hardcore influences! Collision is around for 15 or 16 years now, touring Europe and sometimes we will make an album… like we just did: Satanic Surgery! Released by Hammerheart Records on CD and LP.
Give us a bit of background to Collision
Collision started back in 2000, after a trying out some guitar and bass players we found the right line up for this band and we start to write songs and perform live. We were ask to do some local supports and shows on metal festivals. From one thing came another and before we knew we were in the studio recording our first album, released by Czech Republic’s grindcore label “Bizarre Leprous”. With this album in our pocket we did a lot of shows in The Netherlands, Belgium, France and Czech Republic. We changed bassist after this and now we are still in the same line-up. We just like to do a lot of shows and sometimes we record an album, a split single or some cover songs for a tribute album.
What are your influences?
Old school grindcore, thrash metal, hardcore and crossover in general. We are 5 individuals, but I think we all love Slayer and Napalm Death haha. More influences came from bands like Repulsion, Nasum, Wehrmacht, Stormtroopers Of Death, Brutal Truth, Municipal Waste, Dead Kennedys, Anthrax, Suffocation and more!
What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?
I’m currently listening to Skeletal Remains (groovy old school death metal, good stuff!), the latest album from Gadget (ultra fast grindcore with cool sludge and hardcore parts), Textures (awesome Dutch band) and some old school classics that are not metal like The Specials and Run D.M.C. But like I mention before, the other members will listen to complete other music then me haha.
How do you feel that you fit into the wider Metal scene?
I don’t know, we also love to play in the crust and grindcore scene… but for us it’s not about scenes etc. We just love to play and that everybody that likes grindcore, thrash metal, hardcore, death metal, punkrock etc will love our music!
Give us a bit of background to Satanic Surgery – any particular concepts or ideas you want to discuss?
Normally we sing about drinking, stupidity of religion, girls, war and horror. We used to do some politics, but that’s just not our thing.
How do you go about writing your songs?
Normally our bass player Boris will come up with some riffs. We will select our favourites and make skeletons of songs from it together with guitar player Luc. These songs are sent to our drummer Job and together we finish the song. Normally Björn (sometimes me) will come up with some lyrics and topics to scream about. Some fine-tuning and the song is finished! These days we think it’s important to have the song full of power and energy, but also needs to be catchy and have a good chorus!
I’m glad you mentioned that – is it important to for you to have a good amount of catchiness in your music, rather than focusing purely on aggression and extremity?
Hehe, I already answered this! But yes, it needs to be catchy! But we also focus a lot of aggression and extremity for sure.
What’s your favourite song on the album and why?
I don’t know, I really love to play “Necromantic Love Affair” live because of the combination of grindcore riffs with a sludgy metal break. Lyrics are also hilarious hehe. I also really like “Cripple The Cross”… faster, faster!!
Tell us about the album artwork
The artwork is done by Luis Sendon, he also did the cover from our previous album and the split 7″ with The Rotted. The concept was already clear for a few months, so it was just up to him to visualise our ideas. And I must admit, he did an awesome job!
How did the recording process go?
Surprisingly smooth! We were not that prepared like the previous album, but we made nice demos for ourselves, so we finished the job in a few recording days.
What does the future hold for Collision?
We just hope to play a lot and everywhere! We have some cool shows booked at the moment, but we are still open for more! So keep an eye at http://www.collisiongrind.nl for updates!
Thank you fort he interview and the support!
This is the début EP from French Progressive Metal band Gargantua.
Gargantua play Progressive Metal that combines some quite eclectic influences to produce a 26 minute calling card that shows off what they can do quite effectively.
To give you a flavour of their style, imagine a mix of The Meads of Asphodel, Sigh, The Black Dahlia Murder and Akercocke, among others. It’s essentially a form of melodic Death Metal with added folk, avant-garde and progressive influences, allowing the band a freedom to experiment and be playful with their influences.
The keyboard and accordion aspect of their sound is quirky and endearing. While not as completely over-the-top as some of the stuff that Sigh get up to, this part of their sound can still be demanding and attention-seeking.
The more aggressive Metal that lays the foundation of their music is tempered by their other influences so that the majority of the riffs have a lot of other stuff going on; the avant-garde and more-emotive aspects of their style are never too far away.
Thrash Metal-esque shouted growls, barely-holding-it-together screams, progressive cleans, operatic choral parts, emotive theatrics; there’s a plethora of different styles employed on Avant-Propos via four of the various band members.
A very promising first release. While not perfect, it shows a creative band willing and able to push boundaries to achieve the sound they want. With a few tweaks here and there to tighten the songwriting up, they could become quite a fearsome proposition in the future.
Check them out.
This is the latest EP by Rats of Reality, who are a Blackened Crust/Thrash band from the UK.
A short EP at only 11 minutes in length, Rats of Reality manage to have an unexpected start to this release which throws me slightly, before proceeding to demonstrate that yes, they may play some gnarly, crusty, fast-paced blackened grimness, but they do it in unusual and unexpected ways.
On paper, bands like this are plentiful and there’s sometimes very little to differentiate them from each other. As mentioned though, Rats of Reality are a bit different as they also use riffs that are a whole lot more emotive than most bands of this ilk write. They don’t always do this, (Leeches, for example, is a much more straightforward proposition), but when they do the melodies sometimes border on something you’re more likely to get from a Post-Metal/Shoegaze band, and at other times definitely are. Deafheaven plays Crust? Kind of.
Regardless, it’s an interesting and unusual slant on a well-worn sub-genre and overall Obsequies is enriched by these more melodic, emotive guitars. The ugliness of the core style is still here, but now it’s a beautiful ugliness. Or something. Just listen to it, you’ll get what I mean.
I’m pleased by this, as Rats of Reality have surprised and impressed me. I always enjoy it when a band does something a little different, especially if you weren’t expecting them to, and this certainly qualifies.
Highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 