Thrasherama

Destruction Hit London Tonight!

2008-12-16T15:06:00.002Z

Yes, the German thrash titans play the London Camden Underworld tonight! Doors open at 1830, with support from Debauchery and Scared To Death. See you down the front!

VIDEO: Prong - The Banishment

2008-06-24T10:53:00.001+01:00

Loving this riff and, indeed, song...

NEWS: Exhorder Are Back!

2008-06-02T23:32:00.003+01:00

I finally caught up with some great news - the New Orleans riff-monsters Exhorder are back together after what must be around 15 years. Fantastic! Hopefully, this reunion will lead to their third album, following Slaughter In The Vatican and the truly stunning The Law. Now, if you haven't already, hit their MySpace page and show your support.

NEWS: Destruction: New Album Details

2008-05-06T12:16:00.002+01:00

Here's the latest press release, folks...

"Destruction have announced that they are to enter Hansen Studios this week and reveal the title of their new album as "D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N."

2008 - 25 years of German Thrash Metal history has elapsed, but still the unrelenting Thrash Monster that is Destruction is hungry, out there and on your trail !!

Perfectly transforming their long held belief in Thrash, Schmier and the boys have written 10 destructive new Thrash hymns including blistering moments such as "OFFENDERS OF THE THRONE", "UNDER COMPULSION" or "DOOMED TO DEVOLUTION", and this upcoming album will re-write Thrash Metal history! Meaner and more musical than ever before, the German metal originator reports back after three years without a new studio record! Sure, “Thrash Anthems” put down a marker, but that was bringing the past stingingly up to date. This is the future. Mark the 29th of August as an “Official” THRASH METAL HOLIDAY folks!!!

Whilst you were enjoying the first rays of Spring earlier this month, Destruction’s three way killing machine was hard at work. Song-writing and final rehearsals are now complete, and Schmier, Mike and Marc will withdraw to the Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark with Jacob Hansen on in a few days.

"Celebrating 25 years of Destruction is of course an additional motivation to record a new classic”, reports Schmier with his characteristic “Code Of Honour”!! “But the band has never before been so well prepared for a recording, and the new material is very dynamic crashing straight in your face! All Thrash maniacs can now look forward to a merciless and varied album which will put its predecessors in the shade! Beware!!”

On the release front, the new album is set to be released here on Sept. 1st. And, Destruction will then devastate the musical landscape with their historic "25th Anniversary World Tour" details of which will follow in due course. There are also plans for a full DVD release later in the year; all in the cause of celebrating one-quarter century of classic German Thrash Metal with all the faithful fans worldwide!"

NEWS: Testament's New Album Out

2008-05-03T22:03:00.002+01:00

The band's latest album, The Formation Of Damnation, was recently released. You can hear a couple of fine-sounding, riffy tracks on the band's MySpace page here. Tremendous!

REVIEW: Testament - The New Order (1988)

2008-03-20T13:58:00.009Z

Firstly, a general note about this blog: it's become screamingly apparent that I don't have time to write reviews with the amount of detail which I've been funneling in. So, in order to keep the frequency of blog-postings up, I'm going to stick to short, no-frills reviews. Hooray! Thrasherama lives on.

For some reason, when The New Order came out, it didn't immediately grab me. Perhaps I was thrown by the band's newly-adopted 'moshable groove' approach, in contrast with the head-down tactics employed by their debut The Legacy. On reflection, though, The New Order may be my favourite Testament album. Its very simplicity is its strength: the tracks are often quite similar in their approach, but they're all great, with some brilliantly bouncy riffage. Disciples Of The Watch, in particular, remains a mid-tempo thrash classic. It all went just a little off-rails with the following Practice What You Preach and a couple of albums past that, but right here, right now, Testament were scorching.

RATING: 93%

NEWS: Overkill In The UK!

2008-03-14T09:23:00.004Z

Yes, they're playing London Islington Academy on August 18. This is ridiculously exciting news.

REVIEW: OVERKILL - Immortalis (2007)

2008-01-24T12:11:00.001Z

1989's epic The Years Of Decay album featured E.N.D. (Evil Never Dies), a marvellous thrasher which was the fourth and seemingly final instalment in the themed Overkill song series. Ever since, I've been vainly hoping to see the title Overkill V turn up among the tracklisting of Overkill albums. Ten studio albums later, I'm blown away to see Overkill V... The Brand turning up on Immortalis.

It's a worthy sequel too, gathering elements of virtually all of the four previous songs, while continuing the loose storyline (which basically seems to be about a hellish assassin, not unlike the Friday The 13th film series' Jason Voorhees). It also pulls off the stunt of managing to rejig the original Overkill's main riff while making it sufficiently similar and different! Fantastic stuff, with a great chorus.

So that's me delighted. Worth the price of admission alone. Yet there are nine other songs to enjoy, offering a very high standard. Immortalis is more consistent than its 2005 predecessor Relixiv, which I enjoyed but have still yet to fully absorb into my system, despite some stand-out tracks like Loaded Rack and Bats In The Belfry. Yes, this one is back to the heights scaled by 2003's Killbox 13 - a fact which is made pretty obvious by the brilliant opener Devils In The Mist. It's an old-school thrasher which nails you to the wall in fine style, awash with that traditionally sinister Overkill atmosphere.

Between Devils and the closing Overkill V, there's really not a lot to moan about. This is good, solid, meat-and-potatoes Overkill with riffs the size of Belgium - especially on Skull And Bones, or Shadow Of A Doubt. Walk Through Fire sees a slight variation in form, with its slightly AC/DC-esque, driving chorus, but there are no ballads or mad deviations to interrupt your frenzied headbanging. Simply put, Immortalis rocks like The Rock in a rocking chair.

TRACKLISTING: Devils In The Mist, What It Takes, Skull And Bones, Shadow Of A Doubt, Hellish Pride, Walk Through Fire, Head On, Charlie Get Your Gun, Hell Is, Overkill V... The Brand.

AVAILABILITY: Out now through Bodog Records.

RATING: 91%

REVIEW: Exhorder - Slaughter In The Vatican (1990)

2008-01-22T12:32:00.000Z

While this New Orleans outfit were mightily strong in an overall sense, their greatest assets were riffs. Oh yes sir, Exhorder could play a riff or two. Guitarist Jay Ceravolo and Vinnie Labella were - and quite possibly still are - two of the hottest players in the thrash field. Their most mind-boggling hour would come with 1992's The Law follow-up, but Slaughter In The Vatican acted as a remarkable showcase for their fret-bothering bombast. Christ only knows how many strings they must have got through, during these sessions.

Aggression and a genuinely nasty edge also helped set Exhorder aside from much of the pack. Homicide, Exhorder and The Tragic Period all demonstrate this amply. The latter epic is one of the most remarkable thrash riff-fests you'll ever hear, shifting restless from section to section with barely a pause for breath. Sure, the odd track like Legions Of Death, might not be as advanced as the others in a technical sense, but Exhorder had made their mark for sure.

TRACKLISTING: Death In Vain, Homicide, Desecrator, Exhorder, The Tragic Period, Legions Of Death, Anal Lust, Slaughter In The Vatican.

AVAILABILITY: Released by Roadrunner Records on vinyl and CD. Was also issued in a double-CD package with its follow-up album, The Law.

RATING: 85%

VIDEO: Razor - Electric Torture live

2008-01-19T08:16:00.001Z

Dear God, will you please examine the ferocity of this band? This clip helps sum up why Razor are one of my very favourite thrash acts. And I want a Razor DVD... now.

VIDEO: Overkill - Rotten To The Core live

2008-01-17T23:39:00.002Z

Here's a classic track from Overkill's debut album Feel The Fire, setting the night ablaze at Germany's Wacken Festival last year...

REVIEW: Exumer - Possessed By Fire (1986)

2008-01-16T14:04:00.000Z

Possessed By Fire - now there's a thrash metal album title, eh? And this German band's debut album certainly lives up to its name, from the moment it slams into the title track. The main thing to strike you, besides the titanic riffing and abundant aggression, is the quality of the production, for what must have been a low-budget recording. Exodus-esque guitars are crisply prominent, drums pound and Mem Von Stein's vocals set about you like a pack of rabid hounds.

Fallen Saint with its Slayer-esque chorus and Xiron Darkstar (what an evocative title) deserve special mention. Perhaps the odd track on (what was once) Side Two isn't quite so memorable as others, but the overriding impression is of a storming arrival in the 80s thrash scene and a real gemstone in German thrash.

TRACKLISTING: Possessed By Fire, Destructive Solution, Fallen Saint, A Mortal In Black, Sorrows Of The Judgement, Xiron Darkstar, Reign Of Sadness, Journey To Oblivion, Silent Death.

AVAILABILITY: Like its follow-up Rising From The Sea, Possessed By Fire was quite recently re-issued on CD, with three bonus tracks and some nice sleeve notes written by band members themselves. Well worth picking up.

RATING: 83%

REVIEW: Znowhite - Act Of God (1988)

2008-01-14T14:53:00.000Z

Okay, so the cover is fairly abysmal, and hardly representative of the utterly crushing metal within. Look beyond the thoughtful depiction of an old woman with an 8-ball, however, and you'll find one of the 1980s' most overlooked genre releases.

Ian Tafoya is undoubtedly one of my favourite metal guitarists. He went on to form Cyclone Temple, which were a similarly riffy, if more melodic, proposition. But Act Of God sees him letting rip with gloriously mighty fretboard abuse, as singer Nicole Lee gnashes her unorthodox way through each song. One of Znowhite's many strengths was having a different take on melody, and this album's full of tunes which are elephant-heavy yet eminently memorable. Defiant opener To The Last Breath, the driving Pure Blood and the epic grind of Something Wicked This Way Comes are just three of the highlights on this must-have work. So what if the production's not up there with the greats? The crunch and intellect are there in spades.

TRACKLISTING: To The Last Breath, Baptised By Fire, Pure Blood, War Machine, Thunderdome, Rest in Peace, Disease Bigotry, A Soldier's Creed, Something Wicked (This Way Comes).

AVAILABILITY: This was originally out on Roadrunner/Roadracer Records, on vinyl and then CD. Although I'm tremendously excited to hear that Metal Mind Productions have put out a remastered version. As soon as I get hold of it, I'll update this review.

RATING: 93%

REVIEW: Razor - Shotgun Justice (1990)

2008-01-13T16:20:00.001Z

When Canada's Razor hit the metal scene in the early-to-mid 80s, they had a fairly primitive - but enjoyable - sound which was more Motorhead than Slayer. Then, after a period when some critics commented that Razor were being overly prolific and letting their quality levels slip, Violent Restitution came along in 1988 and blew away a whole load of fans-in-the-know with its extremely heavy sound and incredible riffing. But I'll review that one another day...

Shotgun Justice took Razor's sound a step further, as if the band wanted to make a point about what constituted 'true', non-commercial thrash. This was, after all, a time when some thrash bands were starting to wonder if they might actually be able to hit the big time, throwing the odd ballad into their repertoire and making themselves more accessible with a few tweaks, here and there.

This album, on the other hand, is accessible only to those who like their music brutal, intense and downright disagreeable. It's a superb piece of work, cleaning up Razor's previous sound to the extent of near treble overload, but using this as a virtue. Bob Reid makes his debut on this record, replacing Stace 'Sheepdog' McLaren, and a fine debut it is, sounding like someone's let a Rottweiler loose in the studio.

Any thrash fan should own this album: pure and simple. The likes of Miami, Electric Torture, Stabbed In The Back (which directly references the issue of thrash bands selling out; check out the super-fast riffing in the middle!), Brass Knuckles, Parricide and the wonderfully dynamic The Pugilist really are some of the genre's finest moments.

TRACKLISTING: Miami, United by Hatred, Violence Condoned, Electric Torture, Meaning of Pain, Stabbed in the Back, Shotgun Justice, Parricide, American Luck, Brass Knuckles, Burning the Bridges, Concussion, Cranial Stomp, The Pugilist.

AVAILABILITY: Seems to be long out-of-print, so scour eBay.

RATING: 98%