Thrash Metal

Annihilator – Ballistic, Sadistic Review

Annihilator – Ballistic, Sadistic Review

Annihilator is one of those eternal, inevitable metal acts, and just like country-mates Anvil, they’ll likely be releasing albums 20 years after the end of all life on Earth. I’ve reviewed a ton of their albums for AMG and I’m well past the point where I feel the need to sing the usual song about them never having lived up to the enormous promise shown on their first 2 releases. At this stage of their career they’re playing something like a hybrid of thrash and traditional metal and they’ve been doing it more or less the same way for decades. You know what you’re going to get and you either like it or you don’t.” Sadism in effect.

Svarttjern – Shame Is Just a Word Review

Svarttjern – Shame Is Just a Word Review

“The moon is full, the candles in my bedroom are flickering, and the neighborhood feels like it’s burning to the ground. The sirens scream up and down the street, the homeless behind the dumpster are cursing at each other, and the drug dealers in next door’s complex are firing warning shots into the air. My bartending friends say the place is overcome by angry, aggressive creeps. And my colleagues at the psychiatric ward say the patients are howling at the moon. It’s like a re-imagining of Carrie, minus everyone’s favorite whipping boygirl. Yet, it’s a perfect night for the chaos that pours from my speakers.” Blackness in the night.

Bonded – Rest in Violence Review

Bonded – Rest in Violence Review

Bonded is a German band that qualifies as both new and old when it comes to thrash. Rest in Violence is their debut record, but founders Bernd ‘Bernemann’ Kost and Markus ‘Makka’ Freiwald are both longtime veterans of Teutonic thrash legends Sodom. The duo has assembled an army of talent and is launching an all-out assault on the groovier side of the thrash subgenre tree. Will this initial foray hit with the force of an agent orange drop, or is it better off dead?” Bond jumpers.

Yer Metal Is Olde: Pantera – Far Beyond Driven

Yer Metal Is Olde: Pantera – Far Beyond Driven

“Few bands in the history of metal earn such massive amounts of acclaim and disdain across the broader metal community than Pantera. The Texan legends dominated the mainstream metal scene throughout the ’90s, after reinventing themselves from their questionable glam roots, developing into a testosterone-fueled juggernaut of thrash-based groove metal.” Driven to excess.

Rose Tint: El Cuervo’s Discoveries of 2019

Rose Tint: El Cuervo’s Discoveries of 2019

“Following my last couple of year-end lists, it should now not come as a shock that I spent more time fleshing out my historical knowledge of music than my contemporary knowledge. In honor of my abject failure in keeping my eye on the present, I have received approval to document my ever-deeper plundering of previous decades in an article detailing my favorite older records which I first heard in 2019.” Old things, young ears.

High Command – Beyond the Wall of Desolation [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]

High Command – Beyond the Wall of Desolation [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]

“I soon began to hear rumblings about Beyond the Wall of Desolation both in the comments here and in the metal community abroad, so I finally forced myself to taste of the fruit that the record has to offer. It’s a good thing that this fruit comes pre-pulverized in smoothie form, because High Command’s brand of thrash lands like a swift punch to the mouth and I found myself sans teeth in short order.” Teeth are for closers.

Oath of Cruelty – Summary Execution at Dawn Review

Oath of Cruelty – Summary Execution at Dawn Review

Oath of Cruelty are a name I’ve been familiar with for a while even if their output thus far has been extremely limited. Formed in 2010, this Texas trio play a combination of death and thrash metal that first came to my attention with 2014’s lean and mean Hellish Decimation EP. Consisting of just two tracks, Decimation seemed to show Cruelty had a mastery of their style, with the EP’s five minute runtime being filled with absolutely fierce riffing and crunchy rhythmic breaks that made it impossible not to bang your head.” Obsessed by cruelty.

Reign of Fury – Exorcise Reality [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]

Reign of Fury – Exorcise Reality [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]

“I can’t believe it’s been four years since I first listened to Reign of Fury. For those of you that don’t remember, or weren’t alive during that time, Reign of Fury’s 2015 release, Death Be Thy Shepherd, was so good it landed atop my year-end list. As I read over the words I wrote long ago, three things are clear. First, I’m still a shitty writer. Second, boy, a lot has changed in what seemed like a perfect life for ole Grier. Third, Exorcise Reality is no Death Be Thy Shepherd, Part Deux.” Reality bites.