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.

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.)

New Iron Reagan song "Cycle of Violence"!

The guys over at Invisible Oranges are lucky enough to premiere the new track from punk/metal madmen Iron Reagan!

The song, titled Cycle of Violence, comes off their upcoming album Worse Than Dead, due to drop on March 6th.

The song crushes with a mid-paced neck-breaking rhythm, while Foresta's familiar pipes are solid as ever. A satisfying taste of what's to come from the new album. Can't wait!…but I have to, so whatever.

Check out the tune below! Hit Iron Reagan up here!

Merry Lichmas! New Lich King song and TOUR!

Some really cool news coming from the mighty LICH KING.

As many of you know, the band's LICHMAS tradition continued in its normal kick-ass way to celebrate the season. Lich King released a new song titled Crossover Songs Are Too Damn Short and made it available as a FREE freakin' download.

As expected, the song rocks and easily stands up with the Born of the Bomb material (even if it is Too Damn Short). Way cool of these guys to do something like this. Yeah, they claim to hate their fans (Fan Massacre!), but we know they truly love us…most of us.

Check it out:



On another point, although the following wasn't officially part of the Lichmas present, I still consider it just as special a gift: the LICH KING TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT! Some shows will also include Possessor, Insinnerator, and Smash Potater! Check out the graphic below.

That's right. A Kansas City date. Finally! So, all you U.S. residents comb through the dates and see if there is a show coming close to you, because I believe THIS will be worth the trip.

MERRY LICHMAS!!

Electric Vengeance: Street Metal Attack

I've been following Electric Vengeance for a while now, enjoying their turn at churning out raw punk/thrash with humorous overtones. Those antics continue with their new EP titled Street Metal Attack.

Whether it was intended or not, the opening track Keep it Electric is a bonafide punk-feuled homage to Metallica's Kill 'Em All, complete with classic chugging riffs and Phantom Lord-ish, reverbed-out vocal attack.

Catchy and dynamic, Keep it Electric is key, along with a few choice elements found in the following three tracks, to draw more eyes toward Electric Vengeance.

In fact, the opening song almost killed the rest of the EP for me. Not that the other songs are bad, but initially the other three tracks didn't hold up to the tone set by Keep it Electric. HOWEVER…

…upon further listening, the others definitely grew on me, including the title track Street Metal Attack, highlighting an east coast flavor with a heavy dose of pure heavy metal in the solo section.

Regarding the aforementioned "choice elements", Electric Vengeance's use of traditional heavy/power metal with their punk-laden thrash gives them a killer edge over other dime-a-dozen crossover bands. Both songs Mosh With the Dead and Ouija at Witching Hour utilize this mix of styles well, never sounding forced and always knocking the song dynamics up a few notches. I love it!


Interested thrashers can hit Electric Vengeance up here.

Weekend Breakdown of FREE music with Vital Gore and Hollow Truth!

For fans of pure, drunken, dirty, and mean as sh*t thrash metal, look no further than the Texas monsters known as VITAL GORE.

Contrary to what the name suggests, Vital Gore are not death metal, although you could add hints of early death into their influences as well as various sounds from the punk/crossover and Slayer camps. Vital Gore hammers it all together well, in a mass of aggressively raw metal.

Songs such as The Locust, Beerinator, and Womb are searing pieces of pissed-off thrash. To find the more swaggering Slayer influences, check out the kick-ass insanity of Wait For Death.

Maybe you've heard all this stuff before, but when it's done with an obvious hunger and topped with killer riffs, their tunes become a killer fist-pumping time killer.

With each additional listen to their demo (appropriately titled "Demo") I become a bigger and bigger fan of Vital Gore. You can, too, because these Texas madmen are offering up Demo as a free download! Listen to it below and then snake it here. Hey, Vital Gore has a Facebook page!







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Ireland's crossover metallers HOLLOW TRUTH lean way more on the hardcore side, but there is plenty of thrash influence injected into the music as well.

Yes, many grooves and breakdowns are to be found throughout, but a big bonus that separates Hollow Truth from other Hatebreed clones is the Mike Muir-esque vocals used instead of the typical gruff quasi-death barkings normally iced over these types of tunes.

While they are not reinventing much, nor do they need to, but Hollow Truth does indeed include some ear-catching arrangements, particularly in the song Terrible Winds. Personally, I'd like to hear these guys go balls-out fast on a few tracks to keep the dynamics flowing from song to song, but that is only a minor beef.

If your down for some face-stomping heaviness, check out the goods below and then download them here for FREE! Afterward, go pay Hollow Truth a visit here.

Weekend Breakdown with Desecrate, A666RESSOR, and Toxic Ritual

With their album At the Edge of Sanity, California's DESECRATE slam together some tasty modern metal, leading the listener through a gauntlet of galloping aggression and epic melody.

The twin guitar work of Nick Simile and Chase Becker work so well in Desecrate's music, carving out some melodic thrash riffage with a power metal edge. The lead work, sewn in perfectly with the dynamic rhythms are spectacular, crisp and articulate in its execution.

Highlights include Fury Within and Repent, the latter containing a stream of killer stomping riffs that come together with the vocals to tell a story of sonic brilliance.

Other songs such as Erased is both haunting and ass kicking, filled with tranquil sadness and soaring exhilaration.

Vocalist/guitarist Simile mainly clean-sings throughout At the Edge of Sanity, at times sounding as if Dennis DeYoung is trying his hand at pure metal. If for some reason that sounded like a back-handed compliment, it's not - the guy knows how to bring it (even with the death growls), fitting Desecrate's music like a spiked leather glove.

This is the kind of metal that I like to crank and marvel at killer musicians displaying their chops with dynamic arrangements, pristine playing, and just plain well-written tunes to wreck my freakin' neck.

Check out the METAL below and then hit Desecrate up here and here.








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In the metal world, there are a few "Aggressor" bands out there, but here I am focusing in on Mexico's own AGGRESSOR (A666RESSOR). If anything, I can't help but love the sound of these guys, cranking out thrash reminiscent of early Kreator and Schizophrenia-era Sepultura.

Their song Social Virus is pure thrash brimming with palm-muted power chords, pissed vocals, and a raw, grainy sound that screams 1986. Or 1987. Whatever, it kicks ass. Even their video for the Social Virus appears vintage.

Check out the video below and then visit them on Facebook.






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Alright, let's get really, really raw now. I happened upon the crossover UK band TOXIC RITUAL while doing a routine thrash search. At first listen, the production of their demo songs was a turn-off, offering up a rather weak guitar sound instead of the fuller mass of controlled distortion this type of music desperately needs.

However, I made it past the first song Rise of the Merzombies, which is a good thing considering my interest had at first been tainted by the recording.

By the time the chorus for Toxic Manifesto hit, I was rocking to these guys in full force. As loose, raw, and at times, sh*tty sounding the demo tends to be, the band Toxic Ritual freakin' ROCKS!

The riffs and dynamics in their tunes wear their influences well, and in a live setting, I bet they could set the place to flame.

Fans of punk/crossover thrash take note because once Toxic Ritual get a quality recording out to the masses, it will be a mosh-worthy addition to your collection. I can't wait to see where these guys take it from here.

Listen to the goods below and then check them out here and here.

Weekend Breakdown with Animas and DSMB

Over in Wincher, VA, there be METAL going by the name of ANIMAS. Listening to their new EP titled Blood on the Iron, fans of power thrash will find much to enjoy.  Maiden-esque guitar gallops merge with epic, moody solo sections while vocalist/bassist John Habuda flips from a rough Mustaine-sounding vox to demonic screams.

Most of the music is slow to mid-paced grinding metal, mixing plenty of melody with the aggression, but there are definitely moments of explosive thrash to keep the dynamics popping. The twin guitar work of Kyle Luttrell and Kory Campbell kicks mucho ass, bringing to mind a less frenzied Chris Peterson (of Cellador fame) style - and such, turned a lot of Animas's music into pure ear candy for yours truly.

Give ANIMAS a shot by listening to the tune below and then visit them here.





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For a more abrasive direction, let's check out Australia's crossover thrashers DSMB. Their self-titled EP was released last year and I'm pissed that I've only recently discovered these guys.

DSMB's 6-song quick blast of face-shattering crossover first caught my attention with their relentless homage to old-shcool thrash/punk, but then thoroughly kicked my ass with their catchy, slammin' riffage. DSMB show diverse influences all over the thrash map (hints of S.O.D., Slayer, Municipal Waste, and even Vio-lence), but always with a foot planted in the crossover sub genre, helped along with vocalist Boskie's pissed-off and on-target delivery.

Over repeated listenings, I love the self-titled EP more and more. Check out the songs below and then hit up DSMB here where you can download a few of their songs for free, or stream the entire EP 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.

Weekend Breakdown with Serpent Crown, Aggravator, and Meathook!

I haven't had a new Weekend Breakdown post in a while, so let's kick one out early this time.

Also, let me add that if you have some time, make sure to comb through the rest of this blog and check out the ton of bands I have featured over the last couple of years. Sure you might not like all of 'em, but I guarantee there will be a couple gems in there that are destined to grab you by the throat. That's why you're here, right?

Right! Let's get on with it!



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Eeriness abound, we have the three piece thrash-influenced metal outfit called SERPENT CROWN. This San Francisco based band boasts a terrifying sound built from the driving riffs and otherworldly screams from guitarist/vocalist Dara Santhai. Current Death Angel drummer Will Carroll keeps the mass of fuzzed-out thrash rock on track.

Serpent Crown may not be traditional thrash metal, but they definitely have the thrash DNA weaved into their music, which also blends in small amounts of hardcore over the outpouring of heavy, atmospheric rock. Completely bad-ass.

Dara's vocals are both harsh and spectral at once, injecting a haunting characteristic into the music that carries her voice like a magic carpet that is destined for the abyss.

Heavy, fast, and at times, unearthly, one must check out more than one song to get a grasp of what they are offering.

Listen to their tunes below and then hit them up here.






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Now let's head on over to San Antonio, Texas to check out the brutality of old-school thrashers AGGRAVATOR! Influenced by Kreator, Venom, and Slayer (aren't we all?) these guys hammer out blistering thrash with traces of death metal.

The songs are well thought out with bursts of speed and pure headbanging fury. Vocalist/rhythm guitarist Derek Jones is freakin' killer, spewing forth a sound like a thrashier Schuldiner/John Tardy mix.

Jesse Lopez's guitar solos are well-placed, sounding clean, killer, and purposeful to the music.

Well done! I'd love to see these guys live.

For now, however, I have to jam out to their tunes below and you should, too! Afterward, go tell 'em hi on Facebook.






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Let's get into some Canadian crossover with the thrashin' styling of MEATHOOK!

With their album Hymns of the Divine Drunks, we are treated to unabashed party/beer/pizza thrash that has no problem kicking the asses of fans that dig this spectrum of the thrash machine.

The music is fast and loose, with some kicking metal and punk riffage throughout. Beyond what one would expect from Meathook's brand of thrash, there are definitely bursts of sick genius to be found, such as in the songs Scumbum and Fat Kid on the Toilet.

Check out their tunes below, have some drunk, thrashing fun, and then visit Meathook here.

No Weekend Breakdown post, but that's okay because OSTGTKU ROCKS!

Sorry, I don't have the time for a full-blown Weekend Breakdown post, but I am going to at least share one killer band that recently caught my ear.

Check out Pennsylvania's aptly named OH SHIT THEY'RE GOING TO KILL US. These guys specialize in speedy riff-laden crossover bringing to mind a mix of Gama Bomb and Violentor with a kick of traditional metal to make the tunes that much more epic! If you're a thrash fan (and I have a sneaking suspicion that a couple of you are), OSTGTKU has something for everyone, and that "something" will kick your teeth down your throat…in a good way.

As far as OSTGTKU's history, I am in the dark a bit. What I do know is they have a couple full length albums out and have recently released a new EP titled Combat Shock. I plan on doing a bit more research and getting my hands on everything these guys have released (musically, that is). I love this stuff!

Here are a bunch of band links for you. Now check out the goodies below and please try not to break something.

Insanity Alert and a killer parody song!

Great crossover always has a sense of humor. Case in point is Austria's INSANITY ALERT's parody song Run to the Pit. My God is this song freakin' EPIC.

Please do yourselves a favor and check out the tune below. Afterward, you can download their album First Diagnosis for FREE from their Bandcamp page. Insanity Alert slam out some first-class crossover thrash in the vein of D.R.I., Municipal Waste, and Gama Bomb. Simply awesome.

Hey, Striking Death! Get your demo recorded!

Thanks goes to Luuk Hoogland for tipping me off on a few new bands. One of them, called STRIKING DEATH, popped out video that is about as lo-fi as you can get and still get killer sounding guitars!

These young dudes from Belgium hooked me with the vid to their song Team Shitfaced. The recording is a rehearsal track and it's raw as hell, but the song is a lot of fun (as is the video). Seriously, watching this vid makes me want to assemble a few of my buddies, grab some guitars, and slam out some old-school thrash - all in the name of having a kick-ass fun time.

If you're thumbing your nose at Striking Death for being low-brow "pizza thrash" (a term I don't find the least bit insulting), give a quick listen to the promising demo of their song Save a Skater, Drain a Pool (awesome title!). So far the recording is comprised of guitars and drums only, but it sounds absolutely slamming! I can't wait to hear the full version. In fact, I can't wait to hear the full demo!

So get to work, Striking Death! Get your tunes recorded!

Check out the vids below and if you are one to keep your eye on a blossoming young thrash group, hit them up on Facebook.

Cuttin' Loose ROCKS!

Yes, I've been covering a LOT of crossover, but I've been on a huge Dr. Living Dead kick recently, so it has seeped into my blog/Facebook page more than usual.

Along with the aforementioned Doctor, as well as Marauding Ghouls and Like A Texas Murder, I am also jamming hard to California's CUTTIN' LOOSE.

These guys slam with shortened bursts of furious hardcore thrash, with riffage that crosses throat-tearing metal and pit forging stomps. In each track, Cuttin' Loose crams in a lot of fun that goes by too quickly, forcing fans to gleefully pound on the repeat button for another dose of skateboard-to-the-head insanity.

For fans of California crossover thrash hardcore metal punk thrash thrash metal crossover thrash hardcore hardcore punk metal punk thrash, then you can thank Cuttin' Loose for making their Skate To Hell EP available as a FREE download over at their bandcamp page.

Listen below, go here to download the EP, and then hit them up on Facebook here.

Ah, good times.

Like A Texas Murder offers the gift of FREE crossover thrash!

A while back, I wrote about a group of bad-ass Brazilian crossover crushers called Like A Texas Murder. Well, in case you didn't know, the band has graciously offered both of their stellar albums Grindcore Caiçara and Tudo de Ruim as free downloads over on their bandcamp page!

Both albums are searing slabs of hardcore thrash that slam with speedy guitar work, killer vocals, and chunky breakdowns, complete with some unpredictable twists and dynamics.

Download the albums here and then don't forget to send them a message on Facebook to thank 'em for the free ass-stomping!

Who is EVOL (USA) and what happened to them?

I'll admit that I haven't heard of these guys until tonight. I found out about EVOL while surfing for Italian thrash metal on YouTube.

Well, they aren't from Italy - they are from Santa Monica, but I am glad that YouTube offered EVOL's tunes up for me to experience. Fate is cool in that way.

So other than a quick view on a EVOL fan page on MySpace and the limited amount of info at the Metal Archives, I know both diddly and squat about this band.

But I love what I have heard, and here's hoping that this post will create some weird stir in the universe and direct a bit more attention toward these guys. Sure they broke up nearly 20 years ago (!!!), but with the resurgence of thrash (you know, since it's so "trendy"), young fans will be looking for the hardcore goodies of yore.

EVOL!

Blunt Force Trauma ROCKS!

Blunt Force Trauma plays hardcore crossover with so much intensity, you can feel the mosh pit sweat and bruises as the music thunders from your speakers.

This Austin, Texas band has been thrashin' on and off since 1999. Since then, they have gone through a few member changes, and in 2007 they snagged up legendary D.R.I. drummer Felix Griffin.

Man, their music is a welcome kick to the gut. Check out this tune from their Hatred for the State release.




Check out their MySpace page here.