Megadeth

Freya – Grim Review

Freya – Grim Review

“Once almost exclusively the preserve of floppy-haired teenagers, metalcore is a style that seems to delight and depress in equal measure, depending on whom you talk to. There is a smattering of bands who fall into the genre however, such as Heaven Shall Burn, While She Sleeps and Crossfaith, to name but a few, who manage to demonstrate that with the right nous it’s in fact possible to produce a substantially more wholesome, mature record than your stereotypical ‘core’ band. Formed in Syracuse in 2001 out of the ashes of local straight-edge vegancore outfit Earth Crisis, Freya have been churning out sludgy metalcore, with much emphasis on their hardcore beginnings, for over a decade now.” Upstate New York in da house!

Iron Fire – Among the Dead Review

Iron Fire – Among the Dead Review

“Formed at the turn of the millennium and billed in their promo material as “Denmark’s best-selling power metal band,” Iron Fire have consistently put out strong records with distinctive characters. 2014’s Voyage of the Damned was perhaps their darkest album to date, sounding like a cross between Dark Tranquility and Kamelot, but with more balls. Since then the band has seen some personnel changes: original drummer Gunnar Olsen has returned to the fold, and they’re now operating as a three-piece. What does this mean for new record Among the Dead?” Big in Denmark!

Awaiting Downfall – Distant Call Review

Awaiting Downfall – Distant Call Review

“Sometimes it’s almost impossible not to look back on the past and ask ‘what if?’ As in ‘what if I’d actually taken those piano lessons in middle school and learned to play an instrument?’ or ‘what if I’d actually talked to that cute girl in my sophomore English class and didn’t end up as a single guy in my mid-twenties eating Chinese takeout on my couch while wearing a faded Morbid Angel shirt with the sleeves cut off?’ With debut Distant Call, German thrashy metalcore quartet Awaiting Downfall aim to answer their own versions of this question: what if Trivium didn’t go full Metallicore with The Crusade and instead tried to remake Ember to Inferno?” The implications are staggering!

Crisix – From Blue to Black Review

Crisix – From Blue to Black Review

“When “Spain” and “thrash” are mentioned in the same breath, I immediately think of Angelus Apatrida. While they kind of lost me with their newer stuff, their first two albums (especially sophomore release, Give ‘Em War) are essentials. The mold is a familiar one for fans of Testament, Death Angel, Exodus, and Megadeth, but those first two albums deliver. However, a couple weeks ago my definition of Spanish thrash metal changed forever when Crisix appeared in my inbox.” That sounds promising!

Ripper – Experiment of Existence Review

Ripper – Experiment of Existence Review

“I often gripe about the general state of the current thrash scene and how it’s stagnating with a lack of cutting edge innovators and general over reliance on rehashing the past. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, however, more often than not I find myself looking back to the past and grabbing an old favorite to get my thrash fix. Already in 2016 old school thrashers have been grinning from ear to ear with the return to form of Megadeth and Anthrax, along with the enduring space-age proggy thrash of the recent Voivod EP. Fortunately there’s a heap of room for new faces to emerge and make an impact on the current thrash scene and show that young pups can be as equally wily as old dogs.” Ready yourself for the latest in pup thrash!

Mefisto – 2.0.1.6 Review

Mefisto – 2.0.1.6 Review

“What do you get when the length of time between a band’s demo and their first full-length debut is longer than the entire life of the guy writing about it? This review, that’s what. Next, what do you name your record when you release it sixteen years after we all drained our bathtubs because Y2K ended up not shutting down the municipal water supply? 2.0.1.6, if you’re kvlt Swedish band Mefisto.” Y2K was a ploy by the Illuminati!

Megadeth – Dystopia Review

Megadeth – Dystopia Review

“Sure, we weren’t exactly charitable toward the last two Megadeth albums, but who among us hasn’t been rooting for Dave Mustaine to get his shit together and give us another Rust in Peace or at least another Endgame. For my part, I’d pretty much given up on seeing that day, especially after the dumpster fire that was Super Collider. With major line up changes (Kiko Loureiro in for guitar god Chris Broderick and Chris Adler in for Shawn Drover), blood was in the water and it seemed Dystopia might end up an ironic statement on the state of Megadeth’s health.” Time to turn your head and cough, Dave as we offer a double examination of the state of Dystopia.

Annihilator – Suicide Society Review

Annihilator – Suicide Society Review

“Those who’ve been around the blog a while know I’ve been feudin’ and beefin’ with Annihilator for so long, even AMG thinks my mind is gone. I’ve taken their past few albums to task because I know they’re capable of so much more than the half-hearted, formulaic party thrash they’ve delivered for the better part of their 26 year career.” Can’t we all just get along?

Deathblow – The Other Side of Darkness Review

Deathblow – The Other Side of Darkness Review

“As noted in our brief thrashnalysis a few months ago, Peak Rethrash occurred in 2006 (defining Peak Rethrash as the year the largest number of new thrash bands formed). This makes Deathblow relative latecomers, forming initially as Deathblo in 2008 before buying a dictionary in 2012.” We examine trends, compile stats, crunch numbers. Then, and only then, do we rethrash!

Reign of Fury – Death Be Thy Shepherd Review

Reign of Fury – Death Be Thy Shepherd Review

“I bet you have that friend that swears they can guess a band’s genre solely from the band name? Well, if your friend is anything like mine, a genre can also be identified by the band’s font style, the album artwork, the attire in the band pic, and the track titles. For those ignoring these words and instead staring drop-jawed at the album cover to the left, you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into. However, your friend will mighty upset with themself when they make the assumption that Reign of Fury is just another re-hashing, re-thrashing outfit.” Now THAT’S a cover!