The Weekend Breakdown: Thrash to check out!

I am starting the Weekend Breakdown early since I will be taking a vacation from blogging over the next four or five days. I wanted to fit in more bands this time around, but my time for writing is limited tonight.

No matter. Check out the post and find a couple (or more) bands that you like! METAL ONWARD!


CONFLAGRATOR
Here is a Swedish thrash band that I find myself listening to more and more recently. Conflagrator cranks out some riff-heavy chugging thrash metal. The band's talent is undeniable as they swirl their 80's icons into a vortex of pounding fury. When these guys kick into a straight e-string downstroke, it causes involuntary whiplash. Freaking fantastic!

Listen below and then Facebook 'em.





FATALIST
Old school Entombed, Dismember and Grave fans take note: California's Fatalist offers up a dose of traditional Swedish death metal that is nearly flawless. The songs are brutal and the buzz-saw sound tugs at my nostalgic heartstrings, taking me back to a time when I first heard Entombed's Clandestine or Dismember's Like an Ever Flowing Stream. Fatalist are not carbon copies of their influences, but they do proudly inject them within their hard-hitting tunes for all to hear and enjoy. METAL!

Check out their tune and then visit them here.






COCKROACH AGENDA
Excellent musicianship with never a shortage of riffs in each song, Norway's Cockroach Agenda play music that, according to the band, "are built up with a combination of fast-, mid- and heavy-riffs, so hopefully every metal-fan can find something he/she likes." In fact, the songs are so packed full of these combinations that tunes such as Desertion run over seven minutes to fit 'em all in! However, I don't mind long songs if they are good and Cockroach Agenda pulls it off well.

Here is Desertion. Here is their Facebook page.





STONE DÖZER
Getting away from traditional death and thrash, we have Argentina's Stone Dozer who is flying the flag of Pantera-influenced groove metal. The riffs are good southern-tinged metal stomp, and the vocals invoke a less-aggressive Anselmo (more like a mellow Anselmo trying to Morrison it up a bit). For fans of this genre of metal, Stone Dozer will more than satisfy. All that's missing is the whiskey.

Listen below and then go here.