Thrash Metal

Darkane – The Sinister Supremacy Review

Darkane – The Sinister Supremacy Review

Darkane is a band is that has been somewhat overlooked over their fifteen plus year career despite some solid output. Born in the second wave of Swedish melodic death metal, they were strongly influenced by the likes of At the Gates, Dark Tranquility and Soilwork. They made their bones crafting, thrashy, technically impressive death with plenty of melody and references to the “Gothenburg sound” and albums like Rusted Angel, Expanding Senses and Layers of Lies were enjoyably intense assaults on the listener full of vicious riffs and harsh vocals, all sugar-coated with slick, technical prowess. Unfortunately for the band, their birth more or less coincided with the explosion of metalcore bands equally influenced by the Swedish melo-death sound and Darkane quickly got lost amid a sea of crappy core.” Can these melo-death mongrels re-establish themselves after a five year hiatus or is it too little too late in a genre that has began to dry up?

Havok – Unnatural Selection Review

Havok – Unnatural Selection Review

“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?

Evile – Skull Review

Evile – Skull Review

Evile has always occupied a strange space in the re-thrash movement. They seem to be one of the big wigs in the scene, yet I hear far less buzz about them than many other retro acts. They are also one of the few bands to eschew the common Slayer, Exodus and Testament mimicking in favor of a much more traditional Metallica influence. Their sound generally exists in the phantom zone between the Master of Puppets and And Justice for All eras and the later works of long overlooked Wargasm.” That combo sounds like a can’t miss, right? When you’re talking about skull tank music, you can never be too sure, so you better find out where Steel Druhm stands on the Skull.

Kalmah – Seventh Swamphony Review

Kalmah – Seventh Swamphony Review

“As the only blackened thrash band willing to sing about fishing and fish generally, Kalmah always had a special place in my outdoorsy heart. I mean, who else can make simple tales of man vs. fish seem so epic and life threatening? I was impressed by their first four outings (with Swampsong being my favorite), but I felt really let down by their For the Revolution opus, which felt quite tedious. While things kicked back up for the enjoyable and energetic 12 Gauge, it still felt like a band entering the “spinning the wheels” period of their career. Thankfully, Seventh Swamphony sees these psychotic fishermen make a triumphant return to the off-the-rails, blackened thrash of old which straddles the line between the melodic tomfoolery of Children of Bodom and more extreme, cvlt black/death acts.” Do you like blackended catfish metal like Steel Druhm does? If so, you best don the hip waders and read all about the return of the swamp lords.

Joel Grind – The Yellowgoat Sessions

Joel Grind – The Yellowgoat Sessions

“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!

Sodom – Epitome of Torture Review

Sodom – Epitome of Torture Review

“As a fan of Sodom since my early teens, I’ve developed a certain comfort level with their steadfast refusal to evolve or progress beyond the basic template of 80s Germanic thrash they helped establish along with Kreatorand Destruction. There were always plenty of other bands I could count on to surprise me or throw me for a loop musically, I certainly didn’t need Sodom changing their caveman ways. Of course, when a band releases album after album of essentially the same old school thrash mixed with punk, you can expect some degree of tedium and recycling and I’m never going to bang on these cats for a lack of originality. However, when one of their typically Sodom-esque albums is bad, it’s bad. Epitome of Torture is such an album…” Sodom just keeps rolling on in their skull tank of Germanic design, but even the greats stall out sometimes. Join Steel Druhm as he checks under the hood for problems.

Pessimist – Death from Above Review

Pessimist – Death from Above Review

“The artwork is so typical and the title, silly and banal as hell. Even a cursory glance at the pointy band logo should immediately hint at which metal sub-genre this band belongs to, but hang on for a second and hold back that derisive snort…” Oh no!? What’s Happy Metal Guy going to say? The suspense has got to be killing you…

Warbeast – Destroy Review

Warbeast – Destroy Review

Destroy is the second full-length record for Arlington, Texas-based thrash metal warriors Warbeast. It follows 2010’s promising debut Krush the Enemy, and a split, also released in 2013, with Philip H. Anselmo and the Illegals, entitled War of the Gargantuas.” Now they’re back with their second full length, and Natalie Zed is here to tell you whether it’s time to strap yourself into your skull tank or not!

Blackshine – Soul Confusion Review

Blackshine – Soul Confusion Review

“And now for something completely different. Blackshine is an underground Swedish act sporting an interesting blend of thrash and hard rock. Though I’ve seen them refered to as “death n’ roll,” I never found that to be an apt descriptor. Their sound is like a raucous blend of First Wave Bay Area thrash, Motorhead, Sentenced, a wee bit of Wolverine Blues-era Entombed and a smattering of stoner/biker rock.” If that sounds like a heady brew of influences, join Steel Druhm as he gets his Blackshine on.

Philip H. Anselmo/Warbeast – War of the Gargantuas EP Review

Philip H. Anselmo/Warbeast – War of the Gargantuas EP Review

“I know nothing about music. No, seriously: I have no clue what this stuff is all about. I know this Anselmo guy was in a metallic band: one of those which must have done something cool back in the 1990s (no, not in the noughties, as far as someone has told me) because nowadays he is allowed to make music in many bands and he even produces many others. This album is only 18 minutes long and this is great because it’s filled with noises of all sorts, but it works because I really like it and it gives me the kind of adrenaline boosts I need when I feel exhausted. This is basically an album where Mr Anselmo and a band he put together for the occasion (Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals) play the first and the third song, while another musical group called Warbeast play the even numbers.”