I have not been a big thrash guy since my teens (Sabbat, Metallica, Toranaga, Slayer etc), and none of the ‘nu thrash’ (Municipal Waste, Toxik Holocaust etc) has really grabbed me. The only 2 ‘new’ thrash bands that I have really enjoyed have been Germany’s Mortal Infinity and The Netherlands’ Anger Machine, as they have a little more ferocity to them.

Enter this split from Germany’s Pripjat and The Ukraine’s Hell:On. Two thrash bands that have been around for a little bit, but certainly not household names outside of their respective countries. And funnily enough I actually rather enjoyed both, especially the Hell:On material.

Pripjat, the newer of the two bands, have what I would describe as a more classic thrash sound mixing bay area and inherent Germanic thrash. I get a bit of an early Anthrax vibe with a bit of a punk sneer and more traditional double bass filled, frenetic, thrashy hack n stab pacing. Their 4, more real world based tracks and one intro are uptempo and urgent with lots of solos and a more raspy shout/wail as the vocal delivery from Kirill Gromada (who also serves in world metal act Ayahuasca). The last 2 tracks “Birth Control” and “Beyond” are particularly good, both being pretty long and delivering a wide array of thrash tropes with confidence and skill.

Hell:On, on the other hand are a little burlier and beefier, bordering on death metal, especially the deeper vocals and themes. They have 4 tracks, one of which is a live version of “Satan” from their 2012 album Age of Oblivion. I ended up really digging these guys, they have a little bit of a Dew Scented  and classic  Sepultura meets beefy Danish metal (think Illdisposed) going on. Fierce opener “Spreading Chaos” get right to it, and meaty mid paced number “Ashes of The Gods” delivers a moody mid paced bruiser with a Middle Eastern vibe, that I really fucking dug. “B. S.B” is a double bass, trundling monster with yet more Arabic atmospheres (something I guess the band has dabbled with for a while),  and those three tracks had me researching the band and listing to their back catalog, they are that solid.

In all a rare awesome split that has enough variety and value (48 minutes worth) to make it a solid pick up.

[Visit the band's website]

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