HeXeN - Being and Nothingness [2012]

The musicianship here is uncanny! 

It is always incredible to hear an album where you can clearly hear each members love for their musical instrument. If it takes these gents a little bit longer than the fans wanted to get this one out then so be it. If you find yourself thinking, "Man, I have been waiting forever for this bad mother to come out! It better be good!"; then fear not! Because these songs are VERY thought out and much time was spent with each and every one. 

What really sticks out about this undoubtedly the astounding musicianship. Things keep moving here and well, progressing into something more. A lot of the time whenever the word "progressive" is uttered, people shun and think "BOOOORING!", and that could not be further from the truth. It is as if the band has to move forward each time they play a riff. The evidence is clear in every song, but for example with the first song "Macrocosm", which starts out with a piano playing a minor chord progression (total prog move), you can take every phrase and find a little something different each time. And that applies to every song on this glorious bastard. 

There is one thing that must be noted. This album is very melodic. This is one thing that I actually tend to stay away from because to be frank, it isn't my thing; nothing against it. It is just not my thing. But for those who cannot get enough of melody in metal this is the perfect album for you! These guys did not skip a day of music class and clearly know what they are doing. 

This really is a great album and to be honest, this one will probably be the one that takes them to the top. They really deserve it for the time and effort that was put into this bad boy. This is album appeals to everyone but if you happen to be a guitar player... prepare to crap yourself, and then start touching yourself... in that order. Legends could take a lesson for these guitarists. For a band that spent this much time trying to make themselves as well as you happy with killer tunes; you should return the favor and pick this up. Well worth your money and more importantly it is worth your time. 

83%

Favorite Tracks: Defcon Rising, Stream Of Unconsciousness, Nocturne

Sax - Moravské náøez [1993]

Some of the best thrash metal out there!

Czech is starting to become a gold mine for underrated thrash. First Asmodeus and now these guys! The gems just keep coming. With little to be known about them, based on the Metal Archives these gents have put out 3 demos (Which I have yet to hear) and 2 full lengths. Also according to the MA, they split up in 1992 and formed Sax Pijak after the vocalist left the band. This seems quite odd seeing as this album was released in 1993. Either way it is a good thing it is here because our lives were nothing before this.

These thrash masters blend a magnificent sound that reminds one of old Voivod and Testament. They have tons of the ever so thrashy upbeats that scream old school Testament and Exodus. Then really melt minds with those obscure chords Voivod is so well known for; mainly the tri-tones. The intro to the song "Maniak" is a perfect example of what mixing the fore mentioned bands sounds like. Especially in the first track as well, that song will have you hooked right after that awesome intro when the riffage kicks in. And at 2:11 seconds, the bass will have you begging for more! And yes the vocals are in Czech, yes they are amazing, and fuck you if you only listen to English speaking bands. It is much better to hear vocals in the native tongue! The musicianship is incredible on every ones part. The drummer is able to keep things interesting and switch things up without changing what the riff sounds like.

The interesting part about all of this is that they manage to do all of that without being a prog band or overly technical. And on top of that can keep the songs short and sweet. Long songs are great, but there are moments when songs can drag out and it seems much more efficient to keep them short. It is also easy to loose a crowds attention if your songs are too long. And any band that has riffs like these that can keep a song short without going crossover is just stunning.

The riffs are simply outstanding and the musicianship is truly an inspiration to us all. Seriously, this album rules hard, and it took me 1 minute of trolling Google before I found a way to listen to it. And this is worth finding. Please take the time to listen to this, they blow so many bands right out of the water!


94%


Favorite Tracks: Uhnívat zaživa, Maniak, Popravèí píseò


Here is what I have been able to find via Youtube. It is not this album, and honestly this band is one that has gotten better over time. These tracks still blow tons of bands out the water though!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJUZ0ItEMM8&feature=BFa&list=AVTGnpyrBl25ywuPboD_JFkO0qTkHriC2r&lf=list_related

Obliveon - From This Day Forward - 1990

Obliveon! Underrated Techy Thrash!

The problem with Vektor is that they don't release a new album every weekend for the music nerds to worship. So, we have to reach into the all giving internet and find incredible underrated bands like Obliveon to become obsessed with! Montreal is the luckiest city on earth to have such good bands come from their area! Obliveon alone is enough to make anyone want to make a trek there, and tell these talented bastards to get back together and start jamming this album again! It mixes Sci-fi with technical elements while still maintaining a thrashy sound!


Diving straight in, these riffs will melt your mind and keep your interest all the way through the whole album! It starts out with a short clean intro in the first track, and title track, "From This Day Forward". And if that intro doesn't just scream Vektor at you, rewind it, and listen again! The riffs in this just don't let up! There is nothing worse than when a band gets overly techy and can't write a riff to save their life. There is none of that overrated wank in here. They can still keep the fast paced thrash riffs and kick it into moshing mode with the hard ass mid tempo's that will have you circle pitting in your living room! One of my favorites is at 1:52 of the second track, "Fiction of Veracity" turn that shit up! That track also starts out with a mind numbingly awesome guitar lead that will play in your head all day! Seriously, every single track is worth mentioning for the awesome riffs and drumming.

The bass and drums kill it on this CD. DAT FUGGIN' BASS! Right in the first track he dishes out some leads at around 2:05 and in the second he keeps up with the guitar at 3:50. And really he steps it up all over the album. Same with the drums, the way they bring in the second track is astounding. He really shows off his double kick work in every track. Not just in how long he is able to maintain it but the way he switches it up and really highlights every note and picking pattern in the riffs.

This is seriously an album that is worthy of a ten page, long, boring, track by track review. But to spare you the theatrics you should just listen to it on YouTube and kill yourself for not being worthy. Everything on this Album is amazing, the vox, guitar, bass, drums, you name it. Now stop reading this kiss ass review and LISTEN!!

97%


Favorite Tracks: ALL OF THEM!! They all rule equally.

Testimony - Interview with Derek Lambacher!

Q: When did Testimony get started? Was it you and your brother? Have any of you dudes had any formal music training? It’s hard to believe you all got that good on your own!

A: Testimony started in the winter of 2009 with just my brother Taylor on drums and the original guitar player Martin Bowman. Soon Mike Gawel was recruited as another guitar player, but they had trouble finding a bassist. After practicing for a while they eventually asked me to join. When it comes to formal music training I’m the only one who’s had some. I currently attend Columbia College Chicago as a music major with a concentration in Jazz Studies.

Q: How did you go about writing the songs for Transcending Reality? Do you all sit down and come up with riffs or use guitar pro and send them to each other?

A: All of the songs on Transcending Reality were composed by an individual and then presented to the rest of the band. Sometimes we used guitar pro, for example Society’s End. That song was written by Mike and it was never rehearsed before going into the studio. Basically we learned the tune from guitar pro then went into the studio and tracked it, which was pretty difficult to do. I wouldn’t recommend it haha.

Q: Do you guys have any plans to tour or any thoughts on it?

A: I personally would love to go on tour, but we’ll have to see what’s in the cards for the band. We definitely plan on playing in some new areas this summer, but I don’t think we’ll be able to full on tour.

Q: When did you start playing bass?! How long have you being playing seriously?

A: Well I picked up my dad’s old bass out of a basement closet when I was about 12. A buddy of mine was starting to play guitar and we formed a little band, mostly playing Black Sabbath covers. Then when I was 16 I moved out to Northwest Indiana were I began taking private lessons. From there on I started practicing a lot, and I was introduced to some bass players that are now huge influences on me.

Q: Just out of curiosity; who are some of your favorite bass players? Is there anyone who specifically inspired you on some of your bass solos in Test of Sanity, or any of the leads in the acoustic parts?

A: There’s quite a list, but I owe everything to Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath. He was my inspiration to pick up the bass; I even played his solo ‘Bassically’ every night before bed for four years straight! But after Geezer there’s Cliff Burton, Jaco Pastorius, Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller, Steve DiGiorgio, Steve Bailey, etc.. The list goes on. When it comes to Test of Sanity I owe a lot to Victor Wooten and Marcus Miller, their approach to thumb technique on the bass definitely played a huge role in my approach to those fills. For my fingerstyle approach I took a lot of stuff from players like Steve Digiorgio and Steve Bailey.

Q: Do you have any plans to record a solo album of the sorts or do a YouTube channel?"

A: I would love to record a solo album in the future, but for now just a YouTube channel is in the works. I plan to put up a couple videos of me playing some of the tunes from the EP 

soon, so stay tuned to our Facebook page for more info!

This is a pretty raw video but it really captures a lot! I wanted this to be my first interview because of both my love for thrash and the instrument I play. I had another idea for formatting this originally but when Derek sent the questions back to me I ended up liking this a lot better. 

Please check out the bassage at 1:55 here and Testimony of Facebook!

Testimony on Facebook!

Subjugator and Brain Implosion! Duel Demo Decimation!!!

Brain Implosion - Sandgrains EP - 1990

Here is some VERY high quality material from the hard hitters in Brain Implosion. Released in 1990 this two song EP presents thrash metal with a hint of death. All the way from, where yours truly used to reside, the Netherlands, these guys have delivered an EP that is full of catchy and inspirational riffage.

Intramural is full of some of the most memorable and headbanging riffs; just listen to the intro and then the solo section after that! The riffage will have you hooked right away in the first song and title track Sandgrains, with the fast picking and crushing drums. It is a real headbanger all throughout both of the songs presented on this EP! And the vocalist sounds like a "cyco" crossover vocalist, comparable to Suicidal Tendencies or Excel.

The only real negative criticism that is worth presenting is that these dudes didn't put out a CD! What will really convince you to search the all giving internet for this lost gem is that they really sound like a mix between old Sepultura and Demolition Hammer. That can't be stressed enough. Don't just get this because you are KVLT AS FVCK, get it because it is SERIOUSLY worth your while.

95%




Subjugator - The Hatred Principle Demo - 1991

Subjugator beat faces in Boston Massachusetts with their excellent mixture of death thrash metal. The Hatred Principle is a three song demo that did not fail to disappoint.  This monster demo is filled with stomping riffs and upbeat mid temps that will keep the circle pit going!

If you are a fan of deathrash in the least bit just turn up the first track, What Gave you the Right, and just wait until that mid tempo kicks in, in the verse prepare yourself for uncontrollable circle pitting. The guitar tone this gentleman has is just perfect for the deathrash sound! And the way that is delivered with the drums is just unstoppable.

 It is easy to compare this to all of the great deathrash releases, epecially with the energy of the first track, but giving this couple of listens you will hear the clear similarities between this and Morbid Angel's Altars of Madness, and Massacre's - From Beyond. Check it out.

92%

Asmodeus! Prosincová noc blíže neurčeného roku! [1992]

Asmodeus! Underrated Progressive Thrash!

A band that speaks their native tongue! In their lyrics... Of course the speak their native tongue. Asmodeus is a great example of a progressive thrash act that isn't technical. Or that isn't overly technical rather. It seems to be extremely easy for most people to get those two things confused; technicality does not equal prog!!! We all know that. Let's just say these fine gents are able to flow between riffs very smoothly using abstract progressions instead of just stop and go riffing.

It kicks off in a way you normally wouldn't expect anything proggy to do. The first song has more of a rock and roll type of upbeat riff that gets the blood flowing pretty quickly. Anyone could name a progressive band that has some epic sample that leads into a long drawn out, overly dramatic, well thought out, piece of music that starts the CD. Which is awesome! But it is very interesting to hear something different; and isn't that what progressive is all about?! It doesn't hang on the rock and roll for too long though; it gets very very thrashy.

The guitar work is the first thing everyone will notice about this album. The choice of notes, and chords they use are very unique. There is nothing better than hearing a riff that goes beyond the power chord. And the acoustic work in the instrumental track, Svetlo, just screams Megadeth. However, it is not a ripoff; it is as if Dave Mustaine recorded a solo for a Symphony X or a Dream Theater record. And, don't expect every song to sound like that; they are so much more versatile.

Guitar players will surely eat this up! On top of the guitar playing the vocals are incredible as well. There is also a flute in some tracks! How cool is that?If this guy were to sing in English he could easily pass for Chuck Billy. No joke, it will really catch you off guard. He does sing in Czech though, which gives things such a cool vibe.

Then all of the sudden there is a 3 second song thrown in there. Straight up grindcore style; no blasts, just a 3 second song. Weird huh? And, even later they throw what , NO JOKE, sounds like a Czech polka folk song tossed in as well. And, then just a straight up folk song. Then a Christmas song. What the fuck just happened. The only logical explanation for this is that,  they were jamming on these for fun, started getting drunk and playing them live, and then said why not. Let's give the fans a bang for their buck and put it all on the record! What a great listen!

92%

Favorite Tracks: Svetlo, Heroes, Stvoritel

Six in Line and Executioner! Thrash Metal Double Dose!

Executioner - Fear the Blade!

Here is a group of young gents and lady, out of Paducah, Kentucky! They are very promising musicians and this demo lays out a pretty good road map of what we should expect from them later. They have been getting some heat about the production of this demo, but the riffs are definitely distinguishable, and done very well. And seriously, people judge a band based on production far too often. The reason that this stands out is the difference between the two originals they have on here. "Last Stand" is a speedy 'stand up and fight' major key, circle pit song; and you get to "Tomb of the Pharaoh" and its more of a minor dark song that takes you on a journey. The variety stands out and tells you that every song on their upcoming record will be unique. The vocals and guitar really stand out! Check them out, and their new logo!

87%

http://www.facebook.com/ExecutionerKy?sk=app_2405167945

Six in Line - U SHUD HAV INVTD ME

These guys play party thrash. No bullshit, just straight up crossover, hardcore punkness. Comparable to if Municipal Waste got together and had hot nasty bad ass sex with The Anti-Nowhere League. You will hear it too. The vocals sound like an old school English punk act The Anti-Nowhere League, but they have the vicious guitar riffs with the fast and upbeat drums! You can hear the attitude right when the songs come in, but especially in the second track, "Plata o Plomo". These are some really nice, and funny dudes be sure to check them out!

83%


http://www.facebook.com/sixinline?sk=app_204974879526524

Аспид - Кровоизлияние [1992]

Impressive is an Understatement for Aspid!

This is easily a perfect album. From start to finish these guys blend a flavor of old school thrash aggression with technical elements in ways that create the perfect CD! Down to the very basics of it; the riffs, the transitions, the vocals, and really everything of the CD itself is what an old or new school thrasher wants to hear. Or anybody who is into metal music for that matter. Some people who are not into thrash like to get off by saying the riffs all sound the same, or even the BANDS all sound the same. The first thing I would do is show those misinformed losers some Aspid!

Starting with the best feature on any thrash album, the riffs! They have a very nice blend of riffage in this CD. It can get pretty lame when bands get stuck up with how technical they are, or how "tr00 frash" they can possibly get. With Aspid it just comes natural! They have the aggressive Exodus esque riffs to the dark Slayer tone. And, that can easily be represented in every song. On that note, they have techy elements it more parts than others when progressing through a song! There is just so many points on this album where I have to stop and click on my player to remember which part of the song that particular riff is located. There is just so many of them!

Another thing that stands out, is having the right connection between verses, and verse to chorus, and so on. But, above that! However, they go beyond and don't do quite the same thing every time. Granted they do in some songs, but this is the easiest way to show one how creative and just how much time you spent on these songs; it's incredible. One song in particular is "It Came (Aspid)" in the end where the vocalist holds out that scream.

And, speaking of the vocals, these are amazing! It is just TOO COOL when bands keep the lyrics in their own language! But, the tone and the structuring of the vocals is out of this world too. When vocals throw a different pattern into the mix that the guitars may not be playing; and to hear that match up just really catches my eye. That’s a good way to have things in a style of music that doesn't depend on the vocals to carry the song.

There is not one thing I disliked about this album. There is so much more that needs to be said, but in all fairness this could go on and on forever. Everything is just stunning; the riffs, transitions and structure, the vocals, and even down to the basic mix and mastering. Certainly a classic in any thrashers book, and if you haven’t heard of them; YouTube them immediately!

100%

Favorite tracks: It Came (Aspid), Where the Night, and Extravasation

Latvala Bros. Plays Wooden Eye [1994]

Latvala Bros.  Instrumental Prog. Thrash!

If the title alone doesn't make you want to check this out, then get this... Let's say, ohh, Lich King and Vektor were to have a baby; this is what it would sound like. And, I'm not even joking. This band is like the thrash metal father of Scale the Summit. What is the first thing one thinks of when those two band names, Lich and Vek, come to mind? THE RIFFS!! And, with a band that is strictly instrumental, the riffs HAVE to be very prominent. For example, it's if they were listening to Exodus and Watchtower, or Realm while writing their stuff, very cool.

But, enough with the stupid name dropping; lets dive in! Normally anything happy (gross over-simplification, I know) is pretty lame in thrash metal. Of course referring to riffs that would be considered boring; like those riffs that stay on the 3rd, 5th, and 7th frets. Riffs that any jack off with three weeks of practice could write without thinking. What makes Latvala Bros. stand out is their ability to write really heavy Exodus-esque riffs and TRANSITION (I can't stress that enough) into something that sounds very major. Instead of using the word happy; you could call these riffs "Uplifting". If you are going to have an instrumental album, you HAVE to make it interesting. In the first song, and title track, you hear things go from a very aggressive face smashing riff, and then almost instantly morphs into a uplifting riff with very bright leads. Those are all over this bad mother.

However, they are not all uplifting. There are plenty of riffs in hear that are very minor. Listen to the part in Night of the Lizard at 1:47. There is definitely something interesting here; like not just minor, but it sounds like a Byzantine minor, or the Egyptian scale. And, before it begins to slow down with an acoustic guitar, they bring you back with what sounds like strings or a synth; that then ends on a HALF CADENCE?! Yeah... They just played that card. And slows down, not with an acoustic guitar, but one of the most out there leads I have ever heard. Yes, Night of the Lizard is a masterpiece.

But, oh wait, EVERY FREAKING SONG IS LIKE THAT! If the words, "Instrumental progressive thrash metal with classical and jazz influences", aren't enough to make you hit the "Download" button; then you may just have to kill yourself. I would recommend this to everyone, especially music majors or aspiring guitar players. This one is a masterpiece.

95%


Favorite Tracks: The Wooden Eye, Brutal Solution to Sexual Megaproblems (Oh yes they did!), Night of the Lizard