Atominated ROCKS!

A few days ago, Chad from Global Thrash Assault posted a write-up about Ireland thrash band ATOMINATED. I was about to simply post a link to his story on my Facebook page, but then I had second thoughts.

"Wait a minute!" I said out loud to nobody. "I shall ALSO write a kick-ass post about Atominated, and I shall call it good."

After all, an upstart band who crushes as much as Atominated does on their World Without Flesh EP deserves all the press they can get.

These guys excel at no-frills thrash f'n METAL. Short and sick tunes, each with handfuls of catchy riffs that slightly echo the gamut of the classic thrash bands of yore. The song Contagion has to be one of the most headbang-able songs I've heard in recent memory.

Sure, props must be given to guitarist David Curran for chugging out these slamming riffs, but all the members help summon success in these tunes. Drummer Nathan Quinn is the master conductor for the killer dynamics that make you want to MOSH, while bassist Toejam Hannjob (?!) keeps the rhythm tight.

Vocalist Eoin Clarke's raspy, yet powerful vocals channel classic thrash cadence, at times bringing to mind the locomotive delivery of "Brutal" Ben from Insinnerator's recent release (For example, check out Clarke's work on the majestic My New Face).

As much as I love these songs, at times they do feel a bit too short. The ending riff to the tune Atominated almost begs to dive into a well placed breakdown, causing assured mayhem in the pit (Yes, I said it. Breakdown. Kiss it, elitist groove-haters).

Thrash fans who are looking for nothing more than to satisfy that headbanging itch would do good in checking out Atominated's World Without Flesh EP. That's not a back-handed compliment at all, because sometimes we need to sit back and appreciate what a good volume-driven ass-kicking can do for the soul.

Atominated. Bad ass.

Check out the tune below and visit the band here.

Sonic Pulse and Six In Line to tour the east coast

Hey, as a resident in a far-away state, I can't go to any of the upcoming Sonic Pulse / Six In Line shows, but some of you on the U.S. east coast CAN.

So just to live vicariously through SOMEbody who will eventually post a bragging write-up on my Facebook page, I'm going to post some of the bands' songs as well as the tour dates in hopes that those of you who can attend will do so in the most thrashing manner possible.

Why would it rule if this tour comes through your city? Well, it's Sonic Pulse's first solo trek in support of their Lager Than Life album (not counting the string of shows with Lich King). Also, Six In Line is coming in all the way from Sweden for their first U.S. tour.

Oh, yeah, and both bands kick ass. I know they do because I said so here and here.

Needless to say, I'm excited for 'em all and I hope the tour goes well.

Check out the tunes below and then scroll down for tour dates to see if they are hitting your area.

The NWOTM Blog's Top 10 Albums of 2012

I have finally pieced together the New Wave of Thrash Metal Blog's Top Ten Albums of 2012.

Creating lists based on music favorites is always a difficult task for me because the list changes almost daily. Plus, I don't have the funds to get EVERY single thrash release, so really an "official best-of list" would be rather bogus coming from me. So if you don't see on my list what should be an obvious choice for every thrash top-ten, just know that either I haven't bought the album or your idea of a good album is pure silliness.

Also, let it be known that I originally included an "Honorable Mentions" list as well, but it became way, way too freakin' long. I could have easily made a Top 30 list for the year, but I only have so much time and patience (as do you, I'm sure), so I axed the honorables.

Now...let's get started!!

 10. Conflagrator - Inevitable Punishments

These guys cranked out a killer self-released EP with songs chock-full of thick riffs hammered over heavy, mid-paced rhythms.

9. Dr. Living Dead - Radioactive Intervention

Delivering another lesson in energetic crossover thrash, Dr. Living Dead offered up an album every bit as good as their debut.

8. Bio-Cancer - Ear Piercing Thrash

A chaotic mass of head-jolting riffage and venomous vocals weaved together in a rather original sound. Just an undeniably powerful album.

7. Testament - Dark Roots of Earth

As I said in my review for this album, "Testament managed to take everything they have perfected over the course of the band's career and build upon that foundation to give us an album that is savagely hungry, effectively beautiful, and as heavy as a near-flawless metal album should be." Too true.

6. Violentor - Rot

Their second album is another vicious attack of balls-out punk thrash. The riffs are infectious, creating songs that are satisfyingly catchy and brutal all at once.

5. Insinnerator - Hypothermia

Insinnerator's second release takes the unique sound of their debut and adds a confidence and maturity to the songwriting, making it all tighter, meaner, and completely neck-shredding. Utterly fantastic.

4. Overkill - The Electric Age

Veterans showing the young'uns how to CRUSH! When I read interviews with Blitz about his competitive spirit against the young and hungry thrash bands, he shows that while he and D.D. are older and wiser, they are every bit as hungry. The Electric Age is one hell of a kick in the ass.

3. Tantara - Based on Evil

At the time, the wait for this album to drop was excruciating. So much hype surrounded Based on Evil, and when it finally became available, I felt the music surpassed expectations. Based on Evil rages with well-written thrash, propelled by killer old-school riffing and ripping vocals. This will be considered a classic album within the NWOTM.

2. Lich King - Born of the Bomb

Pure thunder from a band clearly on top of their game. It's interesting to wonder if Lich King knew how special and thoroughly kick-ass an album Born of the Bomb was going to be as they were writing it. I love how people were almost surprised at just how damn good BotB is. We live in crazy times when a band like Lich King still remains unsigned to a solid metal label.

1. 4ARM - Submission For Liberty

Modern thrash done perfectly. With Submission For Liberty, 4ARM created a bulldozer of a metal album with hardly an inch of filler. Completely engrossing, Submission For Liberty contains dynamic musical passages of aggression and beauty that soars along on the backs of tight, well-crated riffs and rhythms. Smart, lively, and it freakin' CRUSHES.

Global Thrash Assault Radio is here!

I've been giving the Global Thrash Assault blog a lot of props recently. Chad Arnold, the blog's head honcho, is one of the hardest working fans around, and the results are spectacular.

First, he maintains a killer blog, featuring many thrash bands both signed and unsigned. Second, he helped produce the Wreck Your Neck compilation album, also featuring a wide array of thrash and next-of-kin sub genres.

Now he's bestowed upon us the Global Thrash Assault Radio online station! It's non-freakin'-stop METAL, and since this station is an obvious extension of the blog, you can expect the best of well-known as well as obscure kick-ass thrash metal, both new and classic.

Bands that want to possibly get some love on the Global Thrash Assault Radio, contact 'em here.

Check it out and tell GTA how much you appreciate the thrash dedication by visiting here.

METAL!

Review: Violentor - Rot

Italy's gutterpunk thrashers VIOLENTOR created a debut album that still holds a high spot on my music-listening rotation. The self-titled album's furious mix of distorted riffs and venomous vocals are both searingly intense and catchy as hell.

With their second album, Violentor hits the ground running with the title track ROT.  Right away you can feel that adrenaline kick in and be comforted that Violentor picks up right where they left us on their debut with a high-octane punk/thrash attack. Why change up the formula if it works so damn well?

Songs like and Free Spree and Daemonical Tutor are blistering pieces of work that bring to mind The Exploited type of riffage - except they take those riffs, push them down in a dirty ally, and kick them around until they are all bruised, bloodied, and full of grit and grime. In turn, those riffs do the same thing to the listener, like a twisted pay-it-forward scheme.

The song Breath of Hate offers a bit more to Violentor's arsenal with a rather slow and foreboding mid-section, offering a nice dynamic. The album closer The Last Sentence is a slow grinder, nearly balancing out the non-stop barrage of balls-out attitude emanating from the previous tracks.

Rot is an all-together mass of kick-ass insanity. I just love how Violentor can make ugly music a thing of beauty.

Listen to the full album below and if you're interested, pick up their CD from EBM Records here.

Mexico's ARSONIST delivers punk thrash that ROCKS!

Mexico's ARSONIST cooks up a taste of some gritty, pissed, crusty punk metal.

Taking a page from the likes of Toxic Holocaust, Violentor, and even Scissorfight, Arsonist rips through with barbed riffs of pure distorted bliss, all catchy and dynamic as hell.

The bass sound on here is completely SICK, adding a strong dimension to the production. Songs such as Setting Fire use this sound to its advantage, offering a sonic nose-punch halfway through the song as the bass leads the guitar into a pit-instigating stomp.

From the turbo-charged opening to the song Muerto en Las Vias to the swampy riff-rock opening to Ambitions of Death, there is much to love on Arsonist's self-titled EP.

I'm seriously gonna play the hell outta this one.

The good news is that they are offering it up as a FREE download. Check this stuff out below and go tell Arsonist how much they kick ASS here.

Weekend Breakdown with Teratornis and Iron Force

A big thanks to Social Bomb's own Kenneth Huerta for pointing me toward Australian thrashers TERATORNIS.

Let me start off by saying these guys pummel out some straight-up kick-ass thrash metal. When I first heard their music, I marveled at how well the riffs stuck with me as I slammed through each track, breaking my neck the whole way through.

Guitarists James Lewis and TT Nugent work with a ferociously tight style, offering up fiendish gallops and brain-bashing e-string chugs. Sure, lots of guys can gallop and chug-chug-chug, but the Teratornis fellas craft some very creative, catchy, and thoroughly bad-ass riffs without getting all math-tech in their approach.

I really dig the tunes I've heard so far, the highlights being Notomelus and the band-titled track Teratornis (which, to these ears, sounds as if Evile and Gama Bomb had a baby…freakin' KILLER).

Teratornis boasts some skillful thrash-writing abilities and I urge you to give 'em a shot. These guys need to be discovered! Check out the tunes below and then hit them up on Facebook.

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Thrashing from Guadalajara, Mexico, we have the mighty IRON FORCE. Their only available song Artillery is a pissed-off and in-your-face hammering of intense death/thrash metal, and it literally FORCED me to sit and write…something about it, dammit!

With a few clever curves, blasting riffage, and locomotive drums, this tune is a display of forceful and rigorous attitude. Vocalist Erick Beltran's sound brings to mind a more thrashy Karl Wiletts (of Bolt Thrower).

It's a bit difficult to comment on the band based on one song, but Artillery has definitely made me want to hear what else Iron Force has to offer. What do you think? Give it a listen below, and if you think it's as bad-ass as I, go tell 'em on their Facebook page.

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