|
The Best Thrash Metal Album
|
Even though this might be more hit and miss than their previous albums, Out To Die never misses the Aura Noir point: to get you thrashing around. At its worst, it's still more savage than most thrash discs from 2012, while at its best (listen to "Abbadon" for a good example) it's more ruthlessly and consistently explosive than tequila in a drunk dude's digestive system. Years and years of blackening out their thrashing and thrashing up their blackness is more than clear on this; these guys are pros at making no-nonsense metal.
Soundcloud |
|
|
Novelties like "precision" and "tuneful singing" are for scientists and Broadway musicals, not for thrash that's as aggression-first as this thing, thoroughly, is. It's a messy, barbarous and, above all, fast album played with recklessness. It's comparable sonically to driving as fast as whatever piece you drive can go through pools of blood and bones with oversized fireworks screeching and exploding as you go by--beer in hand, DUI's pending. It's a fucking good time.
Bandcamp |
|
|
Exumer, a band that's been kicking in faces and snapping necks since the mid-80s, still know how to shred. Fire & Damnation may be more of the same from them, but it's all mixed to sound clearer and it all sounds a bit groovier, so checking it out won't bore if you're a fan of theirs. Nor will it if you're not.
Youtube
›› Full review... |
|
|
Despite having Ron Wyden's (D., Oregon) face as this thing's only competition when it comes to preternatural ugliness (due mostly to the grindy vox and the cassette-y mixing), the sheer number of successful hooks on this will keep you coming back for more. The dynamic of being consistently repulsed then drawn back in may be for a certain kind of masochistic metalhead, but these guys are the sorts of professional sadists who make it work. The end result of their formula, on every track, is Fun. Don't have to understand the underlying psychological mechanics at work here, it all works. Accept it.
Bandcamp
›› Full review... |
|
|
Kreator proved once again why they are on top of the Teutonic thrash food chain. While this release will most likely reach a broader audience, the old-school thrash metal fan will nevertheless enjoy the aggressiveness which Kreator is known for. They did explored the more "softer" side of thrash with Phantom Antichrist, but the signature sound of crushing riffs, memorable solos and heart pounding drum beats did not suffer at all. The Kreator has returned!
Youtube |
|
|
Overkill has proven conclusively with 2010's Ironbound and 2012's The Electric Age that they won't let the looming of retirement homes in their near future and their inexplicable, growing interest in the TV series The Waltons deter them from making the kind of furious and entertaining thrash that we all expect from them. This album here is just more evidence that these guys are some of the best in the business.
Soundcloud
›› Full review... |
|
|
With a frenetic catchiness firmly grounded in a powerful and melodically inclined thrash Paradox stand out with a sound of their own among their modern peers with this punchy package with its own unique flavour.
Soundcloud
›› Full review... |
|
|
| Thundering, pummeling thrash as infectious as the Swine Flu, energetic as a tasmanian devil with a meth addiction, Ghostmaker sports tight riffs, swell solii, and, in general is a "fucking wild" time. |
|
|
More than any other band in 2012, Sylosis proves that thrash metal is still a genre that is capable of innovation and experimentation. The music on Monolith sounds like no other thrash band out there, with the completely unique approach to melody and riff construction that this band delivers evident on every track on the album. Monolith therefore represents a possible direction for thrash to evolve into in the future and for this reason is a must-hear release for all genre fans.
Facebook |
|
|
While their 2008 release The Formation Of Damnation is highly regarded as their return to the fold, with Dark Roots Of Earth they took another, bigger step toward the legacy they once held in the Eighties. Their motto while writing the new album apparently was "old habits die hard" since Testament brought back their shredding riffs in addition to Skolnick's awesome guitar solos and packaged it all into a modern, yet still classic sounding thrash piece. Shredding - check; solos - check; drumming - Gene Hoglan - enough said.
Soundcloud
›› Full review... |
|
|
