Sweden's hardcore thrashers LOWEST CREATURE! Yeah, they kick ass!

I love finding bands like Sweden’s own LOWEST CREATURE - chugging thrash with a nice crossover bent.

Admittedly, I’ve only heard the one available song “Certain Pain”, but if the rest of the band’s debut demo is as strong as this track, those tunes will earn a nice spot in my regular music listening rotation.

As for the lone track, it rides on the strength of a stomping mid-paced riff that would bust the rust off any deadened mosh pit. The vocals are wrought with punk angst, driving alongside the head slamming rhythm. It’s in your face and it kicks ass!

Check out Certain Pain below (which is also available as a FREE download), and hit up Lowest Creature here.

Tacit Fury ROCKS!

I was going to add a small Facebook post about Russia’s death metal machine TACIT FURY, but as I jammed out to their recent album “A Social Berserker”, I came to the conclusion that a couple meager sentences wouldn’t do these guys justice.

So once again I’ve dusted off the Blog to make some verbal noise for a band that needs to be heard past the limitations of a ‘non-boosted’ Facebook post.

First and foremost, Tacit Fury knows dynamics, and the three-piece will work the riffs and drums together for maximum neck-injury impact. They utilize frenzied rhythms, mid-paced head-chuggers, and the occasional blast beat to offer variety to the listener.  Songs such as Release the Lions, Chronology Bleached, and Overblade work these song-writing tools to build a catastrophic catalog of face-pummeling perfection.

Those of you not keen on the death metal style of vocals should still give Tacit Fury a try. Although the music is good enough to overshadow some peoples’ taste in the vocals, I couldn’t imagine these tunes fronted with any other type of delivery. Although many death metal vocalists can sound similar, there are indeed both “good” and “terrible” death metal vocalists, and Fury’s frontman Enoth is damn good at what he does.

Check out the tunes below, and if you dig ‘em as much as I think you will, the $3 asking price for a 12-track album is a damn good deal. As a side note, they have made their "Horrors From Depth" release available as a FREE download here.

Hit them up on Facebook here.

Getting high on the face-breaking punk/thrash of HI-GH!

As a fan of the raw punk and thrash attack of Itaily’s VIOLENTOR, it’s no wonder why I instantly fell for the rumble and roll of HI-GH.

Yeah, these guys harness enough raw power to kill an elephant, grinding away at teeth-shattering punk and speed metal riffage mixed with head banging rhythms and venomous vocals. At times, with the use of dynamic repetition in their riffs and with vocalist Tommaso Slowly’s in-your-face performance, HI-GH sounds like a speed/thrash-based, less industrial Ministry on steroids (Check out the end to 'HI-GH (Can You Roll It For Me)'). All this is in wonderful contrast to some of HI-GH’s more, shall we say, soulful guitar work, showing a bit of love for their 70s metal influences.

Catchy and pissed, THIS is thrash ’n’ roll at it’s best! Give HI-GH a listen below and then check out their Facebook page here.

Free embed music player from ReverbNation.com

EXALOUD ROCKS!

Although I am frequently updating the NWOTM Blog’s Facebook page, I’ve been keeping this site dark until I can devote some time toward its redesign. However, a feller by the name of Aldo posted the name “EXALOUD” on the afore-mentioned Facebook page, and possessing such a curious soul, I looked these guys up online.

Needless to say, I found Exaloud, and so here I am dusting off the NWOTM Blog to brag about the extreme ass-kicking these Russian based thrashers delivered to me. MY GOD!!!!

However, before my well needed ass-kicking, during my research I found a handful of live videos of Exaloud performing a mass of Metallica cover tunes. Not bad, but not knowing anything about these guys, I thought they were simply a local cover band with maybe a couple mediocre originals thrown in for fun.

Was I in for a rude awakening!

Their name led me to a nondescript Facebook page as well as a Russian social media page (which I cannot read). So I still had zero info on these guys, but I was eventually led to their Soundcloud page, and this is where the thrash heavens opened up.

What I found were eleven songs of riff-laden aggression. Thrash metal that could easily rival the best of ‘em. While one could hear the old-school Metallica/Megadeth worship in these tunes (LOTS of Mustaine-driven bad-assery), Exaloud took these influences and breathed new life in the genre, creating a batch of songs that are vibrant and hungry.

The dynamics to each tune are pure ear candy, and the solos (as well as the rhythms under them) become living beasts, standing out as vital parts to the song structure.

I must make mention again of the riffs throughout - all tight, catchy, and damn near perfect. I would pick out a highlight, but since I am still digesting these marvelous tunes, I can’t pinpoint a favorite. I can only say that I would be hard-pressed to find any filler within these eleven songs.

Exaloud is a triumphant step up for the New Wave of Thrash Metal and if there is justice in the world, the band will eventually rake in legions of fans to savor what they have to offer. I hope this little write-up can help in the slightest.

Check out all eleven tracks below!! YEAH!!!!

Thanks, Aldo!!!

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.

Learn how to get your music noticed at ReverbNation.com

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.)

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.

Have a thrashy Christmas with a FREE album download from Mastery!

Ontario metal men MASTERY are offering up a kick-ass Christmas present for fans of tight, technical, blistering thrash metal!

Their new album "In the Key of Kill", featuring the legendary Billy Milano on vocals, is now available on the band's Bandcamp page as a FREE download!

Mighty neighborly of these guys to do this because In the Key of Kill is a killer wall of sound of neck-breaking riffs, precise rhythms, and shredding guitars. The work these musicians accomplish together is at times awe-inspiring.

Leading the vocal charge, Milano belts out his part in a delivery that edges into death metal territory.

Highlights on this album? There are many, but I really dig The High and Mighty and We Slaughter the Shepherds as there is a bit of a Testament quality to them that I find more than appealing.

Check out the album below, download it here, and go thank them on their Facebook page.

Merry Christmas, everyone!  \m/

Slip Into Coma ROCKS!

More and more kick ass thrash keeps working itself out of the woodwork. In the case of California's SLIP INTO COMA, they've been chopping at that woodwork for nearly 23 years.

Formed in 1990, the band went through a few line-up changes before finally downsizing to a three-piece. Now, Slip Into Coma sound just as vicious and hungry as any upstart thrash band. Their new demo tracks pack a ferocious bite of of old-school east coast thrash with doses of crossover, German influences, and Slayerisms, all comparable to a welcome kick to the face.

Guitarist Scott Kazos absolutely shreds with hard-hitting riffs and killer solos while bassist Greg Sherman and drummer Tyler Gottlob provide a tight rhythm full of pure thrashin' muscle.

Check out Slip Into Coma's tunes below. They are demo tracks for their upcoming album, and are available as a FREE freakin' download! Get 'em here!

Killer THRASH!

Solanum ROCKS!

I just came across these dudes and had to throw together a quick post to give California's SOLANUM a big, fat thumbs up! Or horns up.

Here we have killer German and Bay Area influences mashed together for an all-out thrash onslaught that should be written out in book form and studied on ways to sonically kick someone's ass.

Solanum offer up the frenzied assault of our classic Teutonic faves while incorporating the juicy mid-sections of Bay Area-style aggressive riffage and melodic solos.

As of this writing, Solanum only have five demo-quality songs available. If one can hear the bad-assery of their songs through these recordings, I can't imagine how epic their music will sound through the dials of a pro recording. I hope it happens soon!

Meanwhile, check out what they have to offer below and then bump up their "Likes" on Facebook and Reverbnation.

Humungus! 'Nuff said!

Let's get back into the madness with a Richmond, VA band that blesses the listener with a hammerface full of killer chugging metal. HUMUNGUS rides the line of traditional metal and thrash, offering up rough to clean/high-pitched sonic screams with ferocious e-string destroying riffage.

Their tune Martial Law slams along with driving guitars until toward the middle of the song it almost turns into a Megadeth tribute song, vocal pattern and all. I'm not complaining - it still kicks ass, but it becomes obvious that old-school 'deth is a huge influence.

Humungus have a ton of killer ideas and when they work, they work really well. Check out the goods below and hit Humungus up here and here. If you dig 'em, buy their Drinkin' a Beer EP here.

Avenues of Approach ROCKS!

Texas metal men AVENUES OF APPROACH offer up an impressive well-rounded kick to their music, mixing it up between fist-pumping metal and gasoline-chugging hard rock.

With AoA's new EP, titled New Revolution, they are churning out a brand of metal that is rather accessible, walking that fine line of producing music that is both pit-worthy as well as something you could buy at Target.

Damn if that doesn't sound like a backhanded compliment, but the statement truly isn't. AoA simply know how to write relatively wide-appeal metal with muscle, all the while evading the Load/Reload road entirely.

Vocalist Brock Brooks freakin' nails it on these songs. Without his vocal dynamic, the music (as good as it already is) would definitely loose some impact. Brooks's seemingly effortless delivery brings to mind doses of Pantera, Coal Chamber (!), and even the Foo Fighters (!!), and utilizes his varied technique like a splash of lighter fluid to keep the music burning.

Truthfully, my hard thrash biases started stinging me when Brooks would go into clean-singing mode, but once I actually listened to what was going on in the music, that all changed. Now I couldn't imagine songs such as Through Darkness and A Test of Wills without that specific dynamic.

Although Brooks shines on this album, the rest of the band holds their own just fine, hammering out tight guitar work and a rhythm section that drives this sh*t through walls. Bad ass!

Purists beware, because although AoA definitely uses thrash in their music arsenal, they also add multi layers of groove metal and hard rock, using the sub-genres to their advantage.

Check out the goodies below and then hit up Avenues Of Approach here.

Stump Grinder ROCKS!

Hell, I thought I wrote a few doting words about the Columbus, GA band STUMP GRINDER. I haven't, and for fans of raw, punk-fueled, metallic, riff-rocky, humorous, crossoverish thrash -- I'm sorry. I should have said something about these guys earlier. Bad NWOTM Blog! Bad!

However, with the release of their next "single" Woodchipper Jones, not only did Stump Grinder bring their name to the forefront of my music-overloaded brain, they also planted a fat smile on my handsome mug. I love this stuff!

Listening to Woodchipper Jones, I find myself jamming out to thrash metal wrapped in sped-up, finger-tangling riff-rock, weaved in with bits o' punk and death. What's not to love?

The other two available tunes offer up just as much fun. Welcome to the Bar bring to mind the aggression of Toxic Holocaust while Fuzzy Death Machine hits on a more traditional thrash metal sound with a punked-out chorus. Fun as hell.

I read that they have a couple more tunes in the works to be released soon, and although I am more than stoked to hear them, I would love for Stump Grinder to hunker down and churn out a killer full-length.

Check out the good below, hit them up here, and download some FREE Stump Grinder tunes here.

Damageflag joins with Punkerama Records...because they ROCK!

A big congratulations to Ireland's own DAMAGEFLAG. These young thrashers inked a deal with Punkerama Records which will release the band's debut EP on November 1st.

If you have yet to hear Damageflag's music, these guys crank out driving thrash with mind-hooking riffage and an overwhelming sense of having a hell of a good time.

Their tune Ride Like Hell has branded itself in my brain. The main riff is genius and the chorus is perfect for the live-performance-audience-participation scream along.

Listen to their goods below and then hit Damageflag up here.

RIDE LIKE HELLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!

GrimWolf is pure werewolf METAL!

California's GrimWolf are described as "Pure American Werewolf Metal"! Werewolf metal? Hey, man, I can get on board, especially when the music is this beastly and aggressive.

As a horror movie fan, I was initially intrigued by GrimWolf's take on werewolves and how they plug the subject into most of their songs (Lycanthrope, Becoming the Beast, Little Red, etc.). Of course any band's cool gimmick has to be backed up by killer tunes, and thankfully GrimWolf provides ass-kicking ear sustenance as well.

GrimWolf hits hard with a solid heavy rock foundation, raging with melodic and occasional southern-tinged riffage. They add in heavy doses of thrash and death metal to create a savage climate for the listener to roam through - preferably under the light of a full moon.

With a seamless combination of old-school and modern thrash influences, the assault of GrimWolf's straight-forward chugging riffs are undeniably heavy as hell, and the when they break into melodic twists, killer solos, and traditional metal overtones, it all comes together into a monster of well-written metal.

Check out the tunes below and hit GrimWolf up here and here.

Eradikator ROCKS!

Freakin' ERADIKATOR! Jamming out to this Birmingham thrash band is so much f*cking FUN that I am pissed I just recently discovered them. These guys know how to get the listener's head moving with a barrage of tightly executed riffs wrapped around some solid thrash metal song writing.

The catchy hooks and all-out energy Eradikator expels in their music brings to mind the clockwork hammering of Overkill's last two albums. Tracks such as Skeletal Steel and Overthrow display a ruthless aggression and tight-as-hell delivery that propels the killer drumming and rhythm playing to the foreground.

Eradikator's Odysseus is an instrumental that is absolutely stunning in its dynamics of blues-based emotion and hard-as-nails metal attack. It's epic. This track alone has more substance and backbone than most bands can garner in their entire careers. I've listened to Odysseus multiple times and I am continuously blown away by the mountainous array of feelings this song stirs in me. Truly, truly fantastic.

The bottom line is that Eradikator is a thrash band that should be turning the heads of thrash fans everywhere, and here's hoping that they go on to bigger and better places without changing a damn thing about what they do and who they are. Just…bad ass.

Listen and devour the available streaming songs below and then hit them up here.

Ultra-Violence ROCKS!

YEAAHHHH!!!! Here I painfully sit with a size 18 footprint planted on my ass from Italian-made boots worn by the unruly thrash band ULTRA-VIOLENCE.

These Italian metal men have forged heaping masses of bludgeoning aggressive music that is skillfully played and surprising in its dynamics.

The crushing riffage and manic rhythms bring to mind a cross between Havok and Warbringer, while injecting original moments of atmosphere and unpredictability between the thrashing insanity.

The song Frustration of Soul demonstrates these moments with highlights from bassist "Robba" Dimasi that fades into what normally would be a typical breakdown, but instead turns into a headbanging shout-along.

All members of Ultra-Violence shine in their music. Vocalist Loris Castiglia has a lethal delivery and Andrea Vacchiotti's solo work is as clean as it is furious. Drummer Simone Verre is simply amazing, working as the fuel to propel this engine of pounding madness.

Check out the tunes below and then go tell 'em "hi" on Facebook or Reverbnation.

Internal Corrosion ROCKS!

If you're looking for Bay Area-style thrash with bits of crossover, check out the fist-pounding metal mayhem of California's INTERNAL CORROSION. Chunky gallops bound with killer metal riffage and vocals that sound nearly identical to Aversion's Christian Fuhrer has netted me in as someone who thinks this music completely rocks.

Yes, many out there in grumpy-pants land could label Internal Corrosion as just another unoriginal thrash band, but there are too many parts in their music that absolutely shine, making these guys bona fide genre ass-kickers.  Hector, Internal Corrosion's vocalist/guitarist, has a dynamic voice that is freakin' perfect for heading a thrash metal band. On top of that, the guitar solos are great, the rhythm is tight as hell, and the production on the available songs I've heard is stellar. I love it!

Listen to what Internal Corrosion has to offer below and then hit them up here.

Free metal! Extinction ROCKS!

Just a quick post to steer you in the way of more free metal!

Here we have California's deathrashers EXTINCTION who recently released their EP titled Skull Island! SKULL ISLAND, man!

Extinction specialize in death-soaked thrash with peppered hints of traditional metal. The opening riff to their tune Acid Bath is a freakin' genius instrumental, flying the flag of the all-out metal jam. Another song My Axe of Torture rides the edges of moshable polka beats and Six Feet Under style grooves.

I dig Extinction, and you can too...for FREE! Check out the tunes below and if you find them scratching your deathrash itch, download 'em here. Much thanks to Extinction for making the tune available!

Facebook Extinction here.

Maniac Force ROCKS!

The supreme kick-ass volunteer thrash researcher Luuk Hoogland clued me in to yet another thrash gem. Brazil's own MANIAC FORCE scratches that metal itch with their new EP, titled Dead Planet, which is a beast of classic-sounding thrash.

Sure there's not much originality involved, but the songs are well written full-on attacks of sheer brutality and that's good enough for me, man. Maniac Force provides that good old-fashioned ass-kickin' that us old-school (and new school!) thrashers need to take from time to time.

Guitarist Cleiton Thrasher gallops out some competent riffage in addition to possessing a set of pissed-off vocal pipes that bring to mind a less-growling Chuck Schuldner.

Songs such as Dead Planet and Empire of Deceivers offer up straight-forward thrash metal that hits on all the quintessential prerequisites of the genre, doing so unabashedly.

Sometimes you want to leave the math metal alone for a while and destroy. Check out the goodies below and then hit up Maniac Force here.