Weekend Breakdown featuring Battery and Animator

If things would have gone to plan, I would be congratulating Denmark's own BATTERY on their record deal as well as the November release of their new album Armed With Rage.

However, due to some disagreements between band and label, the deal fell through, leaving our brothers-in-thrash without a home for their already-recorded album. Sure, this isn't the first time, nor the last in which a band will wind up in this type of circumstance, but it still sucks all the same. Remember the mess involving Tantara early last year?

So while Battery explores some options, they were cool enough to share a few of their newly recorded tunes, offering up a big bite of what we'll find on Armed With Rage once it's finally released.

Check out the songs below and hit the band up here.









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Speaking of new albums, Ireland's ANIMATOR released their new album Blacklisted this past summer. The album crushes with interesting riffage and cool vocals. When I say "interesting", I am not downplaying the songwriting in a smirky patronizing manner. No, it IS freakin' interesting, serving up thrash with pure rock and tastes of punk which add colorful layers of keen madness that is catchy and wonderfully ass-kicking. Songs such as Ultra '53 have so much crammed into it without feeling weighed down. Then we have the tune Manipulator which is a fantastic hard rock/thrash hybrid which actually brought a bit of DEVO to my mind. What the hell, right?

Although it might sound as if Animator is throwing a bunch of ideas against the wall to see what sticks, rest assured that their attempts are solid and pay off almost every time. Also, the stellar musicianship help to make these musical endeavors shine. Damn, those guitar solos are slamming!

So, here's the bonus: Animator has made Blacklisted available as a FREE download on the band's Bandcamp page. Nice! Check out the songs below, and then visit them over on Facebook.

Insanity Alert's new music video!

Austrian thrashers INSANITY ALERT have unleashed their new video for the tune Twist Off Betrayal. Many beer drinkers out there will definitely relate to the song's subject matter. I'm sure that at least once in your life you cried out in a pained voice, "This isn't a twist off?!" - all while nursing a fresh wound earned from a stubborn bottle cap.

So kick back and enjoy the next 60 seconds with Insanity Alert. Afterward, take advantage of the band's generosity and download their most recent EP for FREE here. Also, hit them up on Facebook and tell 'em thanks for the free thrash!

YAAAA!!!!!

Weekend Breakdown featuring Necroriser and Space Chaser

I've been gone a while, and although I am still on my extended break from blogging, I found a little extra time this evening...

...so let me stick my forehead-bruised noggin up from the dark just long enough for it to get kicked clean off my neck by some face-shattering METAL!

First, check out the outright brutal deathrash of the London based band NECRORISER. These guys slam together killer old-school thrash hooks with the browbeating insanity of grave digging death metal. Necroriser headlocks the listener with furiously heavy riffs that march along the fretboard like an army of sledgehammer-wielding zombies. That's right. The combination of headbanging chug and hammering speed make for a blissful savaging of the eardrums.

Check out the band's most recent release "Violent" below and hit the band up here.

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I mentioned SPACE CHASER on my Facebook page a while back, meaning to eventually give the Berlin based band some NWOTM Blog-love in the future.

I love their sound, which seems to have a bit of Gama Bomb worship mixed with the punch of U.S. bi-coastal thrash influences. The riffs are both frantic and catchy, hooking the ear before attacking with a speedy head-battering. Vocalist Siegfried Rudzynski offers a lot of charisma in his delivery, going from clean to rough to high-pitched, all working well alongside the dynamics of the music.

Jam out to the tunes below and if you like 'em, go tell Space Chaser how much they kick ass on their Facebook page. Bands like that, I reckon.

Homicide Hagridden ROCKS!

Thrash, thrash, THRASH! For the past few days, I've been slamming my head to the insanity of Homicide Hagridden, allowing them to bloody my ears with some well-meaning Slayer worship. The Hagridden crew adds a few drops of Teutonic influences to hammer home a thunderous mass of speedy metal, complete with fist-pumping e-string gallops and the occasional face-stomping breakdown.

Damn, these guys seriously kicked my ass hard. Their tune Black As War is as thrash as it gets!

Check out Homicide Hagridden's new album "US" below, buy it here, and then hit these guys up on Facebook.

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Motam Death Squad ROCKS!

Ah, man, I arrived late to the party once again.

Surfing around the mighty YouTube can offer up unexpected results when searching for thrash metal. Whilst mining through mountains of crap, there are nuggets of gold to be found, and found one I surely did! Unfortunately that particular golden nugget had already broken up. Sad.

For those of you not privy to the band, let me introduce the late MOTAM DEATH SQUAD, a crossover band from Italy that gives a fair share of nods to Teutonic thrash as it does S.O.D., Anthrax, Sadus, and even Scatterbrain (to a point).

These guys were in it for the FUN, and although most of us like our thrash fun as well as fast, it would all be for nothing without kick-ass riffs to propel the festivities along. NO WORRIES here, my finicky friends, as their 2011 self-titled album is swirling with face-ripping riffage, backed by head-slamming dynamics and rhythms.

The fact that MDS's album didn't reach beyond the self-released status is a shame. Supposedly, before they broke up they made their self-titled album available as a free download. As of this writing, I cannot find the official download link to this brilliant parting gift from a killer band I never had the pleasure of knowing while they were still kicking. Boo.

Thankfully, we can still jam Motam Death Squad via YouTube. Check out the full album below (note that the music begins around the 1:55 mark), and if your internet searching skills trump mine, please post any found info about MDS in the comments section. (Yes, I found their MySpace page, but, man...if there is any useful info to be found there, I surely could not find it.)

Weekend Breakdown featuring Parkcrest and Damned Creed

Sometimes I come across a band's demo that may not be perfect in execution, but behind the raw attempt is a spark of pure bad-assery. Such is the case with Santiago's young thrash band PARKCREST.

The band's new demo "Curse" might turn a few thrash fans away at first listen with its rough performance in spots, but looking a little further into the riffs and song structure, one will find a carnivorous budding metal band that offers up a killer, closed-fisted thrashing.

As I jam to Parkcrest's available tunes, I find that other than the occasional loose musical execution, the only true sore spot would be with the vocals. Not that the vocals are all that bad, but in cases such as the chorus to Into The Light, it is apparent that adding melodic vocal lines is not a strong point.

That minor wincing aside, I have to say that the riffs are savage, pieced together into solid songs filled with slamming dynamics and competent guitar solos. Songs such as Dark Magicians and Curse All pull off fast and interesting riffage, engaging me as a metal fan and had me hitting the "repeat" button.

Again, is it perfect? No, but who cares? Parkcrest kicks ass and I'm definitely going to keep my eye on these guys to see how they'll develop in their future recordings.

Check out the tunes below and then hit them up on Facebook here.

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From Athens we have DAMNED CREED, who recently released their new album titled Choose A Side.

These guys flex their musical muscles in head-bangable riffs with nods to Slayer and Overkill. Tunes such as Enemies Among Us and Doomsayers of Greed are thoroughly crushing exercises in fist-pumping aggression. Fast and brutal, Damned Creed pulls off each song with razor sharp precision, handing one back his or her bruised ass after each listen.

At times, the dynamics behind the riff, such as the mid-paced jam at the end of Doomsayers border on an epic feel, making me wish they would keep the momentum running with a two or three minute solo soaring over it all. Sure, such an addition might be unnecessary, but some of these riffs are so damn good, I don't want them to stop!

Give Damned Creed a listen below and then thank them on their Facebook page for offering up their new album as a FREE download here!

Good times, good METAL!

Weekend Breakdown featuring Sagros, Zodiac Ciphers, and Maze of Terror

Bring on SAGROS, a Colombian band intent on dealing out some gut-punching angry METAL. I was turned onto Sagros after hearing their neck-snapping song Anger Blinds The Mind, which immediately tossed me into a brawl of chugging riffage. The tight intensity of the song had me at the get-go, but the riffs turn to a catchy dynamic halfway through that makes me want to start a makeshift moshpit in my living room, the casualties being my turned-over chairs and bruised shins. Totally metal.

These guys have been flying the thrash metal flag for over 15 years and will finally release their debut album through Hateworks sometime this year.

Check out the tune below and then visit them on Facebook here.

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Now I bring you the majestic ZODIAC CIPHERS, a thrash band that drinks from the cup of Slayerisms, filled to the top with a suicide of power thrash and death metal. Vocalist Kjell Andersson mainly refrains from the "Cookie Monster" vokills, opting for the traditional thrash bark/clean singing. The music however rages with a death metal charge, then switches gears to the melodic, and then offers up some Bay Area aggression before heading back into the grave. It's all a killer mix to piece together into some solid metal songs.

Slam to the music streams below and then give them a "Like" here.





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From Peru we have MAZE OF TERROR, a band that unleashes a sick and thunderous thrash pounding with their new EP titled Skull Crusher. This three-piece specialize in metal that rakes the listener across gravel with guttered riffs and fire-spewing vocals. The song Rival is a chugfest of speedy angst while Hatred and Repression is a tune that offers up plenty of deliberate mosh-worthy moments.

Hold your invisible grapefruits high as you check out the tune below and then visit the band here. If you like what you hear, the band has made Skull Crusher available as a FREE download! Grab it here.