Is Alex leaving Bonded By Blood??

Chalk this up to the rumor mill, but there is talk among the natives here and here that Alex Lee is leaving Bonded By Blood.

If this is true, Alex will be the third original member to leave the Pomona thrash group, which is a bummer, man.

I hope this is all b.s., because although Exiled to Earth is still a rather fresh offering, I am ready to hear what new vocalist Mauro Gonzales will bring to a new BBB record. Not that they couldn't find a new guitarist but such a move will definitely change the sound of the band, and I already love their music as is.

I guess I shouldn't worry too much. Bands such as Testament and Overkill have lost key members in the past and still churned out killer slabs of metal. Right? Right.

If the rumors turn out to be false, I'll breath a sigh of relief and sit my butt down and apologize on this blog for contributing to rumor-talk.

If it's true, then...well, crappy.

Demiricous have new tunes! Demo release show!

This is old news for some folks, but since I freaking love Demiricous, I thought I would go ahead and pimp the news of their upcoming show.

Fans of the band should know that Demiricous have been working on new material. They will unleash the sonic beast on March 10th, a demo release concert at the Vollrath Tavern in Indianapolis.

Demiricous will play with Master, Lightning Swords of Death, Mobile Deathcamp, and Nak'ay.

I'm anxious to hear the new stuff. Their first two releases of blistering and uncompromising death/thrash should have put them at the top of the NWOTM. Let's hope they can snag a new deal and get them on the road!!

Design and thrash metal logos

The following is a re-post from my rarely updated graphic design blog. It was originally written with the graphic design student in mind, especially those who have no experience with thrash and death metal. Woo-hoo!

I love thrash metal logos.

Twisted, jangled, thorny, stretched, sketchy, bloody, and even amateurish.

To look at them, some may wince at the band logo's appearance. Check out any one at random and you'll usually find at least one of the following characteristics: hand drawn, spikes, inconsistent widths, and some unreadable. They also like the color red.

Yeah, I love 'em.

What these logos lack in beauty, they gain in recognition. A D.I.Y. aesthetic derived from thrash's punk roots. The album art could be anything, but with a thrash band's logo plastered across the top of the cover, fans instantly know what they're getting.

Sure, some thrash metal logos can be pretty slick, but a lot of the new retro thrash bands that have popped up, as well as any old-school death metal band, immortalize their names within logos that could care less about conservative design principles.

They are strictly for the fans...like me!

Here are a few examples.

My prediction for Metallica's recording project

"I don't want to give too much away, but it's not really 100 percent a Metallica record. It's a recording project, let's put it that way."

So said Kirk Hammett about Metallica's next offering. Supposedly the music will be cranked out in the studio within two weeks.

The internet is lit up about what type of music Metallica is about to record, because after a return to form with Death Magnetic, I'm sure most fans are hoping that the band will dig deeper and get thrashier.

But with only two weeks scheduled for recording, are we gearing up for another Garage Days? I really, really doubt it.

I am going to make a prediction. If I'm wrong, I'll sit my butt down and admit it on this blog, but I have a feeling that I'm on the right path here.

Since Hammett claims that it is not a 100% Metallica record, I don't believe it will be either glory days thrash or a return to the alt-metal 90s flavor.

It will not be a progressive record with 20 riffs in each song, complete with off-time arrangements. With a two week schedule, I get the idea that the music will be simple and raw.

As I narrow it down, I firmly believe that the next record will be full-on heavy riff-rock, in the same ballpark as Karma to Burn.

Why?

The songs are relatively easy to write, raw as hell, and freaking fun to play. Also, this type of music is not foreign territory for Metallica. Listen to DM's instrumental Suicide & Redemption with your eyes closed - it freaking sounds like a Karma to Burn song (and a damn good one at that).

So there is my prediction for the secret Metallica recording project - stripped down versions of Suicide & Redemption.

Sure, I could be wrong. They could put out a cover album of Dr. Hook songs or some crazy Fantomas experimental stuff.

No matter what, color me interested.

What defines a NWOTM band?

So what defines a NWOTM band?

People may point to bands such as Lazarus A.D., Bonded By Blood, or Gama Bomb as examples, but to be considered a NWOTM band, does it totally rely on how recent a band was formed?

If a new thrash band with a brand-spankin'-new record is thought of as a NWOTM band, would it sway people's thinking of that same band if there is one old-school metal vet within the ranks?

Consider Steve "Zetro" Souza's new band Hatriot.

From what I can tell as of this posting, the band is made up of four younger musicians, and Zetro - former lead vocalist of the classic thrash group Exodus.

Would most people not consider Hatriot a NWOTM band simply because Zetro is in the group? Classic thrash will always come to mind when Zetro's name is mentioned, making it easier to lump them in with the old-school bands instead of with bands like Hatchet or Evile.

However, it's a no-brainer that if Steve had nothing to do with Hatriot, they would most definitely be considered part of the NWOTM.

The same could be said about the band Pasadena Napalm Division. With members from D.R.I. and dead horse, it's hard not to place them amongst old-school royalty, because these guys are freaking old-school royalty. However, the band itself is not. P.N.D. is relatively new, placing the band in the era of new school.

Does it really matter? No.

But it is interesting that the age of the band or who is in it can alter people's perceptions.

Nuclear ROCKS!

If you don't scan Reverbnation for new bands, you need to start. Through a search on their fine website, I found a handful of killer metal bands.

One such band is Nuclear from Chile. Harsh and brutally fast, these guys crush from note one. Here is a sampling from their new album titled JEHOVIRUS.

*EDIT: I had to remove the embedded song from Reverbnation because the code was seriously bogging down the blog. Reverbnation needs to fix that! However, here is a link to Nuclear's page where you can sample a few of their tunes.

Get Thrashed. Better late than never.

I finally - finally - bought Get Thrashed on DVD. I am ridiculously behind the times here, but it was worth the wait.

Get Thrashed is a freaking love letter to thrash. For fans of thrash, new and old, this documentary really lets you become engulfed into the world of METAL. The interviews, live footage and trivia bits are treasures to behold.

I also loved the bonus features, which basically served as a companion film to Get Thrashed. The bonus footage covers SO MANY thrash bands within an hour and a half (or so) that it seems like an overload of information.

What is noticable to the point of distraction is the complete lack of music to be heard during the bonus footage. I figure that the rights were not secured for the bonus scenes, which is too bad, considering the the footage covered obscure bands like Assassin as well as killer established acts like Nuclear Assault. I wanna see more more MORE!

Now, I hope that the director will consider making a sequel covering the resurgence of thrash with interviews and live footage of the various NWOTM bands. It would make for a nice bookend (although hopefully not THE end) of the thrash movement.