Weekend Breakdown: KK Street Bangers, Crisix, Dark Entropy, Exeloume

KK STREET BANGERS
Does their name sound like a mid-80s NY rap group? Sure, but believe me that once you crank into a KK Street Bangers song, all thoughts of break dancing turn to neck snapping as their brand of raging thrash slams your calloused brain into jelly.

This is dirty pissed-off thrash metal that storms along like a truck with a bloodied grill, picking off unwary victims who are not ready for the chugging mosh-worthy riff attack! The simple, yet effective riff that starts off the tune Street Metal is built for headbanging. I freakin' love it!

The only problem might be the lack of real drums in the recording, but that is a minor quibble since it doesn't really take away from the fun and power of KK Street Bangers's kick ass songs.

Listen below and then hit them up on Facebook here.



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CRISIX
A big shout-out to Zé Rodrigues for turning me on to this band! So hold your horns high, thrashers! Coming to you from Spain is CRISIX, a band that crushes with a metal onslaught of chunk, melody, gallops, killer solos, and throat-tearing screams. When their song Ultra Thrash kicks in and starts raging, I imagine the wall plaster start to crack and tumble while the weak-eared parents in the next room are covering their ears while yelling, "What the hell is going ON?!?"

As a metal head, if you need to strengthen your neck muscles, Crisix is the perfect headbanger's workout band. Do some warmup stretches, check out the tune below, and try not to strain your neck.

Facebook them here.


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DARK ENTROPY
Listening to a band as talented and musically kick-ass as Dark Entropy is a bit frustrating at times. The music that this Illinois thrash band brings to the table is tight, heavy, and worthy of praise. Richard Spoo is a helluva drummer and the guitars of Matt Schering and Mike Maskas are chugging machines of fury.

However, the frustration lies with vocalist Rob Peto's delivery. Too many times he follows the rhythm of the drum or guitar riff. This practice would be fine in small doses, but the amount he mimics the rhythm kills any use of vocal dynamics and frankly becomes a bit distracting (such as in the chorus for Enlisted Suicide and throughout Sins of Our Fathers).

However, Peto's voice is more than capable to front a metal band. I would just like to hear him not adhere his delivery so much on the rhythm and instead use his vocals as another instrument that glides with the music and not just stick on top of it.

To say that Dark Entropy has potential is an understatement. Even with the problems I have with the vocal delivery, the band is still bad-ass. I'm definitely going to follow and keep my ears open to these guys and I'm anxious to see what they will crank out in the future.

Give them a listen below and then look into them over at Facebook.



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EXELOUME
I've seen the Ed Repka cover to Exeloume's album Fairytale of Perversion many time and have always meant to check them out. However, with hundreds of bands scattered around the woodwork, it's easy to pass over many worthy bands. And that sucks, man.

Recently, this Norwegian band was brought back to my attention, and I promptly hit the web to check out their goods. Damn, I HATE missing out on killer bands! To think that Exeloume was floating around all this time without damaging my thrash-hardened ears is disgraceful. I'll make up for that now.

Exeloume's brand of deathrash destroys with sweeping dynamics, hard hitting riffs, and blazing solos. Taking unpredictable turns, the music can dig into the depths of anger, to uplifting wonder, and then to utter chaos, bringing a sense of excitement to the musical journey Exelmoume leads us on.

Check out the tunes below and then follow them here.

Weekend Breakdown: A killer list of thrash, punk, and death metal!

For those of you checking back here periodically only to find nothing in regards to new posts, I apologize. As I mention from time to time, I am backed up on my posts, holding back a queue of new thrash that grows in both numbers and impatience every day.

What is a one man army to do with so much kick-ass music and no earnestly given time to bring it to you in a number of well thought-out posts?

PURGE.

Here, I am offering up a list of bands that I found either through online research, word of mouth, or email requests. These bands have caught my ear one way or another and for the past couple of weeks, I've been meaning to present them to you all, but to no avail. So in one big sweep, I shall post snippets of all-out metal complete with song streams and links.

Now, don't mistake my purging without my typical long-ass gushing fanboy write-ups as any form of disrespect toward the bands on the following list. On the contrary - I dig 'em. That's why they are on the list. However, for the purposes of this particular post, my time is limited to just a few words per listing.

Go through the list. I doubt you'll like 'em all, but hopefully there will be a few gems in here that will bring out the Mosh Monster in you.

So here we go!




RAW & ORDER
Raw and blazing thrash punk from Portland, Oregon. Their one-minute available song Speedhole has enough gruff and attitude to have me wanting to hear more!

Check them out below and then Facebook them here.



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DUST BOLT
Killer thrash out of Germany that knows the power of a well-placed swamp riff to keep things heavy and interesting. Nice soloing throughout.

Check out Children of Violence below and then hit them up on Facebook…you know, just to say hi.


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WARHEAD
Thrash-laden heavy metal out of California, full of catchy and driving riffs with clean vocals that remain rooted in 70's dark rock. Headbang to the riffage of State of Chaos and then hit them up here.



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OSMIUM
The now-defunct deathrash/speed band OSMIUM are absolutely pummeling. Band members included a couple dudes from the bad-ass deathrash band ECOPOLIS, all who helped forge Osmium's pit-inducing songs. As I listen to them, I still can't believe they didn't break out further than they did (although their music did end up on the Get Thrashed documentary).

Give your respects to them here.





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P.T.O.M.A.
Greek thrash/crossover with a sense of humor. Bad-ass driving thrash rhythms that bring to mind bits of Gama Bomb and Nuclear Assault. Listen to Wrath of the Anus and then keep tabs on them here.


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BANE OF BEDLAM
These guys hammer out a killer assault of Aussie metal that combines modern thrash, death metal, and groove that absolutely shreds. Get an ass kicking by listening to their tune Born of Metal and then keep up with them here.



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STONELOAD
This Swedish band mixes old-school thrash with modern metal nuances, creating catchy slabs of powerful aggression. I love their song Fallen One! Give it a listen and then hit them up on Facebook.



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ELECTRIC VENGEANCE
I loved these guys right from the start. There is simply too much…charm?…in Electric Vengeance's brutal lo-fi punk-fueled thrash attack. This is as raw as it gets and I would kill to see these guys live. Check them out below and then virtually meet them here.




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INSANITARIUM
Sick death metal out of Quebec that does a good job of ripping your face off with chunks of grind and thrash riffage. Insanitarium are both frenzied and headbang-able, so check them out below and then follow them at their Facebook HQ.


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CHAOSITY
Chaosity is a freakin' wall of sound, thrashing out a brutal offering of pissed-off death metal that hinges on catchy riffs and killer dynamics. Listen and then like 'em!



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ARCHALAXIS
What a killer band! There is something about this Belarus-born thrash group that grabs me by the throat and squeezes until my ears fill with a bloody mess of harsh, dynamic-laden METAL. By all means, give them a listen and if you like it, hit them up on Facebook for details on how to download their album for FREE!



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NUCLEAR OMNICIDE
Let me end on a killer thrashed-out note. I was tipped off by the mighty Lich King who seemed to really dig these guys. Nuclear Omnicide blasts the listener with a barrage of undiluted metal who uses everything in the thrash toolbox to deliver ample amounts of headbanging bliss. Listen and like!

Weekend Breakdown: Extinction, Pretrash, and Citizen X

EXTINCTION
If you want beefy thunderous riffs with a mix of death and powerthrash vocals that sound as if a giant nuclear-mutated lizard is dancing the doom-stomp all over a busy metropolis, then check out the available song from Istanbul's own EXTINCTION.

The song, titled Embrace, begins with the must-have slow acoustic buildup to what eventually becomes a churning groove that could move mountains. That alone sold me on the band, but the mix of old-school death metal and epic powerthrash are perfectly blended to make some metal dripping with fist-shaking anguish.

Check out the tune below and then hit Extinction up on Facebook to demand they release more tracks!







PRETRASH
Man, I really dig the riffage from Germany's PRETRASH. These guys add enough to the music, including the vocals and dynamics, to keep things interesting. With their song Chamber Inside My Head, Pretrash clobbers the listener with a tight sounding mix of Bay Area thrash with big doses of old-school east coast stomp. Quality kick-ass metal!

Check out the tune below and check them out here and here.







CITIZEN X
Ohio's CITIZEN X cranks out old-school headbanging metal mixed with the stop-and-go mid-tempo riffage that many of the late 80s/early 90s thrash bands incorporated into their sound. Usually, bands that attempt this sound come off as a bit dated and tired, but Citizen X pulls it off, assembling a batch of killer metal songs that bring to mind mid-area Sacred Reich and Overkill. I love it!

Listen to the batch of songs below (one available as a FREE download) and then keep tabs on them here and here.

Weekend Breakdown: Jack Devil, Beyond the Divide, OrckOut, T.C.L.

We're doing the Weekend Breakdown post early because I've been such a Scrooge with the lack of posting lately. So, in the spirit of Christmas, I thought I would make penance with you all and keep the holiday spirit alive with a Weekend Breakdown post that features bands that are giving away their tunes for free.

So here's a late Merry Christmas present! I hope you find something you like. Let's get into it!



JACK DEVIL
Brazil's thrash metallers JACK DEVIL freaking rock. Period. These dudes slam out some gritty speed thrash with riffs evocative of Justice-area Metallica minus the weighty prog wankery. The flow and dynamics of the songs sound effortless, offering up slabs of kick-ass thrash that is both harsh and fun as hell to listen to.

Songs such as Under the Metal Command, Road to Hell, and Violent Invasion show how screamingly bad-ass and uncompromising metal should be played. So how awesome is it that they are offering their album up for a free download? Completely.

Thanks, Jack Devil!

Check them out below and download their album here.





BEYOND THE DIVIDE
As of this writing, Cincinnati's BEYOND THE DIVIDE have only one song available for a free download. The song, titled Payment, is a catchy mid-paced thrasher with cool breakdowns, and a main riff that gets me moving every time (especially when it kicks in after the chorus). Vocalist Mike Reichert's voice brings to mind Phil Rind of Sacred Reich with a hint of Hetfield.

The big bonus here is that on January 17th, 2012, Beyond the Divide will make their entire album available as a free download!

Get a taste below and then be ready to get your thrashin' freebie this January! Facebook them here.





ORCKOUT
Brazil's ORCKOUT plays a crushing brand of modern thrash metal that manages to capture bits of the sludge-filled NOLA sound, Chicago doom, and even some Seattle grunge for flavor. OrckOut's musical mix makes for an interesting hard rock/thrash hybrid that might draw the favor of metal fans who aren't looking for smiley-faced rainbows in their music.

OrckOut has bestowed us with a whopping nine free songs (so far) for download, including three new ones!

Check them out below and them hit them up on Facebook to snag the free tunes.






T.C.L.
Yes, it's no secret that I love me some hardcore. Without crossover taking up space in my thrash arsenal, I'd only be a half-full headbanger. Which brings me to Japan's T.C.L., a hardcore band that blends searing noise and sonic insanity with some straight-forward mosh inducing riffs.

T.C.L. might not be for the average traditional thrasher, but their music is hard hitting nonetheless. Still interested? Check out the tune below and then visit their Facebook page to download their four available tracks for free!