Impactor are a German Thrash Metal band who have taken it upon themselves to safeguard the Germanic Thrash Metal legacy.
This is Old-School thrash in the Kreator vein, with a fine dollop of extra extremity added into the proceedings for good measure.
The songs rip, shred and pound their way through the 51 minute playing time and not a single person is left unbattered, unbruised or undazed by the Thrash attack.
Choruses and hooks abound and the last couple of decades are completely forgotten as your head involuntarily bangs itself against the nearest wall over and over again.
The vocals sound like a hysterically deranged Mille Petrozza and they rage over the spike-laden guitars with fury.
This is the fifth album from Czech Metallers Six Degrees Of Separation, and it’s a bit of a conundrum, but a good one at that.
I wouldn’t particularly call this band a Thrash band or a Power Metal band, although they certainly have been termed both. Rather I will just call them a Metal band. Quite a timeless brand of Metal also; it sounds both too modern for Old-School and too classic for New-School.
The band have forged an interesting sound for themselves. It’s not quite Thrash, but not quite Power Metal either; it’s somewhere in the middle, borrowing aspects of both genres.
The album cover is atypical of pretty much all Metal genres, which is a sign that the band don’t necessarily fit into the normal genre pigeon-holes. What I do know however, is that this is very good indeed.
This album has a strong, full production that has a good crunch to it. It’s a sound that is satisfying and more-ish; as soon as it stops playing I could quite happily play it again.
Powerful vocals dominate the proceedings; they are largely clean and rough around the edges, further muddying the separation of harsher Thrash and cleaner Power Metal standards.
Interesting guitar riffs, melodies and leads are included in every song and once again blur the lines between their Thrash and Power Metal influences. The songs are also absurdly catchy.
Six Degrees of Separation may be non-standard, but in my book that’s a very good thing. This is a great release that I can’t recommend enough, and contains some storming Metal songs.
The Down Troddence are from India and play an interesting blend of Thrash Metal and other influences.
The Indian scene seems to be endlessly fresh, exciting and innovative; you’re never quite sure what to expect from the multitude of different bands that are based there. The Down Troddence are a perfect example of this; based on the name and album cover I wasn’t given much clue, even the brief description that I did have didn’t really tell me much.
What we get here is groove-heavy Thrash with interesting melodies and influences from a multitude of other genres interspersed within the heaviness.
The vocals remind me of the ones that Pitchshifter used on their early releases, only raspier; they share that same strange, rhythmic, mechanistic and unusual quality that Pitchshifter used so well in the beginning. They sound robotic, inhuman and characterful all at the same time. Odd but effective.
Musically it’s well-played modern Thrash with melody, leads, solos and added effects and keyboards. As well as the odd Folk influence they also incorporate aspects of psychedelia and Industrial sounds into the songs. Taken all together this adds up to an interesting and quite varied listen that has a modern Metal core but has enough elements of older Thrash and other influences to keep things really interesting.
So, take old Pitchshifter, add a dollop of Devildriver, throw in some classic Thrash, and then mix in a pinch of Folk/Psychedelia/Industrial sounds and you have a recipe for How Are You? We Are Fine, Thank You.
Unexpected and gratefully received; this is an album full of joys and with a lot to offer. Another victory from India.
Amok are from Scotland and play Old-School Thrash Metal.
It’s immediately apparent that Amok play authentic Thrash that’s unencumbered by modern strains and variants. This reminds of Anthrax and Testament from the 80’s and has the same kind of feeling about it.
Although it was released in 2013 it has a production job more reminiscent of 1983. This is not a criticism but merely an observation; it increases the impression that you’re listening to some long-lost Thrash gem from the genre’s heyday.
The songwriting follows suit too; catchy riffs fall out of the speakers like rain and guitar solos pop up over the place, which makes sense as this is based on an era when solos were plentiful, before the dark times of the 90’s where there was a worldwide shortage.
The singer does a sterling job; sounding like Joey Belladonna if he had a deeper, slightly raspier voice instead of his piercing high vocals. Admirable.
An impressive album with quality Thrash songs. Check them out for a slice of 80’s Thrash heaven.
India appears to be a hotbed of Metal talent these days. Devoid are another such band, but can they stand up to the high-standards of their countrymen? Let’s have a listen shall we…
After a short instrumental sets the scene, the band launch into the title track of the EP at speed. This is Thrash Metal with a strong Death Metal edge to it. They successfully manage to play both styles, and just when you think a song like The Invasion is essentially an out-and-out Death Metal track with a bit of Thrash, they slow things right down for the end and it goes all melodic and fades out slowly.
Aspects of the Old-School and the New- collide in Devoid’s songs, resulting in compositions that are a bit of both.
A good EP that promises much for their next album.
Indian band SystemHouse33 play a forward thinking brand of Metal.
After a typical perfunctory intro we get a nice brand of heavy modern Metal with speed, bounce and vocals that sound like they’re going to jump out of the speakers and beat you to death.
There are some good riffs on this album that take some of the best parts of modern Metal but manage to avoid all of the riff-recycling and At The Gates-pillaging that a lot of modern Metal bands end up doing. The drums underpin everything with a relentless backdrop of pounding and punchy beats.
Across the album the band use tools from the Metal, Thrash and even Death Metal toolboxes to build their sound. This is then combined with quasi-Industrial sounds and effects to spice up their music, meaning that a lot of the time there’s more going on than just the Meshuggah-heavy guitars trying to alternately flatten or slice you to death.
A diverse and effective album that is over far too quickly at only 22 minutes. The band seem to have plenty of ideas and no shortage of inspiration in how to apply them.
A quality release that promises bright things for them in the future. For a good blast of non-cliché Metal you can do a hell of a lot worse than this. Listen up.
Black/Death Metal with a Thrashy edge from Poland. Or Thrash Metal with a Blackened Death edge. Either way it’s a bit of a killer.
The first thing you notice is the granite-heavy sound and the utter crushing demolition job that goes along with it.
The songs are mainly fast and pounding but they also have good taste in their choice of slower riffs. This is quality Metal that’s pretty much half-Black and half-Thrash with an extra helping of Metal.
Chock full to bursting of Old-School riffery with a vague Punk air; these are class songs that know they’re good and can afford to have a cocky swagger about them.
The vocals have a lot of character and individuality. Think of singers such as those of Celtic Frost, Venom, Usurper, Cathedral, et al who manage to infuse their voices with both aggression and personality; the singer of Voidhanger is of their ilk, and it really works wonders.
This is a quality Metal album with a crushing sound that’ll have you reaching for the bulletbelt and spikes faster than you can say “blastbeat”.
Oops. Sorry. Excuse me; got all carried away then.
Solos!
There we go again…
Apparently this record was almost a decade in the making. I would say it has been time well spent as this is a quality album by a band who are paying homage to the best of the genre and simultaneously paving the way for the future.
This is breakneck Thrash forged in the fires of Slayer and given teeth with a production that lets the talent of the band shine bright.
The songs are mainly short, mostly not even breaking the three minute mark; but who needs longer songs when you can go Metal Thrashing Mad in half the time it takes other bands to get up to speed? And did I mention they have solos? I think I did.
The singer comes across as the bastard love child of Tom Araya and Mille Petrozza, (if you can imagine such a thing), and he does both of his spiritual fathers justice. A voice like nails on a blackboard.
An appropriate soundtrack to accompany you into the pit.
Age of Calamity is the second album from India’s Sceptre. It’s a concept album about societal attitudes towards women delivered via the medium of a harsh brand of Thrash Metal.
By Jove there are some good riffs on this album! Wrath of God is a perfect example. Storming and crushing. The entire album is full of quality songs though, so it’s no surprise.
The vocals are raw and unadulterated, ranging from grunts to shouting to dirty-cleans. The singer is clearly passionate about the subject matter and nearly lets his enthusiasm get the best of him on occasion, but not in a bad way; this merely increases the authenticity of the feelings involved.
The music is clearly Thrash Metal, but with more of a modern tinge to the sound that might have some people surprised. This is the real deal though, with serrated riffs flying left, right and centre and high velocity drums leading the charge the entire way.
Sceptre may not be the most prolific band in the world but they have been around long enough to know their stuff, and this album is testament to that.
French group Unscarred play Thrash Metal the way it was meant to be – catchy and crunchy.
Apparently this is a demo, but it sounds good enough to be their first ‘proper’ release if you ask me. Everything is recorded clearly and all of the instruments shine through, (yes, even the bass).
The band play Thrash Metal with a nod to both Old and New-Schools. To me they come across as a mixture of Annihilator, Anthrax, Lamb of God and Megadeth; all about the songs and riffs.
The singer has an exceptional set of lungs, I could listen to her all day. She has a varied approach using the full spectrum from rougher shouts all the way to much higher cleans. The shouts are okay, but her cleans are exceptional as she has a really powerful voice full of character and strength. Lay this over some razor-sharp Thrash music and throw in some good catchy hooks and you have a very memorable set of songs.
When it’s done well Thrash Metal is one of my favourite genres as you can just get caught up in it and before you know what you’re doing you’re bouncing around throwing obscene shapes and playing the invisible guitar. At least that’s what I hear. I’ve never done anything as unseemly as that of course. Honest. Moving on…
A really enjoyable release, especially for a demo. If the band can build on this for a whole album, and just clean up some of the small niggles in their sound then their next release should be fantastic. Here’s hoping for a bright 2014 for them.
Favourite Track: 100 Lashes. Ludicrously catchy, and sticks in your head for days.
Impactor are a German Thrash Metal band who have taken it upon themselves to safeguard the Germanic Thrash Metal legacy.
Wonderbox Metal 