Slayer

Abyssous – …Smouldering Review

By Natalie Zed on September 25, 2013 in 2013, Death Metal, German Metal, Iron Bonehead Productions, Reviews, Death Metal, 2 comments

“Hailing from the Saxony region of Germany, death metallers Abyssous first appeared on the scene with a sodden, bone-breaking crunch with 2012’s …Smouldering demo. The raw, cavernous quality of those tracks attracted the attention of Iron Bonehead Productions, who have released the demo as a full-length with the addition of two new tracks. The LP version of …Smouldering is every bit as dank as the original release, but the additional tracks do more than pad out the length of the record. There is a sense of a more complete narrative arc and a fuller musical construction that improves the album as a whole.” Old school death is plenty good, but when you add in some old timey Morgoth influence, then it deserves real attention!

Ultra-Violence – Privilege to Overcome Review

By Steel Druhm on July 31, 2013 in 2013, 3.0, Italian Metal, Punishment 18 Records, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Thrash Metal, 2 comments

“Re-thrashers just keep coming through the floorboards and as with roaches, for every one you see, hundreds more lurk just out of sight. Ultra-Violence is a new bug and they hail from Italy of all places. Their Privilege to Overcome debut doesn’t completely reinvent the thrash wheel, but it does offer a dizzyingly schizoid blend of modern thrash, second wave Bay Area style thrash like Defiance and Faith or Fear, Germanic thrash, crossover hardcore like D.R.I. and modern stuff like Machine Head.” If that doesn’t sound like a thick re-thrash stew, nothing does! Join Steel Druhm as he examines if Ultra-Violence has what it takes to kick the requisite amount of buttcheek.

Havok – Unnatural Selection Review

By Steel Druhm on June 16, 2013 in 2.5, 2013, American Metal, Candlelight, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Thrash Metal, 13 comments

“I couldn’t help it, I had to rescue this review from Mr. Fisting Himself and his mad, imperious rule of giving every rethrash album a 2.0. Why did I have to spare Havok from the dubious rating thrash heap you ask? Because these feisty youngsters strike me as the true vanguard of the rethrash movement and where they go, so goes the retro wave. While Havok brings little in the way of musical innovation to a static, fairly stale style, they’ve staved off tedium on prior albums like Time is Up through sheer youthful exuberance, grit and fancy musicianship.” Steel Druhm may be able to save Havok from Mr. Fisting, but can he save them from themselves?

90s Metal Weirdness, Hanneman Edition: Diabolus In Musica

By Dr. Fisting on June 6, 2013 in 90s Metal Weirdness, 9 comments

Cast your minds back to a time when metal music was not cool. Nay, indeed, a time when metal was anathema to all that was considered to be “chic” and “in.” A time when your favorite bands were actually encouraged by the music industry to play slower, cut their hair, and write sensitive lyrics about their childhoods. Yes, this unfortunately really happened.

Our new semi-irregular feature “90s Metal Weirdness” focuses on albums released between 1992 and 2001 and which we all probably would rather forget. But in the service of publicly shaming the musicians involved, we have pushed forward. — AMG

Joel Grind – The Yellowgoat Sessions

By Steel Druhm on May 25, 2013 in 2013, 3.5, American Metal, Hells Headbangers Records, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal, 3 comments

“Whoa! Steel Druhm did not expect this thing to kick anywhere near as much ass as it does. In fact, this is an insidious ass-kicking machine, free from the lab and turned loose on mankind with naught but ill intent. The author of this wanton hiney massacre is one Joel Grind, the force behind the old school, retro thrash band Toxic Holocaust. Between albums he apparently felt the burning need to craft this hugely lethal collection of thrash anthems under this eponymous project name.” Imagine if old Bathory got humped by Motorhead and Slayer and you would have a good idea what this goat sounds like. BAAAAH!

Founding Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman Passes Away at Age 49

By Steel Druhm on May 3, 2013 in Blog Posts, 13 comments

“It’s with a heavy heart that we report the passing of Jeff Hanneman, founding member of iconic thrash band Slayer. Along with battery mate Kerry King, Hanneman was instrumental in creating and defining the “Bay Area Thrash Sound” as well as the thrash genre itself. His frenzied guitar duels with King became a cornerstone of the style, imitated by countless other acts. During their musical prime in the 80s and early 90s, Slayer set the standard for aggressive, edgy and ferocious thrash metal and their Reign in Blood album is regarded by many as the final word on the topic.” Huge bummer.

Six Feet Under – Unborn Review

By Steel Druhm on March 7, 2013 in 2013, 3.0, American Metal, Death Metal, Metal Blade, Reviews, Death Metal, 11 comments

“Having never been a supporter of Six Feet Under and their caveman, cartoonish take on death metal, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of a few songs on their 2012 album Undead. While the album as a whole was still pretty rancid, there were telltale signs of a band maturing a bit (finally). When I heard they had line up changes, but still had another album ready less than a year out from Undead, it didn’t bode well in my mind for continued maturation. When, it shows what I know, because Unborn is a shockingly big step forward for these guys in terms of writing, playing and all things death related.” Steel Druhm has been mighty harsh to Barnes and Co. in the past, but times change and apparently Six Feet Under can as well. I like these little life lessons!

Mortillery – Origin of Extinction Review

By Steel Druhm on February 25, 2013 in 2013, 3.5, Canadian Metal, Napalm Records, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Thrash Metal, 3 comments

“In the sea of mediocre re-thrash that was 2012, the unheralded debut by Canadian upstarts Mortillery was one of the few life rafts of quality. Murder, Death, Kill was tongue-in-cheek fun and had all the flavor of the second wave of ’80s thrash while incorporating just enough traditional metal and punk elements to keep things interesting. You could feel the youthful exuberance and hunger in the band’s music and they greatly benefited from the exception vocals of Cara McCutchen and the axe slinging acumen of Alex Scott and Alex Guitierrez.” Steel Druhm happily trotted out the skull tank of rethrash for 2012s Mortillery debut, and now they’re back with a follow-up! Will that tank start up again after sitting all year?

Hatriot – Heroes of Origin Review

By Steel Druhm on February 25, 2013 in Reviews, Thrash Metal, 16 comments

“As both the original vocalist for Testament and Paul Baloff’s (R.I.P.) replacement in Exodus, Steve “Zetro” Souza was certainly a big player in the original Bay Area thrash explosion. After leaving and rejoining Exodus several times and churning out a few Dublin Death Patrol albums with Chuck Billy, Zetro is finally in a band of his own and back to rethrash us like it’s 1986 all over again.” Want a bonus Exodus album? What about a really good Exodus album? Here it is. You’re welcome.

What Means Expendable: The Strange Case of Jon Dette

By Dr. Fisting on February 22, 2013 in American Metal, Blog Posts, 31 comments

So it looks like Dave Lombardo is out of Slayer. Again. It seems he was dismissed from the band after investigating their finances and wondering why he was not getting paid. Interestingly, Slayer frontman Tom Araya was also part of this fact-finding mission, yet he was allowed to keep his job. While there are many layers to this, to me it reeks of a double standard for drummers, who are increasingly treated as an easily replaced commodity among heavy bands. Which leads me to the dark and mysterious past of Lombardo’s current replacement, Mr. Jon Dette.