As I mentioned in a previous review, I like to think I value originality in music. I have little patience for bands that are merely retreads or knockoffs of other groups. So you can imagine my reaction when, a couple years ago, I stumbled on Black Future, the debut album from Arizona thrashers Vektor. The cover of that album looked like this. For those of you unaware, there is a band called Voivod. They have a logo that looks like this. ”What in unholy fuck was going on here,” I thought? Is this some sort of joke? Is Vektor to Voivod what Municipal Waste is to D.R.I.? What possible motivation could a band have to do that? And more importantly….is it any good? Two years later, curiosity finally got the better of me, and I decided to check out Vektor’s newly-released follow up, Outer Isolation.
When Megadeth released Endgame in 2009, I was noticeably effected. This was Megadeth like we hadn’t really heard them since (arguably) Youthanasia, and for more fans, much earlier than that. It was a refreshed band with excellent writing and guitar work that matched the Marty Friedman days. The songs were well written, catchy and the record was tightly edited and honed down to perfect vinyl length. Honestly, Endgame was a record that I don’t think anyone but the most idealistic of Megadeth fans could even have been expecting. And though at the time I joked that we should make sure that Mustaine wasn’t stockpiling fertilizer, (I still hold firm to that belief) the record has aged pretty well. That, of course, means that there are some expectations for Th1rt3en. Expectations that this record, for example, will not suck. Continue reading
Bonded by Blood // Exiled to Earth
Rating: 2.5/5.0 — Re-run of the mill Label: Earache Websites: myspace.com/bondedbyblood Release Dates: EU: 16.08.2010 | US: 08.10.2010
Here comes another entry into the retro-thrash movement, for better or worse. Exiled to Earth is the second album by California thrashers Bonded by Blood and much like their debut, it’s firmly rooted in the 80’s thrash movement. Back in the days of the original thrash invasion, for every top-notch band like Slayer or Exodus, there were ten sub-par, generic clones like Atrophy, Devastation and Gothic Slam. Sadly, this release falls closer to the latter category. Continue reading
Trends often start off with a good idea or at least a respectable inspiration. However, through imitation and copying, that original idea becomes a trend and the trend gets boring, overdone and ultimately becomes a joke. The retro 80’s power metal trend is in full bloom and many would say the 80’s retro thrash movement has been overdone for years already. As someone who grew up in the 80’s metal era, I may possess more tolerance for this whole “retro” thing since it does this old heart good to hear a quality metal album that truly captures the sound, energy and spirit of a time long gone. Therefore, my review of The Empires of Inhumanity, the new release by German thrashers Fatal Embrace will be more charitable than what it would have received from other angry metal guys. In all fairness, these Teutonic shredders have been around since 1993 so they could rightfully be considered part of the original thrash movement rather than a retro band. Either way though, over four albums Fatal Embrace have demonstrated an unwavering dedication to the 80’s thrash style of Slayer and Sodom while foregoing all modern styles and current trends completely. Continue reading
Enforcer // Diamonds Rating: 3.5/5.0 – Enforcing your right to have fun. Label: Earache Websites: myspace.com/enforcerswe Release Dates: EU: 24.05.2010 | US: 05.25.2010 (Vinyl is June 8th!)
Another retro 80’s metal album being reviewed on Angry Metal Guy? This place must really be going to hell in a hand basket. Well, at least one angry metal reviewer is enjoying the ride and Enforcer’s new album Diamonds would be the perfect soundtrack for any such hell bound pleasure excursion. Following along with 80’s NWOBHM worshiping peers Steelwing and Stormzone, Sweden’s Enforcer roars back to life with the follow up to 2008’s Into the Night and the results are pretty impressive and more fun than barrel full of monkeys.
Exodus – Exhibit B: The Human Condition Rating: 3.5/5.0 – Last of their tribe Label: Nuclear Blast (EU | US) Websites: exodusattack.com | myspace.com/exodus Release Dates: Out Now Worldwide
Back in the olden days of the original 80’s thrash invasion, it seemed Exodus always got a raw deal and lost out on the respect and exposure as one the top dogs of the movement. While Metallica, Slayer, Medadeth and Anthrax hogged the lion’s share of the limelight, Exodus was always relegated to second tier status. That’s all water under the bridge nowadays and Exodus has been on a serious comeback tear since 2004’s Tempo of the Damned all the way through 2007’s The Atrocity Exhibition – Exhibit A. With this second lease on life, Exodus has essentially surpassed all the former top dogs by virtue of being the last band standing and still releasing quality, worthwhile metal music. Now comes the second part of the Atrocity Exhibition series, Exhibit B: the Human Condition and Exodus seems damned determined to hold onto their newfound position.
It is more and more apparent to me every day that heavy metal is going into a hibernation stage. As an Angry Metal Guy I try to keep my ear to the ground for movement in a forward direction, particularly from younger people. Instead, there’s nothing but a rash of neo-heavy metal and thrash bands that flood the market as apparently 18 year olds all feel like the really missed out on thrash and are out of ideas. But what’s worse than kids writing thrash metal records that could’ve been written in 1982? Kids writing butt rock albums that should’ve been written in the dying throws of 1980s cock rock in about 1991. That’s right, H.E.A.T., from the same town as venerable rockers Europe have decided to run with 1980s action movie theme as the basis for their sound.
So, you know how this sounds. In case you don’t, it’s like Winger or Warrant or any other one of those generic, unremarkable 1980s butt rock bands that everyone was so happy to do away with in the early 1990s. But there’s a twist. Oh yes, a twist. (Actually there’s more than one.) Firstly, this is an intentionally radio friendly pop band that is having their sound driven by the pop music industry in Sweden towards short, catchy and, finally, TV friendly songs that are cynically aimed directly at the panties of middle aged women who were super sexy in 1986 and miss all the hairspray, stiletto heels and tight skirts (or just never stopped..). Secondly, these guys aren’t even remotely on the cutting edge of anything. They are pure nostalgia for the sake of nostalgia and I’m not actually sure how they sleep at night, because they must have no dignity.
But let me go on a little tangent before continuing this review. Let us remember that when Europe released their excellent first two albums (Europe, and The Wings of Tomorrow a record that I still regularly listen to) they were doing something new. Sure, they were trying pretty hard to be Thin Lizzy and they were cheesy as hell. But they were on the cutting edge of rock (not as cutting as Bathory but, really, aside from that). They were part of a generation of young dudes who were breaking against the old traditions of masculinity by taking long hair, mullets and tights to extremes. They were writing Malmsteenesque guitar solos that still rule and they didn’t have producers standing at their backs (neither were they thanking slave drivers in their booklet). They were an independent group that got signed and wrote some great fucking music before finally selling their souls to the devil.
H.E.A.T. is the exact opposite of Europe. They are the exact opposite of forward thinking. They are the exact opposite of rock music rebellion of danger, of toughness and of anything except for pre-packaged commercial crap. They are nothing more than a repackaging of another schlager hit (complete with obligatory key changes in the final chorus). While they, surprisingly, do write their own music and are actually apparently fairly gifted musicians (there’s the occasional guitar solo that is really well done—like the one from the utterly cheesy “Danger Road”), the utter cynicism of this music turns my stomach.
Then again, I’m not the target audience by any stretch of the imagination. I feel like I’ve actually maybe been a little hard on the neo-thrash bands. Because thrash, while it maybe got a tad commercial when Metallica and Megadeth were on top of the world in the early 90s, isn’t the kind of thing that they’re expecting to have huge commercial success with. Drinking beer, rocking a Flying V and wearing tight jeans is still fundamentally metal and cool. H.E.A.T. is fundamentally neither of those things and if you’re a real metal fan you will not like this unless, maybe, you have an ironic mullet. Then it’s up in the air.
Steelwing // Lord of the Wasteland
Rating: 4.0/5.0 – NWOBHM Parmesan! Label: Noiseart Records Websites: myspace.com/steelwing Release Dates: EU: 30.04.2010 | US: Import 05.04.2010
Steelwing? Never heard of them. I toss in Lord of the Wasteland to see what I am dealing with and POW!! I get punched right in the face by an angry, metal spiked fist from 1982! This Stockholm, Sweden based band may be young and only formed in 2009, but man can they bring the pure, unadulterated NWOBHM power to the party. On this, their debut album, they shamelessly steal the best recipes from Iron Maiden, Saxon, Grim Reaper and Warlord and cook up a surprisingly fresh sounding, if utterly unoriginal metal meatloaf of riffs and attitude with enough cheese coating to choke a mastodon. Steelwing gives you eight fast and furious traditional metal anthems played by musicians who clearly worship at the altar of early 80’s metal and know exactly how that epoch of metal should sound.
The time traveling party kicks off with Enter the Wasteland, an intro track that sounds more than a little like Diamondhead’s “Am I Evil” (and I am 100% sure that was intentional). This intro gives fair warning of exactly how these youngsters intend to bludgeon you for the next hour. What follows is one classic 80’s metal onslaught after another that will transport older listeners back to a time when this whole “heavy metal” thing was new, exciting and unpredictable. If you were a metal fan in the 80’s, you simply can’t hear tracks like “Roadkill” (the first single and video), “Headhunter” or “The Nightwatcher” and not smile ear to ear.
All the songs feature Maiden-esque guitar riffs, galloping drumming and some WAY over the top metal vocals by frontman Riley. In fact, so over the top are the vocals at times that you have to wonder if certain parts of the poor guy’s anatomy are stuck in a crushing device (ex. near the end of “The Illusion”—guys, don’t try to hit that note while singing along or you’ll be visiting the doctor for an unpleasant adjustment). Every track is straight forward in structure and all exemplify good, old fashioned, metal songwriting. There aren’t any really weak tracks here and all rock pretty damn hard (“Roadkill”, “The Illusion”, and “Headhunter” being my personal favorites). The production is crisp and clear enough to bring everything over properly and the instruments are all given their own space and chance to shine. The lyrics are so painfully metal and clichéd that even Manowar would cringe and look away, but that only adds to the cheesy fun factor. This is exactly why Lord of the Wasteland works so well. It’s fun as hell!
The star of Lord of the Wasteland is undoubtedly the guitar work by Robby Rockbag (awe-inspiring pseudonym) and fellow axe man Alex and together they generate one catchy, memorable riff after another and keep things blasting along at a breakneck pace throughout. This album is an air guitar player’s wet dream and may cause guitar elbow if not used in moderation. Honorable mention has to go to vocalist Riley, who I hope suffered no debilitating groin injuries during the recording of this album.
Fun and pure nostalgia aside, if you have a soft spot in your angry metal heart for the type of music that was being churned out by Iron Maiden and Saxon in the early 80’s, then Lord of the Wasteland should be a big hit and take you back in time. Steelwing knows how to write and play some very catchy and infectious metal and they put on a clinic of era-specific metal worship (like Hammerfall without all the poserism). Well, since I’m stuck back in 1982 now, I’m going to write Kill ‘Em All before Metallica does and put them out of business before they grow up and destroy the world. All Hail the Past!
Havok – Burn Rating: 3.5/5.0 (Great riffing offset by bad, bad lyrics) Label:Candlelight Records Website:myspace.com/havok Release Dates: Out now (apparently)
How could Havok be anything but thrash? One doesn’t even have to listen to the band to get an idea of what they sound like when one looks at the coloration and logo of the band’s debut album: Burn. And Havok truly lives up to their predecessors—need I name them? Kill ‘Em All era Metallica, Testament, and so forth.. actually, these guys sound like a re-birth of America’s most famous metal scene of all time: the bay area thrash scene.
That said, Havok certainly isn’t just rehashed suck. Sure, they’re part of this ever-growing but never-developing neo-thrash scene, but they’ve got something a lot of these new bands never have had: chops. The riffing on Burn is fucking killer. It’s not your average thrash riffing, but instead it’s like taking Reign in Blood and putting it on meth—face-ripping, kick ass riffing that makes you want to thrash like crazy (though, I still don’t want to wear shoes with puffy tongues like I had in 3rd grade). On top of that, these guys are pretty technical, too. Sure, it’s not mind-blowing, but it’s cool enough that you’re left thinking, “yeah, these guys were a good pick-up.”
Unfortunately, despite great riffing, good tone and grooving tightness, Havok suffers from one thing: totally retarded lyrics. I mean, yeah, they could be worse.. They could be Ravage, but instead, they’re just ironically silly at times or worse. The track “Identity Theft” is a perfect example of this. These lyrics are just outright bad and should never have been put on a record. Frankly, that jackass from Slipknot wouldn’t have even used these. “Identity theft! Who are you? Identity theft! Find something new. You think your different? To try to fit in…” “I don’t try to lead, others just like to follow me.” Seriously, my middle school band had bitter lyrics than this. This stuff is just sad and silly and it really detracts from the record as a whole.1 While the music is fucking fantastically interesting and fun, the guitar playing is stellar and the feel of the album is great, I think they should’ve used some black metal vocals or something to hide how totally dumb their lyrics are.
Of course, the bad lyrics don’t stop this record from kicking ass. There are stellar tracks on here, particularly “Path to Nowhere,” “Scabs of Trust” and the seriously excellent “Afterburner” which is easily the best track on the album. When it comes to thrash, there sure as hell isn’t a lot coming out these days that I think is any good, so let me be perfectly clear when I say that Havok is the most convincing neo-thrash band that I’ve heard. They’ve got the edge, the technicality, the chops and the all around presentation that make them a band to watch. And I’ll sure as hell be watching.
Not to mention the irony that a band that is totally copying a scene long dead has absolutely no right to accuse others of being “followers.” That’s some seriously narcissistic irony. ↩
I make no bones about it, I am not a big Megadeth fan. Remember that part of Lord of the Rings where Gandalf calls Théodin “the lesser son of great fathers?” Yeah, the way I see it: Megadeth is pretty much the same way. Overrated, not very interesting and pretty much just kind of annoying. And they’re certainly past their prime. I DID, however, have to check out the new track (and land myself on the band’s mailing list—I do try to keep up-to-date) and I was highly amused. First, torture? What were the chances!? The American zeitgeist strikes again.
Anyway, Head Crusher is not a bad song, actually. Mustaine is less annoying than usual (probably because he’s been mixed down) and I don’t remember the guitar ever being this good on a Megadeth (RIP is highly overrated, anyway). So, yeah, I think these guys are actually better than they were in the past—and good for Mustaine. On the bright side, he did finally beat Metallica in some way: he out-metalled them. So good on him. But head crusher? Why is it that all I can think of is this…?
OK, *that's* cool. Too bad about the shitty bands, then RT @Metal_Mark: Metallica will be playing Ride The Lightning in it's entirety! WOW!” - 5 hours ago
As I mentioned in a previous review, I like to think I value originality in music. I have little patience for bands that are merely retreads or knockoffs of other groups. So you can imagine my reaction when, a couple years ago, I stumbled on Black Future, the debut album from Arizona thrashers Vektor. The cover of that album looked like this. For those of you unaware, there is a band called Voivod. They have a logo that looks like this. ”What in unholy fuck was going on here,” I thought? Is this some sort of joke? Is Vektor to Voivod what Municipal Waste is to D.R.I.? What possible motivation could a band have to do that? And more importantly….is it any good? Two years later, curiosity finally got the better of me, and I decided to check out Vektor’s newly-released follow up, Outer Isolation.
When Megadeth released Endgame in 2009, I was 
Here comes another entry into the retro-thrash movement, for better or worse. Exiled to Earth is the second album by California thrashers Bonded by Blood and much like their debut, it’s firmly rooted in the 80’s thrash movement. Back in the days of the original thrash invasion, for every top-notch band like Slayer or Exodus, there were ten sub-par, generic clones like Atrophy, Devastation and Gothic Slam. Sadly, this release falls closer to the latter category. 
Trends often start off with a good idea or at least a respectable inspiration. However, through imitation and copying, that original idea becomes a trend and the trend gets boring, overdone and ultimately becomes a joke. The retro 80’s power metal trend is in full bloom and many would say the 80’s retro thrash movement has been overdone for years already. As someone who grew up in the 80’s metal era, I may possess more tolerance for this whole “retro” thing since it does this old heart good to hear a quality metal album that truly captures the sound, energy and spirit of a time long gone. Therefore, my review of The Empires of Inhumanity, the new release by German thrashers Fatal Embrace will be more charitable than what it would have received from other angry metal guys. In all fairness, these Teutonic shredders have been around since 1993 so they could rightfully be considered part of the original thrash movement rather than a retro band. Either way though, over four albums Fatal Embrace have demonstrated an unwavering dedication to the 80’s thrash style of Slayer and Sodom while foregoing all modern styles and current trends completely. 
Another retro 80’s metal album being reviewed on Angry Metal Guy? This place must really be going to hell in a hand basket. Well, at least one angry metal reviewer is enjoying the ride and Enforcer’s new album Diamonds would be the perfect soundtrack for any such hell bound pleasure excursion. Following along with 80’s NWOBHM worshiping peers Steelwing and Stormzone, Sweden’s Enforcer roars back to life with the follow up to 2008’s Into the Night and the results are pretty impressive and more fun than barrel full of monkeys.
Back in the olden days of the original 80’s thrash invasion, it seemed Exodus always got a raw deal and lost out on the respect and exposure as one the top dogs of the movement. While Metallica, Slayer, Medadeth and Anthrax hogged the lion’s share of the limelight, Exodus was always relegated to second tier status. That’s all water under the bridge nowadays and Exodus has been on a serious comeback tear since 2004’s Tempo of the Damned all the way through 2007’s The Atrocity Exhibition – Exhibit A. With this second lease on life, Exodus has essentially surpassed all the former top dogs by virtue of being the last band standing and still releasing quality, worthwhile metal music. Now comes the second part of the Atrocity Exhibition series, Exhibit B: the Human Condition and Exodus seems damned determined to hold onto their newfound position.
It is more and more apparent to me every day that heavy metal is going into a hibernation stage. As an Angry Metal Guy I try to keep my ear to the ground for movement in a forward direction, particularly from younger people. Instead, there’s nothing but a rash of neo-heavy metal and thrash bands that flood the market as apparently 18 year olds all feel like the really missed out on thrash and are out of ideas. But what’s worse than kids writing thrash metal records that could’ve been written in 1982? Kids writing butt rock albums that should’ve been written in the dying throws of 1980s cock rock in about 1991. That’s right, H.E.A.T., from the same town as venerable rockers Europe have decided to run with 1980s action movie theme as the basis for their sound.
(not as cutting as Bathory but, really, aside from that). They were part of a generation of young dudes who were breaking against the old traditions of masculinity by taking long hair, mullets and tights to extremes. They were writing Malmsteenesque guitar solos that still rule and they didn’t have producers standing at their backs (neither were they thanking slave drivers in their booklet). They were an independent group that got signed and wrote some great fucking music before finally selling their souls to the devil.
Steelwing? Never heard of them. I toss in Lord of the Wasteland to see what I am dealing with and POW!! I get punched right in the face by an angry, metal spiked fist from 1982! This Stockholm, Sweden based band may be young and only formed in 2009, but man can they bring the pure, unadulterated NWOBHM power to the party. On this, their debut album, they shamelessly steal the best recipes from Iron Maiden, Saxon, Grim Reaper and Warlord and cook up a surprisingly fresh sounding, if utterly unoriginal metal meatloaf of riffs and attitude with enough cheese coating to choke a mastodon. Steelwing gives you eight fast and furious traditional metal anthems played by musicians who clearly worship at the altar of early 80’s metal and know exactly how that epoch of metal should sound.
here and all rock pretty damn hard (“Roadkill”, “The Illusion”, and “Headhunter” being my personal favorites). The production is crisp and clear enough to bring everything over properly and the instruments are all given their own space and chance to shine. The lyrics are so painfully metal and clichéd that even Manowar would cringe and look away, but that only adds to the cheesy fun factor. This is exactly why Lord of the Wasteland works so well. It’s fun as hell!
How could Havok be anything but thrash? One doesn’t even have to listen to the band to get an idea of what they sound like when one looks at the coloration and logo of the band’s debut album: Burn. And Havok truly lives up to their predecessors—need I name them? Kill ‘Em All era Metallica, Testament, and so forth.. actually, these guys sound like a re-birth of America’s most famous metal scene of all time: the bay area thrash scene.
Frankly, that jackass from Slipknot wouldn’t have even used these. “Identity theft! Who are you? Identity theft! Find something new. You think your different? To try to fit in…” “I don’t try to lead, others just like to follow me.” Seriously, my middle school band had bitter lyrics than this. This stuff is just sad and silly and it really detracts from the record as a whole.
