A friend of mine describes bands that just seem to pop off in their respective subgenre of music as “having the sound.” Bands that really found the secret sauce for their artwork that resonates with many. Drain has been one of those bands in the crossover thrash space as they drop their third release, …Is Your Friend (Epitaph Records). Keeping it under thirty minutes but above the max of the energy meter.
St. Louis, Missouri’s Dazzling Killmen emerged in 1990 and were named after a character in Lucas Samaras‘ Crude Delights. They managed two full-length albums and four singles before splitting in 1995. Continue reading
Sometimes you just need a good thrashy, Crossover Punk band to get your blood pumping. Toxic Youth have been dishing out what you crave now for thirty-five years with no signs of slowing down. Their latest album, Still Hungry (Time To Kill Records), continues that mission statement relentlessly for over thirty minutes.Continue reading
West Coast thrash metal legends Dark Angel will embark on “The Extinction Level Event” North American Tour this fall, their first domestic trek in over three decades. Dark Angel’s first North American tour since the early 1990s celebrates their forthcoming comeback album, Extinction Level Event (Reversed Records), their first new album since 1991. Support on these dates will come from Sacred Reich, Hirax, Vio-Lence, Midnight, Void, and Interceptor! More details below! Continue reading
Wisconsin’s crossover thrash masters Bray Road are back with a slamming new single, “Wasted Mutiny!” After premiering their video “Burn” in 2024, they have teamed up with Ghost Cult again, Marvel-style, to premiere their new jam and lyric video. Check out the killer new track below, sure to be on your summer “metal slay-list!”Continue reading
Although only formed in 2022, you could easily be forgiven for thinking that Leipzig speed metallers Morbyda have been around since the early eighties as debut album Under the Spell (Dying Victims Productions) hits all the right nostalgia notes while delivering something uniquely its own.Continue reading
Amazing to watch a band grow so exponentially over the last few years, that in a distant country like Greece, Turnstile were upgraded to a larger outdoor venue, a big deal for acts that come to Athens.Continue reading
Chicago thrashers Misfire are back with a vengeance. In this exclusive interview, Ghost Cult’s Keefy sits down with drummer James Nicademus, vocalist Tim Jensen, and guitarist Kostadin Kostadinov to discuss their explosive new album, Product of the Environment, out now via MNRK Heavy.Continue reading
On album number eight, long-running Canadian punk rockers Propaghandi continue to perfect their craft on At Peace (Epitaph Records) in a manner their peers can not keep up with. They self-identify as a progressive thrash band, which is a point driven home on several songs, but at the album’s core beats their rebellious punk hearts. Perhaps it’s because they are from Canada, but the political edge to their lyrics has always hit differently. They remain thoughtful and self-reflective, with this brooding carrying over into the metallic edge, coloring this album, which must be listened to through headphones, if possible, as it makes the guitar pop more than computer speakers.Continue reading
The more uncertain the times, the more violent the reaction. A point proven in the eighties with the explosion of Hardcore and Thrash, and this self-titled debut by Oregon act Stress Test is like taking a step back into that time. A time when everyday existence meant the fear of war, disease and hate; a time when religion and politics were even more corrupt and depraved than certain types of criminals. The sad thing is though, you only have to spend thirty seconds watching the TV or doomscrolling through your news feed to see history repeating itself, only worse and often in more insidious ways.Continue reading