ALBUM REVIEW: Raider – Trial By Chaos


 

I’m a Thrash junkie. My addiction started as a teen when I started dabbling in Megadeth. From there I had to go harder adding more extreme bands to my growing addiction. Several years later and now a full-blown addict, it’s become increasingly more difficult to scratch that itch. When Raider showed up in my inbox, I knew I found what I was looking for.

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ALBUM REVIEW: OTTTO – Life Is A Game


 

OTTTO is a trio out of Venice Beach that features a style that combines thrash and funk with modern metal. Life is a Game (ORG) is their debut album. Perhaps the most notable member of the band is their bass player, Tye Trujillo, the son of Metallica’s Robert Trujillo.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Fake Names – Expendables


 

Think of high-profile collaborations and what springs to mind? Self-indulgent widdling like the simply dreadful Dylan & The Dead live album, Sting, Bryan Adams, and Rod Stewart‘s unwanted ‘All For Love’ for the movie The Three Musketeers, Phil Collins and Phillip Bailey, Korn, and Skrillex? I’m sure there are many other offenders out there but you get the picture, ideas that may have sounded promising on paper but ultimately should have remained there.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Rhythm of Fear – Fatal Horizons


 

It’s been five years since Rhythm of Fear released their last album, Maze of Confusion. The crossover thrash band is back with more pummeling riffs and plenty of attitude with Fatal Horizons (MNRK Heavy) Just like any good thrash band, Rhythm of Fear targets the government, aliens and the occult in their sonic assault.

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CONCERT REVIEW: At The Gates – Municipal Waste – Enforced Live at Irving Plaza


 

Recently renovated classic venue Irving Plaza in New York City is the scene for the finale of the US leg of At The Gates most popular album, Slaughter of the Soul. Enforced opened the night. They’re an interesting group to me. They sound like a mix of Death Metal/Thrash with a some hardcore-tinged vocals. Whatever they’re going for, it’s working for them. I dig it.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Razor – Cycle of Contempt


 

It’s been over 25 years since Canadian thrashers Razor’s last album. Since then the band has reformed and played a string of shows here and there. In recent years Relapse Records reissued some of the band’s earlier material, Violent Restitution, Shotgun Justice and Open Hospitality. A new generation seemed to discover or rediscover Razor and they were hungry for new material. This was just the push those old thrashers needed.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Eruption – Tellurian Rupture


The early eighties Bay Area Thrash scene may be one of the most successful and influential metal scenes of all time. Their waves of influence are still felt today even in the far-off land of Slovenia. Continue reading


CONCERT REVIEW: Carcass – Immolation – Creeping Death Live at The Vogue


Carcass is closing the books on their Spring tour with Immolation and Creeping Death this week. Starting out in Austin, Texas and culminating at what might be the final Maryland Deathfest, I caught up to them at The Vogue in Indianapolis.

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Cage Fight Books UK Tour Dates and Festivals


Up and coming hardcore/thrash supergroup Cage Fight, featuring TesseracT guitarist James Monteith and former Eths vocalist Rachel Aspe, have announced their debut self-titled album, Cage Fight. The record is due out May 13 on Candlelight Records. Pre-orders are live at the link below. The band has now announced a series of gigs in the UK, including Bloodstock Open Air. Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Demiser – Through The Gate Eternal


I love the amount of metal to choose from nowadays. I don’t really know if I have a favorite. That would be much too hard of a task for my brain to try to manage. I got to check out some killer thrash from down south. I do love me some thrash so, needless to say, I was more than eager to dig into it. So, without any more BS, blazing a trail outta South Carolina comes Demiser with their latest cut Through The Gate Eternal (Boris Records). Demiser comes out guns blazing on this record-keeping the groove while crazy amounts of lightspeed riffs are being thrown at you almost non-stop. Even the songs that kinda start off with run-of-the-mill thrash riffs soon get the heat turned up, rolling into solid grooves. They even throw in sort of a ballad for good measure making for a decent balance. Continue reading