Having passed away during the nineties, the once thriving Thrash Metal scene didn’t stay dead for long and the early aughts saw a gradual, but noticeable shift back to life. By 2004, the genre’s overdue re-animation was in full swing and a slew of new acts crawled out of the crypt, desperate to make an impression on the next generation of thrashers.Continue reading
21 years. It has been 21 years since the first Maryland Deathfest, which I was fortunate enough to be at. I wasn’t much into death and black metal at the time, but time has changed me and now I cannot get enough. Back then it was a three-day event, but now in 2024, it is four days plus a fifth day for the pre-fest. And that’s what I’m going to tell you about, the pre-fest for Maryland Deathfest XIX!Continue reading
Hellfest, held every year just outside of Paris, in Clisson, France, continues to up the ante every year with forever growing and impressive lineups! Taking place from June 27 to June 30, 2024, Hellfest will once again be four days long and over 200 bands appearing on six stages. For 2024, the headliners for each night will be Avenged Sevenfold, Machine Head, Metallica, and Foo Fighters. The full daily lineups, including one more major band tba, and the ticket link are coming soon!
Ah, Sodom. This is a band that any true thrasher that is worth their weight in leather and spikes discovered early in their metal journey when looking outside the “Big Four.” With plenty more ferocity than their U.S. counterparts, Sodom has had a tremendous influence on all forms of extreme metal that would come after. For over 40 years, Germany’s thrash metal kings have consistently kept the fists pounding and the heads banging.
Presented by District 19, Eindhoven Metal Meeting returns in December 2023 at the legendary venue Effenaar. The fest has added nine new bands: Wrang, Massive Assault, Cryptosis, Helleruin, Koldbrann, Mentors, Bodyfarm, Overkill, and Misþyrming. The bill now has 33 bands, but may add some more in time. Ticket, hotel, and travel info can be found at the link below.
A re-recording of their independently released 2014 EP, Illinois-based thrashers Bloodletter unleash Malignancy (Wise Blood Records) once again, but this time with a leaner production, sharper guitars, and tighter, more improved performances.Continue reading
Formed last year, Malefic Throne finds Morbid Angel frontman Steve Tucker joining forces with former Angelcorpse guitarist Gene Palubicki and drummer John Longstreth (also of Origin and Hate Eternal), the trio producing an eponymously titled four track EP (released via Hells Headbangers) of finest quality death metal.
The reignited interest in distinctly eighties-sounding metal styles, and more specifically, the thrash revival of the 2000s, has brought with it a handful of blistering new acts, alongside a slew of respectable releases from its originators. However, as a general scene, it has also suffered from a lack of innovation and compositional creativity. Often bands of this scene are perfectly content to just emulate classic sounds long-established by Sodom, Kreator, Venom, Bathory, and Slayer. Oftentimes, I find it a dull guessing game of which thrash bands are being ripped off whenever I listen to these bands. But there are nevertheless a handful of acts that in addition to paying tribute to the old guard’s sound manage to capture that fury, excitement, and blasphemous spirit of heavy music during the proto-extreme metal era. James McBain, the singular creative force behind Hellripper, clearly loves the style of first wave black metal and Teutonic thrash but is also creative enough to blend them to create something that sounds completely fresh. The result here is The Affair of the Poisons (Peaceville Records), a sophomore effort to the more straightforward Coagulating Darkness, and a release of blackened thrash/speed metal fury that will leave you yearning even more for a destructive live experience in 2020.Continue reading
