Cyclone

Armory – The Search Review

Armory – The Search Review

“Before the thrash explosion of the 80s truly took off under the guidance of rising stars like Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, there was its ugly predecessor, speed metal. Basically, traditional metal played faster, speed metal often approximated the sound of a record spinning at the wrong speed. It was a loose, unrefined and fun style often lacking the hard-edge of thrash. I was sad to see it all but die out by 1987, and Sweden’s Armory apparently feel the same way, so they painstakingly recreated the speed metal sound on their sophomore outing, The Search.” Speed still kills.

Trouble Agency – Suspected Review

Trouble Agency – Suspected Review

“One of the most criminally overlooked thrash albums from the glorious 80s was a little gem called Brutal Destruction by unsung Belgian act, Cyclone. It had a great balance of anger, aggression, melody and hooks and I still go back to it some 30 years later. The band went on to release another solid album, then vanished. Out of the fall of that and other Belgian acts like Decadence arose crossover thrashers, Trouble Agency.” Trouble’s abrewin.

Encyrcle – Encyrcle Review

Encyrcle – Encyrcle Review

“Speed metal wasn’t around long as a separate genre before it got absorbed into the more popular thrash bubble following the Bay Area explosion. Over the years the differences between the styles blurred, and while they’re slight, speed metal was always closer to classic metal in attitude with a greater emphasis on memorability and hooks. And that’s where Denmark’s Encyrcle come in.” Nobody saw this dose of old timey fury coming.