Wow – what a raging blackened death thrash beast this debut is from L.A. based Dreaming Dead! At its core (no pun – there’s no ‘core in site here), Within One is a vicious thrash assault with splashes of melody throughout, excellent guitar work all around, busy, blasting drums, blackened vocals, and a definite old-school […]

No introductions required here. Kreator are back with their 12th studio album and first since 2005’s Enemy of God, which is possibly their best (at least it’s my favorite). Four years is much too long of a wait after such an incredible last offering, but I’m glad to say that it was well worth it, […]

Saratan are a modern thrash band hailing from Cracow, Poland, and The Cult of Vermin is their debut LP. I say “modern” because they don’t fit the mold of all the retro or “revival” bands that are coming out of the woodwork, and incorporate a fat dose of groove to their sound. While The Cult […]

“Infernal City Black Metal” is what Wastelander refers to themselves as. The Infernal City, I discovered through the albums press sheet, is Lansing Michigan. Now, I’m not much of a black metal fan, and really don’t know a whole lot about it, but I hear a strong early thrash influence, as well as a strong […]

“Kickass Bladerunner thrash!” the bands Myspace proclaims. By this I assume they mean mostly mid-paced grooving thrash, coupled with black metal-esque vocals and samples/effects that would remind one of the Bladerunner movie. Now, I’ve never seen the movie (yeah, yeah, sue me), so I can’t point out if they use samples of the flick or […]

By Any Means Necessary, despite the horrible name, are a very promising sounding and very young looking death/thrash band from Austin, Texas. Their first recorded output, this self-titled EP is three short tracks (all under 4 minutes) of pure aggression. If I had to compare, I’d say take early slayer, newer Kataklysm and Lamb of […]

Here we have a Swedish entry to the current wave of classic thrash that’s seemingly pouring out of every corner of the world. But where most of these bands are typically pretty young, Guillotine formed in 1995 under the name Holocaust by members of Nocturnal Rites. The experience shows on Blood Money, as all 11 […]

METAL, fuck yeah! Initially, before hearing Enforcer, I was under the assumption that they were another thrash revival band – I was wrong. Retro they are, yes, but they went back even further, to sounds that for the most part, predate thrash. Say, circa 1982, Enforcer combine the galloping nature and traditional/NWOBHM style of Iron […]

By now, incorporating Middle-Eastern accents into metal is not the most original of ideas. Nile and Melechesh have both been doing it for several years now, and new bands keep popping up doing something similar. Now we have Arkan, a French band with Middle Eastern roots trying their hand at it within the context of […]

I’ve come to the conclusion that melodic death metal is not dead – far from it. Yes, it is extremely over-saturated, what with everyone and their brother doing some sort of Gothenburg inspired band, then you have to take into consideration all the American metalcore (and worldwide copycats) bands aping and raping the style, but […]

I like sweets – occasionally. Usually I find some new candy that’s relentlessly addictive, and I binge on it for awhile, until I tire of it. The same can be said of a band like Raunchy. They have a sound that is ridiculously catchy and formulated for mass appeal – the kind of stuff that […]

It’s stuff like this right here that I appreciate about reviewing. Even though 90% + of the stuff I get to review is either average or totally lame, there is occasionally something that shows up that catches me completely off guard – for example, this EP/demo from Belgium’s Forced Evolution. As the name might imply, […]

I’ll be the first to admit that the Gothenburg sound is probably the most overdone and over saturated style in metal, but I’ll also quickly admit that I’m a huge fan, especially when done right. Meet Finland’s Omnium Gatherum if you haven’t done so already. The Redshift marks the bands fourth long player, and fourth […]

And so the thrash resurgence/revival marches on. This time I have before me the debut full-length from Head On Collision (HOC). I first discovered the band while tooling around Myspace (hey, it really can be awesome sometimes right?) 2-3 years ago, looking for some fresh thrash. Not only did the band impress me, but they […]

Here’s one I’ve been anticipating for awhile. Pitch Black Forecast is the new project from Jason Popson, formerly half of Mushroomhead’s vocal attack. While I was curious as to what kind of direction Popson would go in leaving his former mega-band, I was more interested in the fact that the godly Gene Hoglan was to […]

Oh for the love of Dio… Who the hell thought this was a good idea? A decade ago, this would have made a big splash, but as far as I can tell, it’s 2008 and nu-metal is long dead, thankfully. The last thing we need in the metal world is another band of this ilk […]

By now, The Haunted should need no introduction. Featuring 2/5’s (at one time 3/5’s) of Swedish legends At the Gates, they’ve had their fair share of the metal spotlight over the past decade. Their vocalist is subject of much heated debate on blabbermouth over his personal blogs, and over the past couple years, their fan […]

What’s up with Canada? It seems that nearly every act coming from up north is just loaded to the brim with talent. Prime example: Divinity with their debut full length Allegory. This young band shows more technical superiority and diversity than the bulk of bands that could be considered veterans out there playing this style, […]

*thwack* *thud* *sswack* *thwack* Excuse me, I was just beating a dead horse. I figured if I caught it on tape, maybe it could land me a record deal. It’s really no different than Arizona’s A Breath Before Surfacing (ABBS) – mish-mashing At the Gates riffs with excessive blasting, breakdowns, death grunts and growls with […]

Through Your Silence is a metalcore/deathcore band from Italy. While not terrible at what they do, Whispers to the Void does little to change my mind about deathcore or offer up anything new. All the expected elements are here – chugging breakdowns, the occasional blast beat, Gothenburg melody, vocals that work as a balancing act […]

I praise lots of bands and albums, many of which probably more so than they truly deserve – what can I say? I tend to be an overly enthusiastic metal head. Though if there is one band that deserves every ounce of praise I heap upon them album after album, its Regina, Canada’s Into Eternity. […]

What are all these lists without a thrash version? Since I seem to be the resident thrasher here, I put it upon myself to compile a list of personal favorite thrashtastic albums for you all to debate over. As others have stated, this isn’t meant to be some sort of definitive list of greatest thrash […]

I don’t have anything against female vocalist in metal, it’s just that I prefer the more aggressive and suiting sounds of male vocalists. Sure, I like Arch Enemy and Light This City, but Angela Gossow and Laura Nichol are growlers, and suit their respective bands sound, not to mention my personal preference. I’ve just never […]

Sporting ex-Darkane vocalist Lawrence Mackrory (from the excellent Rusted Angel album) on bass and backing vocals, I had high expectations from Enemy Is Us and their second full length Venomized, despite the not so great band name. What I got was a heaping dose of unmemorable mediocrity. Venomized is a lesson in Swedish repetitiveness. Don’t […]

Wow – here we have an unsigned act from Hamburg, Germany called Storm of Sorrows that labels need to snap to attention and watch, because these guys are loaded to the brim with talent. Their second LP, Slave to the Slaves really caught me off guard with the massive amount of skill contained within. Melodic […]