Demolition Hammer-Tortured Existence

Ah, good old Demolition Hammer. One of the prime bands who, atleast for me, dominated the early 90's thrash scene. This four-piece from New York played much different thrash than their other local bands like Anthrax, who had alot of hardcore influences going on. After releasing their rapidly vicious demo ''Necrology'', they signed to Century Media and gave out two landmark records: This and their latercoming album ''Epidemic Of Violence''. Their debut shows blatantly obvious thrash influences basically played in a very aggressive style. Although their latercoming records may show influences of DM at times, this album is clearly a thrash-natured.

As I stated before, the music is very fast and aggressive which is one of the factors which allowed D-Hammer to easily gain recognition in their local scene.The furiously crafted riffs and ultra-heavy production that the album possesses is yet another beautiful highlight. There is no influence other than the huge pure, brutal and raw thrash influence. The riffs are very crushing and heavy and these guys are truely angry when playing their instruments. Frontman Steve Reynolds is a monster of a singer, singing with a menacing attitude and nothing but raw and uncut gnarling and shouting. Another traditional thrash trait, the group shouts, are also very present and it just shows that the whole band is full of energy and anger. Even though the riffs are rather ferocious, I must say they are rather fast than vicious or sinister. What's the difference? The fast riffs will basically get you headbanging very fast whilst the vicious riffs are rather ''evil sounding''. But I'm pretty sure no thrasher would pay attantion to such unimportant details like that.

Not only are the riffs face-pummeling, but they are also technical which is an interesting thing because many bands who play this particular sub-genre of thrash only strum some chords fastly, bur D-Hammer have a much different tactic. Instead of just bashing out their instruments, thay tend to play some old-school thrash sounding riffs at times or better yet-blend it with the ferocity. These kind of riffs obvious in tracks like ''Neanderthal'' or ''Infectious Hospital Waste'', and really increase the song quality.

Drummer Vinny Daze is really no name drmmer, but he can rip it up when he sşts on that stool. Since the production is so thick and heavy, his bouble-bass drums sound pretty crappy, even though he plays them well. The super-thick production may seem great at the start, but slowly you will see that it actually is one of the biggest flaws on the album. Sure it supports the riffs and tends to make them chunkier but it also enables a drop in the sound quality on the drums which really sucks. But despite this flaw the drums can be mainly heard-atleast enough for some one to make something out of them and enough for it to fit the music.

Now, the vocals are outstandingly well-done and we can all thanks bassist/vocalist Steve Reynolds for that. His shouts and angry attitude make the album even more aggressive and vicious. He sings the songs in a slightly punk attitude actually(which might be the only punk influence in the album) and that is not a bad thing at all. But truely this guy has some notable vocals, and his growl/shout at ''44 Caliber Brain Surgery'' is legendary. The whammy-tinged pentatonic scales are absolutely all over the album, and sound rather energetic than, evil or brutal. And this is yet another difference which separated D-Hammer from the others.

Demolition Hammer's debut was a very-well done late thrash record, but not as good as their second ''Epidemic of Violence''. All in all, I wouldn't be able to understand why someone who is into heavy, fast and loud music wouldn't like Demolition Hammer.
For people who like this I also suggest their second album EoV and their 1989 demo ''Necrology'' which is basically Tortured Existence played faster and more savagely.

Highlights:
44 Caliber Brain Surgery
Mercenary Aggression
Gelid Remains
Infectious Hospital Waste

Rating: 91%

Dismemberment-Perpetual Malice Single

How lucky was I to find this 4-piece band while searching on the web. After I heard this song, I knew I had to get more, so I ended up getting thier EP aswel! Dismemberment play in the vein of Desater, Sarcofago and Destroyer 666 and are one of those new black/thrash bands which will become very important in the future. Along with bands like Horrid, Hellcannon and Ketzer, Dismemberment are a promising black/thrash band.

Although they might sound pretty similar to the bands, listed above, they actually have a fairly distintive sound of their own. Adding elements of death metal to their music, makes the music only more aggressive and more heavy. This sub-genre is no genre but the infamous blackened death/thrash or black/death/thrash as some may call it. It is a voracious genre that emphasizes the epic and dark feel of black, the aggresiveness of death and the speed and brutality of thrash. Dismemberment perfectly combined these elements and created a monstrous song-no diffrent than the ones on the EP. The riffs are technical and heavy and carry the traits of black metal. Filled with open tremolos, chughs or technical riffage and when combined with the twisted black/death vocals, the song can be indeed menacing.

This song and their EP ''The Condamned'' allowed Dsimemberment install themselves as the new kings of black/trash. I am definetely waiting for their first full-lenght, which will shake the world of black/thrash.

Highlights:
Perpetual Malice

Rating: 88%

Follow Dismemberment on Facebook!
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Brutality-Screams Of Anguish

As far as underrated old school death metal goes, Brutality's debut ''Screams of Anguish'' must be nice find. Released in 1993, this album has a vast display of great musicianship and tasty riffage. Despite coming from the USA these guys were fairly obscure and underrated even though the music they created was different than other OSDM bands of the time. The album introduces brutal riffs, chaotic solos and malevolant tremolo picking to create a face-melting and pummeling album with some doom metal influences even.

This is absolutely crushing. A brain stomping monster of an album. The riffs are fantastically crafted and are technical aswel as heavy and brutal. The clean production absolutely baffles me. Compared to any other random DM band of the time, the production is an absolute winner. In ways I like comparing this to ''Dreams Of The Carrion Kind'' and album equally brutal and technical. The huge harmonies on this album are great, creating a weird atmosphere for listeners. And when combined with those sludgy, doomy and rotten riffs, the album gets a whole lot better than just ''brutal''. Another thing that caught my attention is their lyrical content. İnstead of ripping cadavers and doing brain surgeries, Brutality likes to talk abut more apocalyptical things. Musically there are some interesting techniques and sounds that Brutality uses. The album actually sounds alot like ''Tomb Of The Mutilated'' era Corpse with just more clear vocals. They carry some traits of that traditional OSDM sound but unlike many other bands, they were able create their own unique sound.

Now as I said before, the riffs are just beautifully heavy and crushing especially on the first two tracks. The music carries some traits of brutal death metal too, with rapidly changing tempos and confusing drumming. The drums are well-played and can blend into the music easily with say, double bass drums, blast beats or standard beats. Let's get to the doom influence here. Most drum work shows good performance in those sections of riffing, just as the vocals which tend to go slightly lower and more ''growling''. The doom-laden riffs don't last for long, because they quickly transfor into either a technical riffs or a tremolo chugh. The beautifully epic and twisted atmosphere that the marmony riffs provide are undeniable, and truely are amazing.

The vocals are pretty cool, nothing much to be said about them though, since they were many bands, doing the same kind of vocal work as the guy on Brutality. He has a deep yet surprisingly clear voice. The growls are really a cool addition to the whole twisted atmosphere so they can make it even more twisted. Creepy harmonies, doom-laden riffs, growls-that's Brutality's trick, to give you the goosebumps. And that, perfectly reflects the cover art into music for me.

Brutality's amazing debut really flew the flag for Brutality. Even their next album is a great one and I highly recommend it to people who like this album. Musicianship and technicalty is displayed on this album-and that is an absolutely crucial factor.

Highlights:
Crushed
These Walls Shall Be Your Grave
Ceremonial Unearthing

Rating: 92%

Black/Thrash Duo-Assaulter and Hellcannon

Hellcannon are a four piece from New York, playing some pretty aggressive thrash. If you dive in to the depths into the depths of their music, you'll see that they aren't particularly like other new thrash bands. They actually have some traits of black and death metal, creating an interesting combination. So in that case we could call these guys blackened death/thrash, which is not a bad thing at all. I'm still surprised how I didn't know of these guys until a couple of months. Playing in the vein of Sarcofago, Destroyer 666 and alike Hellcannon will deliver you solid and vicious thrash thus rapidly spreading the headbanging infection.

The album kicks off with a nice, acoustic medley, relaxing your soul a little before a devastating impact of pure brutality. Leviathan has one of the sickest intros ever, followed by a brain pummeling force of crunchy and heavy riffs. As I mentioned before, the guys are sort of influenced by black metal as you can understand from the vocals. Leviathan is the fastest, most insanely crushing song on HTH whole album. Unlike the other songs it doesn't have technically inspired riffs but a rather ferocious approach to the music with neck-braking riffs delivered with some great drumming.

And so the album goes on like it's predecessor until the brilliant Harbringer of War. What a tune. Mind-blowing shredding solos with great riffs combining technicality with the typical aggression of the album. Rapid tremolo picking to melt your face. But the real highlights here are the solos, which are just orgasmic. They come out of nowhere and suddenly change the battlefield into a completely new place. After this track I was literally hooked on Hellcannon.

The final track that I really want to put my finger on is the bone-lacerating Act of Violence. My first Hellcannon song so it has great importance to me. The riffs have an even more progressive edge than Harbringer of War. Not only that but it will also batter your skull into submission. Act of Violence is and outstanding performance of stamina and endurance and also a terrific effort combining the crucial elements that form the whole album. A furious blend of progressive thrash riffs with the destructive power of Leviathan and a finger snapping solo thrown into it.

Overall, this album has some of the finest material from the new wave of thrash metal. While it may not hold too much originality in the music, it shows great viciousness with a neverending barrage of energetic, heavy and cryptic riffs and having a great style of their own. I guarantee any thrasher will be infected by this album within the first forty seconds.

Highlights:
Act Of Violence
Leviathen
Harbringer Of War

Rating: 88%

Check Hellcannon out on facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/DeathSick#!/hellcannonmetal

Assaulter's sophomore effort ''Boundless!'' may be one of the best black/thrash albums of the decade. Hailing from Australia, Assaulter had a fairly unique and distinctive style of their own. Combining elements of black metal along with straightforward, speedy and aggressive thrash metal they created a very thrashy piece of music but at the same time showing glimpses of melodicism and the epic feel of black metal. You may find this alot thrashier than any other black/thrash band like say Skeletonwitch or even Destroyer 666 but at the same time you'll notice those tiny but crucial differences that separate this album from any other of its kind.

''Boundless!'' is absolutely vicious but at the same time epic and melancholic. The production is simply crisp clear-nothing much to be said about it really. The guitars have a buzzsaw sound, kind of like Entombed and Dismember-the pioneers of the SweDeath sound. Most riffs and leads are based on the harmonic minor scale, which is basically that egyptian melody. While the riffs are aggressive and chunky(especially with the buzzsaw guitar tone) they are also technical and the guitarists like to use the distorted tone to increase the distortion on some of the rather ''blurry'' riffs. There is little tremolo picking which is atraditional black metal trait. Despite this Assaulter uses fast tremolos on muted chords and notes rather than open ones. There is also a huge punk attitude, abit like Toxic Holacaust especially on their last album. The punk attitude is even present on the vocals, giving the album a raw edge.

The riffs become really melodic and harmonic at times and sound pretty good even without any fill riffs in the background. The fist thirty seconds of the song '' Exalt The Master'', show alot of this kind of the riffing. The drums cannot be heard best especially under all those intense melodies but they still tend to do their job well. The vocals actually have a unique edge to them, especially when they get all gnarly and vicious. The growls are done extremely well, especially over more slower or epic riffing. One final thing that I wan't put the spotlight on isthe solos. The whole album is filled with orgasmic, whammy laden harmonic minor solos. Played in a rather melodic and melancholic sense the solos appear in almost every part of the album; intros, outros, verses, choruses, after choruses-you name it.

Overall Assaulter did a tremendous job, with this piece of epic yet aggressive music. If you like Toxic Holacaust, Necrodeath, Destroyer 666, Hellcannon, Ketzer, Desaster and alike than get this, you'll love it!

Highlights:
Dying Day
Exalt The Master
Outshine

Rating: 91%

Conflagrator-2011 Demo

Conflagrator are a four piece from Sweeden, playing some energetic trash. This is their only demo yet, and I am certainly looking forward to a full-lenght or an EP. Why? Because this is some certainly refreshing thrash. The riffs are there, and they played really tightly. They are heavy and frashy and yet melodic at times. Despite the demo offering only three songs, Conglagrator can give you more than just three thrashy songs.

The album kicks off with a short drum solo and then bursts open with the ferocious intro riff. The riff isn't the most original one that I've heard, but it certainly gets you headbanging fast. The production is also quite mediocre but still clear, so that you can easily hear what's going in there. The riffs even take on a technical edge sometimes and can be really fun to listen to. The vocals are also cool. Played in a serious sense and not quite your traditional thrash vocals. The vocals are nothing phenominal, but are good enough to keep the songs going, which is all that I could ask for.

I enjoyed Conflagrator so much that I couldn't get enough out of just three songs so I ended up downloading their riff medley and uncomplete song ''Apocryphal Deluge'' from their youtube channel. I hope these guys are recording an album right now, because I have some high hopes for their upcoming record.

Follow Conflagrator on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/TicoThrash?sk=wall#!/pages/Conflagrator/179766125394387

Highlights:
All the songs.

Rating: 84%

Devastation-Idolatry

Devastation never played some of the greatest thrash around. In fact their older records were pretty much average but this album totally changed the way looked on them. It's 1991, when thrash bands were not as good as they were in the 80's-however along with a few other bands Devastation absolutely took their thrash to a new level. It's like they took advantage of the weakening scene, added some death metal elements to get the riffs going and created this monstrous album. With better musicianship, songwriting and notably more technicalty, Idolatry will leave you dazzled while punching a hole in your stomach. Texas had some great bands like Rigor Mortis, Gammacide and Torture even but whenever you visit the states again, remember this album-one of the finest Texas had to offer.

The songs are usually six or five minutes long and that increases the number of riffs which makes the album a total rifffest. An arsenal of pounding riffs and infinite blows of might and brutality. The recording supports the whole album so well. Produced by Scott Burns so that it has this thick and bulky production. But unlike other albums of the time which were recorded by SB(Tortured Existence) the production isn't ridiculously heavy and it has a clear sound so you can hear all the instruments play at the same time without having problems hearing one over the other. The aggression and heaviness of the album is absoltely mindblowing, the thundering riffs along with the vocals wihich I will later get on, with constant blast beats and double bass drumming makes the album remarkable. The riffs are also very catchy and technical and sometimes take a melodic approach which just makes the album better. Over the low, slightly guttural vocals, the riffs fit very well and that was one of the huge factors that helped me love this album.

Let's talk technicalty and musicianship, which by the way is highly present on this album. The guitarists always put melodic notes in their riffs to make it interesting and not just simple, but crushing riffs. The drums while may seem somewhat simple, are actually very well-played. The drummer has incedibly high endurance and stamina and can a stampeding beat going on from start to finish, over six minutes. Constant blast beats add aggressiveness while the bashing bass drums add some sort of continues feel to the riffs, making them last pretty damn long. The endurance that the guitarists and drummer have of this album is absoltely perplexing and is yet another factor that helps separate this album from many other albums, because the speed never slows down, or atleast it doesen't slow down that much, keeping the songs full of energy at all times.

The vocals are actually pretty different from any stereotypical death/thrash bands of the time. In fact in the vocals department, Devastation kept themselves more true to their old school ways, since the vocals sound much more thrash than death. They are slightly guttural, although still pretty clear and the vocalist doesen't scream or shout the lyrics out. Instead, he keeps calm and goes low. Another thing that I noticed about the vocals is that they are quite melancholic during most of the album, aswel as showing feelings of great anger and hate towards things in a calm way. This ''melancholic'' feel actually gives the album a dark and miserable edge, so that that all positive thoughts are erased. Vocals fit the riffs and solos well, as they are also usually played in minor notes.

All in all, Devastation released a truely angry and heavy album, and still keeping their relations good with their old thrash buddies, and added just the perfect amount of death influence. With better musicianship, songwriting, tasty riffs, furious drumming and farily original vocal work Devastation made a name for themselves in the metal underground. Anyone who has STILL not tasted the fury of Idolatry must taste it, and taste it soon.

A great gem, hidden in Texas...

Highlights:
Idolatry
Deliver The Suffering
Never Believe
Subsconscious

Rating: 93%

Hellwitch-Syzigial Miscreancy

I'm a sucker for old-school death/thrash like Ripping Corpse, Massacra, Demolition Hammer or Cancer. One great band in particular is Hellwitch. Hellwitch released their debut in 1991 and then disbanded then reformed in near time and released yet another album. The first I looked at the song tittles I was really shocked by seing names like Viral Exogence, Mordirival Dissemination or the album tittle. But when I push the lyrics aside and concentrate on the music, I really started liking this album. The music is very diverse, complex and actually sometimes melancholic-sounding. Produced by legendary Scott Burns, this album is full of crushing yet very technical riffs, just like Sadus.

As you listen you can clearly understand that this is some heavily thrash influenced death metal, and the vocals are actually much more clear than acts like Suffocation or Cannibal Corpse who reigned supreme at the time. We can classify this as technical death/thrash in the vein of Sadus and early Death. You can hear tons of blistering solos spreading chaos across the whole album, also supported with creepy rythms played in a very technical sense. The heavy thrash influence shows alot, even more than the death metal influence even. The music is totally intense and evil and never tires you out at all, as the guitarists create a cool feast of bulky riffs, traditional death-esque tremolo picking and chaotic solos. The production is very decent-as I couldn't have asked for something better at the time.

The vocals are totally intense. They rise and become these high-pitched guttural shreiks to the classic deep death growls you would see in any DM band. The album can take very interesting forms. I was really shocked when the joyful clean guitar tone suddenly turned into a blistering barrage of atrocious riffs, crushingly executed. And you can get the same shock when Hellwitch decides to go brutal after a melodic guitar affair. Sometimes the band uses effects to create some sort of alien-ish atmosphere of perhaps to help you get into the main theme of the album---space.

Now onto the riffs. Even though I mentioned a bit of the riffage before, I wanted to dedicate a whole paragraph for them, for they are the brightest highlights of the album. Never have I seen a band which so perfectly combine death-esque riffage with brutal thrash and throw in some very good musicianship. The riffs are just wonderfully heavy and chunky and they fuse with the tremolo picking to create an absolutely devastating monster. The production is the prime factor in perfecting this, as it is very heavy and rich just like the riffs. The technical side of the riffs are always present whether they are heavy or melodic-or both. The base lines are also pretty cool, though nothing too notable. The guitrists like using high notes in the riffs just as much as the lower notes to create a signature sound of their own. Combining these three elements that I have listed, Hellwitch create a small trademark sound of their own while creating a furious blend of death and thrash metal.

The riffs are never to repetetive and the vocals are intense and the musicianship is great. Perhaps the only tiny flaw that the album has is it's lenght, which a mere 25 minutes. So the ride won't go on for long...
They say Atheist created technical death/thrash with their albums ''Piece of Time'' and ''Unquestionable Presence'', but those people should really listen to this before being a quick judge of things.

Highlights:
Viral Exogence
Mordirival Dissemination
Pyroprophic Seizure

Rating: 90%

Egzekuthor-Hateful Subconscious Demo

Poland never really had a huge thrash scene. Besides bands like Wolf Spider and Dragon, which were were decent, It didn't really have some phenominal bands. While surfing the web, I came across this little demo from a Polish band. The sheer power and energy that Egzekuthor had really shocked me especially after having some dull name. But Egzekuthor delivered some raw thrash in the vein of Kreator, Sadus, Dark Angel and even Morbid Saint.

Firsly, lets examine the general look of the album. This is most definetely death/thrash and not because of the really aggressive riffage. The minor amount of tremolo picking was really a cool element to throw into the mixture. That was an important factor in pulling me towards the album. The first time I heard the song ''Merciful Death (After Merciless Life)'', I knew immedeatly that I had to get this demo. Finding it wasn't too easy, but it really paid off. Anyway onto the vocals. The vocals are really sick, like a rabid crossover between Kreator and Morbid Saint. They are actually slightly high-pitched and very evil sounding. The vocals helped the dark aura around the whole album become even more evil-and that's a good thing.

When we look at the riffs, we see crushing assault of absolutely vicious thrash with the additional tremolo picking throw in it. The riffs are almost none stop speeding and raging throughout the whole album while sometimes changing the tempo to a more mid-paced one. While the brutal and ferocious parts of the riffs are mostly very present, sometimes the riffs may become a little more technical and volatile, so that they don't tire you out. The riffs may seem a bit simple but still very powerful and angry. When combined with the furious barks of the vocalist, the riffage can be devastating. The drumming is also a notable highlight of the album. Albeit they are nothing magnificent, they can surely fit the music well and asurprisingly sound pleasing, unlike other demos of the time.

One snall upside of the album is the fact that the energy fades a bit too quickly, even though the total amount of energy present in the album is fairly decent. After the first two songs the music gets a bit repetetive and less diverse and basicly sound like different variations of the same riffs. Ofcourse this doesn't destroy the entire album, but reduces some of its positive points. The one last thing that is worth mentioning is the itsy-bitsy amount of black metal seen in the music. Along with the traditional black-esque vocals and the tremolo riffage combined with the slightly raw production quality of the album, at times you may feel a black metal vibe from the band-but nothing too present.

In the end Egzekuthor actually produced a very good demo(which was also released as an album in 2010 in the same name), with vicious vocals and riffs a good effort trying to relive the heydays of brutal thrash gods like Morbid Saint and Kreator. And this demo is especially good for being brough by such an obscure band from Poland.

Highlights:
Merciful Death(After Merciless Life)
Degenarated Madness

Rating:85%