Thrashline: Ghoul, Possessor, Raw Dawgs, Gama Bomb, and more!

Liverpool's BLUDVERA are scheduled to record their upcoming EP in November. As of this writing, confirmed track titles include Conjure the Dead, Reanimator, Citizen Monopoly and Voyage Beyond the System. I don't know how soon they plan to unleash the new material on the public, but I'm ready!
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San Jose's ECOPOLIS has recruited Marcus Giddings as the band's new drummer. However, they are still on the outlook for a new vocalist! If you are unfamiliar with Ecopolis's brand of stompin' deathrash, click here and enjoy! Killer, killer stuff!
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Splatterthrash giants GHOUL have their most recent release Transmission Zero available as a digital download for a whopping $6.66 over on their Bandcamp page. It should also be in the stores as you read this. To give you an idea of how good this album is, head over to the Skull Fracturing Metal Zine and read their review.

Also, for the Ghoulish fans out there, "Japan Nick" Perkel posted an interview with singer/guitarist Digestor here.
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St. Paul's non-moshists IN DEFENCE are a featured band on the Midwest Thrash Attack 7" which includes other bands Stand Off, Choose Your Poison, and Damage Deposit. You can pick it up through Profane Existence Distribution.




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Check out the pure bad-assery of the new album art from Virginia's POSSESSOR for their new release City Built With Skulls! You gotta love the flyer on the far right of the picture showing Possessor headlining a gig over the Big Four.

As far as I know, this album will be available in November, so keep you eyes glued to their Facebook page for new info.










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Celtic metal masters Raw Dawgs have put up a YouTube page. Really, there's not much on there right now, but I wanted to mention it as an excuse to post their unusually goofy video for the song Lord of Illusions!



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California thrashers SCYTHE will embark on a mini promo tour within the Bay Area. A promo tour? Yep! Meet up with these guys who will be passing out band materials, demos, and trying like hell to network with all you metalheads. Those of you outside of the Bay Area should check out their EP The Seventh Day on iTunes, Zune, or Amazon. Those of you who are within driving distance, hit them up at the following dates:

Nov. 4th - San Francisco (close to Fisherman's Wharf)
Nov. 5th - Berkeley (Berkeley University)/ Concord (The Red Hat)
Nov. 6th - WHEREVER THE HELL WE WAKE UP!!! (Most likely Hayward)
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Popular crossover kings SSS will embark on their Problems to the Answer European Tour 2011. I'm stuck all the way over here in Kansas City, so I won't be attending any of these killer shows. However, if you're in the area, go thrash and support!


















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Speaking of Kansas City, I have some sad news from the hood: local punk/thrash slammers The Tards have officially disbanded. I'm not 100% sure as to what caused the break-up, but according to the band's Facebook post, vocalist Keegan Smith quit after guitarist Mike Smith and bassist Tom Nieves played a Tards song acoustically on a radio show (?). I'm sure that there is more to the story (or backstory), but whatever the circumstances, I wish the guys good luck on future endeavors.
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Finally, I going to pimp a YouTube channel called The Underground Attack. According to the channel's chief operator Emmet J. Kiernan, The Underground Attack is "The voice of Irish underground music, here to let you find the best bands you've never heard of!"

I like it because he's featuring killer bands such as Psykosis and the aforementioned Raw Dawgs. However, he also features bands most thrash fans HAVE heard of, such as the modern thrash legends Gama Bomb.

Check out Parts 1 and 2 of a chat he had with Gama Bomb below and then subscribe to his channel. You can never have enough thrash-related vids in your life, right?

Lich King teaser to...Born of the Bomb!

Lich King have announced Born of the Bomb as the title of their upcoming 4th album in a video teaser released earlier today.

I am hyper excited to hear this album. The rough mix of Combat Mosh is killer, as is the background music to the teaser vid. Let us not forget that the cover art is one of the best, most eye-catching of all the Lich King albums (in my humble opinion).

So when is Born of the Bomb going to be out? Dunno. I imagine sometime next year, but I hope it is sooner than later. When I find out, I'll let ya'll know.

Check out the teaser below.

Thrashline: Exhorder gone?, new Smash Potater, Speedboozer and more!

There will be no Weekend Breakdown post this time around, but in this week's Thrashline bits of thrash news, there is plenty of kick ass new music to check out. Let's get to it!
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If you're like me, you shrugged your shoulders in disappointment after reading the news that vocalist Kyle Thomas and guitarist Jay Ceravolo quit Exhorder, seemingly killing off the band for good.

I guess it was just not meant to happen for these guys. I have been waiting with my hands wringing in mouth-slobbery excitement over the upcoming new Exhorder album. Well, poop.

I can only imagine that they have demoed some new material, no? If so, I wouldn't cry if it were released, even in raw form.

As for the future, I am interested to see if Kyle and Jay decide to continue on another project together. I hope the music is mean as hell.
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Nuclear Torment have taken their creative blood, sweat and time to create a killer EP titled 8 BIT DEATH and have blessed the metal-loving public by offering it as a FREE freaking' download!

The music is bad ass speedy thrash and you would be doing yourself a disservice by not packing 8 BIT DEATH into your music lists. Your MP3 player will thank you.
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Speaking of free thrash, go check out Sabretung immediately and download their full length album Conquest. These Australian thrashers come up with some killer riffs and satisfying song structures that kick them up a notch above most up and coming thrash bands. There is so much good riffage on Sabretung's 9 song release that it's hard to pick a favorite (although The Thing and Eliminate the Weak come to mind). Check it out, bang your head, hit them up on Facebook and tell 'em how much you love 'em.

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Our favorite Illinois super heroes Smash Potater has teamed up with thrash brothers-in-arms Attack Imminent and released a split titled Horrific Halloween Double Creature Feature. Own this piece of underground history for a measly $5! Go here…now!




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As I write this, Alcoholator's new album Coma is streaming in its entirety. Get your dose of alcohol-fueled insanity here. If you like what you hear, the hard copy should be available through EBM Records soon.


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Ireland thrashers Heresy will be changing their name to Animator. A new website and new songs will launch on November 11th. Check out the tune False Flag Attack from their Open Your Eyes album here.

By the way - Thanks to Eoin Clarke for tipping me off on these guys. You rock, man!
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Daniel Jackson filmed a video for the new Thrash Or Die song Street Trash. Any splatter fans out there remember the 80s horror flick this song is based on? I still remember the disgustingly awesome pics in an old issue of Fangoria. Ah, the memories.

Anyway, wake up and smell the thrash and check out the vid for Street Trash below!



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Are you a fan of Stephen King's IT? Of course you are! So you owe it to yourself to check out Windsor, CA's clowncore giants IT. Listen to Pennywise come to life here!
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Guitarist Alonso Maguino has parted ways with NY's Legionary. As I write this, The band is looking for a tight as hell death/thrash player who can fill in the newly vacant spot. If you're interested, check out their Facebook page for info. If you're not interested, go there anyway, like their page and listen to their bad ass tunes!
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U.S. thrash/punk band Speedboozer released a rough mix of their song Gunned Down, a pissed off raw slab of punk-infused metal! Man, I can't wait to hear the rest of the upcoming album! Check this vid stream below.

Review: Evile - Five Serpent's Teeth

EVILE
Five Serpent's Teeth
Earache

It took me a while to pop out this review of the new EVILE album, but I did not want to be hasty in my write-up. If I'm not going to be at least a tiny bit fair, then I shouldn't post my thoughts about…well, anything I guess.

The reason I say this is because I am not a dyed-in-the-wool fan of Evile's first album. When I first bought Enter the Grave, my interest in the music went up and down, and ultimately it left my CD rotation rather quickly. I just couldn't get into it.

My feelings toward the first album naturally influenced my decision into not buying the second album (Infected Nations). I heard a few tracks online, but I just wasn't interested.

Now, here comes Five Serpent's Teeth, the third album from Evile. Cutting through my settled-in prejudices of how I think I will feel about the music, I listened.

I will cut right to the chase and say that I now have a rejuvenated spirit regarding Enter the Grave and I am eager to hear Infected Nations. Why the sudden change of heart?

Well, that's the thing. It wasn't a "sudden" change of heart. Remembering my first spin of Five Serpent's Teeth, I had no change at all. "Same ol' Evile," I thought.

On further spins, the riffs began to sink in, bringing to mind hints of Justice area Metallica. After that, the partition I built after putting aside the first album came tumbling down and I began to embrace Five Serpent's Teeth as the killer metal album that it is.

What really got the ball rolling for me was the song Cult, which is the first video Evile filmed for this album. The song was a good choice for them to highlight because it's one of the best on the album - a mid-tempo stomper with catchy as hell riffs to match the memorable chorus.

Five Serpent's Teeth is high caliber metal, complete with killer riffage and well constructed solos that add layers of brilliance to each song. Yes, Evile write what are essentially love letters to the thrash titans of yore, but the end result is undeniably Evile in sound and execution.

So what changed in the style that made me see the light? Stylistically, not much. The production is a little too slick for its own good, but a distinct lack of rawness cannot take away from Evile's musical prowess. So, really, I can't put my finger on my new found love for this band except that even quality music can take a while to sink in.

Sometimes, that kind of music is the best anyhow.

Weekend Breakdown: Soul Collector and Eldritch Flamethrower

I know I said there would not be another Weekend Breakdown post until next week, but I had a little time and was able to assemble a quick write-up of a couple thrash bands that caught my ear.

So here is this week's



SOUL COLLECTOR
Poland's metal gurus SOUL COLLECTOR found an interesting way to grab the best of Slayer and Exodus riffs and throw in some 70s stomp rock sensibilities to come up with a bunch of headbang-inducing catchy metal tunes.

Songs like I Saw and Pure F****ing Evil are fun crushing thrashers with memorable riffs that roll along with the tempo to create fist flying slabs of destruction.

Other songs such as The Stoneface use some classic rock influence, at times sounding as if Nazareth and Overkill collided. It completely stomps ass.

Rafal "Don Vito" Halamoda's vocals lean toward the Zetro side of aggression, offering a tough and gravelly old-school flavor which works perfectly.

Check out the streaming song below and hear live versions on their MySpace page. Facebook them here, and then ask them, "Hey, how can I get a copy of your music?" Then let me know.







ELDRITCH FLAMETHROWER
Based off one unrefined demo track, Oregon's ELDRITCH FLAMETHROWER caught me off guard with a catchy e-string chug-a-thon and sick sense of humor.

Based on the dynamics, the song Human Barbecue is a gift to moshpit aficionados. Speedy, all-out thrash moments followed by the classic mid-tempo stomp, and highlighted by fist-raising gang vocals. What's not to love?

Check out the tune below, thrash about the room, and then hit them up on Facebook here.

Lenny Troo Frasher: Classic vs. new thrash

Weekend Breakdown: ParaBellum, Fatal Band, 18 Wheels of Justice

It's been a couple weeks since the last installment of the Weekend Breakdown. Like you, I need my metal fix of new and upcoming bands, but peering into the dark crevices of the World Wide Web to find them takes time.

Well I've been short on time. Sucks.

In fact, I know that it will be at least two more weeks until the next Weekend Breakdown, but bear with me. We'll get through this together.

So let me roll out a few bands that have caught my ear so we may raise each of their metal torches to light our way until the next time we meet.

That was cheesy. Anyway...



ParaBellum
First let's cross paths with Bodmin, UK's PARABELLUM who thought they could sneak under the radar by posting one lousy song. WRONG!

In fact, their song Caged is far from lousy, and if it any indication of what is to come, then ParaBellum will have a solid first release on their hands. These guys thrash with a mix of old-school Big Four love peppered with a hint of Evile for new school flavoring.

Although Caged is not overly complex (not that it needs to be) nor are the solos very memorable, it has some killer pit-worthy moments and the vocals are good, making me more than interested in hearing more from ParaBellum. They have established a solid foundation as a killer thrash band and my hope is that they continue to grow and kick all of our asses.

I'll be watching!

Listen below to Caged and then check them out on Facebook!






Fatal Band
I don't know how to describe Moscow's FATAL BAND except that their brand of…uh…death/grind/prog/thrash is mind blowingly hypnotizing. No, Fatal Band are not for everyone, and their music is not something I can simply jam out to, but the complexity and layers of insanity are freaking fun with which to batter in one's brains.

It's as if the band Death and Mr. Bungle had a cocaine baby, albeit a well disciplined cocaine baby (Fatal Band are intricate and articulate as hell in their songwriting).

Give 'em a shot below and if it suits your tastes, hit Fatal Band up on Facebook. You owe it to your inner-heterogeneous musical tastes that you didn't know existed.









18 Wheels of Justice
Finally I offer you a modern mass of speed, groove, riff-rock and downright evil-sounding crunch that makes up the whole of 18 WHEELS OF JUSTICE. My God do these guys rock! They are far from traditional, but they use old-school techniques of speed-to-mid tempo dynamics to get the neck snapping. The riffs are fat as hell, ranging from pummeling gallops to groovy riff-rock as if Slash would join Clutch and write Slayer riffs. If it's heavy, 18 Wheels of Justice has it in their songwriting arsenal.

Check out their available streaming songs below and after you get back up off the floor, check them out here.