Holdeneye throws his weight around with a hefty Top Ten(ish) list. Can you move it? Likely not.
Toxik
Saunders’ and Felagund’s Top Ten(ish) of 2022
Saunders and Felagund demand to have their Top Ten(ish) lists heard across the land. We obliged.
Record(s) o’ the Month – August 2022
“November is just around the corner, but before thoughts turn to turkey and giving thanks, we should probably address the elephant in the room. That pachyderm is the Record(s) o’ the Month for August (2022). Why would this sunny summer installment be so late?” Click HERE to find out.
Toxik – Dis Morta Review
“Founded in 1985, New York thrashers Toxik released two albums before vanishing into obscurity. 1987’s World Circus (think Anthrax meets Sanctuary) and 1989’s Think This (think Cowboys-era Pantera meets Megadeth) have enjoyed cult-classic status ever since thanks to the band’s phenomenally technical playing, insane vocals, and bizarre songwriting. The band broke up in the early 90’s and briefly reformed in 2007 and again in 2013, and is ready to unleash Toxik’s first full-length in over twenty years.” Toxik thrashculinity.
Flotsam and Jetsam – Blood in the Water Review
“A man’s real possession is his memory. In nothing else is he rich, in nothing else is he poor. Wise words but, what wisdom giveth, it may also taketh away. That first time Steel slides a selfie into your dms holding something unspeakable in one hand and a promo in the other is forever etched into each staffer’s mind. While fortunes fade and that furry memory remains, at least the promo material tends to improve with time. Case in point, Blood in the Water by thrash stalwarts Flotsam and Jetsam.”” Blood and Steel in the water.
Hellnite – Midnight Terrors Review
“During their halcyon years Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax loomed large over the thrash landscape, basking in success and spawning a fanbase so large it defied a horizon. But there existed a tier below the A and B-listers, bands like Allegiance, Heathen and Xentrix who eked out a modest existence built on solid albums supported by a coterie of eager followers. This is not a vein you’d expect a modern thrash band to mine for inspiration, yet that is exactly where Hellnite have chosen to strike their pickaxe with their debut album, Midnight Terrors.” Mine the medium.
Vorbid – Mind Review
“Thanks to the increasingly virulent strain of spurious medical staff that infect AMG, I don’t often get a chance to review the sadly diminished number of thrash acts that grace the promo bin. As it happens, thrash was my musical first love, and having been fed hale and hearty on golden riffs, I will always hold a collection of bloody knuckle memories close to my heart. However, when I spotted Norway’s Vorbid alone and unmolested in the selection sewer, I knew now was my time to strike.” Are you Vorbid?
Amoth – Revenge Review
“Amoth is a highly talented group of musicians who play a hyper-kinetic style of progressive metal with elements of tech-thrash, power, goth and traditional metal all patched and glued together with gum, tape and optimism.” Duct tape solves so many problems, but maybe not this one.
Fallen Angels – World in Decay Review
“The biggest problem with grabbing a thrash promo from a band that references Forbidden, Annihilator and Testament, is that I have no choice but to spend hours listening to some of the greatest metal albums to date. Not that I’m complaining but it is difficult to shut off Annihilator’s Alice in Hell once it gets started.” Thrash is back…for the attack.
Exarsis – The Brutal State Review
“One of the stranger parts of American culture is the phenomena of the Civil War reenactment. For those of you unfamiliar with this, it is exactly what it sounds like: History buffs and other geeks dress in 1860’s-era clothing, meet at a public place, and painstakingly recreate some of our nation’s most infamous battles. As fun as this might be to watch, the reenactments are somewhat predictable, because every single time (with one exception) the outcome is exactly the same. If you can imagine the futility of witnessing the same battle over and over again, fully knowing how it will end, then you are beginning to understand how difficult it is to review retro thrash albums.” And that brings us to the dulcet tones of Greek thrashers Exarsis. Mr. Fisting thinks these guys just made one of the better Bay Area thrash records of 1989, except that they’re from Greece and it’s 2013. That poses a problem.
