Copyright (c) 2007-2024 THE THRASH METAL GUIDE 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z CP 24 (GERMANY)
Quite cool dark classic/modern power/thrash in the tradition of later-period Vicious Rumors and Nevermore, maybe not as clinical as brooding as the latter. Another band that could be cited as an influence is Overkill, and more particularly their finest hour, "Horrorscope"; yes, indeed, this album resembles that one quite a bit on the finest moments which are the dominant ones. The music is quite heavy, and there isn't much speed involved ("Question of Hate" is the exception: a nice fast thrasher), but this is hardly necessary as the sound simply crushes. The singer is truly a find managing to sound like several of his more renowned colleagues: David Wayne (R.I.P.), Bobby `Blitz`` Ellsworth, Mike Howe, David White (Heathen), etc. There's a slight presence of groove on some tracks, and "The Sound Outside" is a Queensryche-influenced ballad, not bad, but the rest is appealing hard-hitting stuff.
World Between The Lines Full-Length, 2004 Official Site CRAB PHOBIA (SWEDEN)
A typical for the time mix of thrash and death metal; cool stuff, fast and semi-technical, following the Floridian patterns
pretty closely (think early Death and Brutality), thrashing out more purely on the last two tracks which come with a merrier
crossover flavour. The singer is a brutal low-tuner echoing Karl Willets, maybe a tad more throaty. Later in the 90's the guys
changed their name to Traumatic, and started playing straight death metal surviving long enough to record one full-length, one EP,
and a couple of demos.
Vol.I Demo, 1989 CRAB SHACK (USA)
This obscure outfit specialize in interesting original classic thrash which is on the jumpy less predictable side with puzzling
structures and clean high-strung vocals which actually sing. This is a chaotic listen which would make more sense after several
subsequent periods spent with it aggravated by the expressive bass work which is very often the dominant instrument. The guys don't rely on any headbanging sections, the pace is mid at best, but the clever technical decisions would satisfy anyone, especially the ones on the progressive grower "F.O.T.U." which is a major puzzler in the vein of Deathrow's "Deception Ignored" and Target's "Master Project Genesis". The band let themselves a bit less control on the closing joke "Flaming Vacuum Attachments" which is an expanded twisted version of the evergreen "My Only Sunshine", among other references to popular tunes, turned into an amalgam of riffs and time-changes: a weird, but fitting closing jam session which at the end also pays tribute to the main theme from the Muppet Show.
Crabshack Demo, 1992 CRACK (ARGENTINA)
Based on “MorbosaTempestad”, this act serve dynamic retro speed/thrash that offers fierce gallops (“Patriota”), impetuous fast riffs (“De Raza Metal”), and some fairly fierce thrash on “Agonia”. The title-track is a more moderately executed cut, but both ”Parcero” and the more technical wonder “Corruptor” raise the dynamic bar quite high, the hoarse semi-clean/semi-declamatory vocalist a relatively relevant addition.
Salvajemente EP, 2020 Youtube CRACK (CHINA)
Competently played modern/classic thrash with bad death metal vocals; the approach is energetic, if we exclude a few passages
which try to groove awkwardly, contrasting with the more intense classic moments.
You Are Always in the War EP, 2011 Official Site CRACKDOWN (GERMANY)
Heavy modern aggro-thrash with hardcore elements; crushing punishing riffs come pouring down accompanied by sparse, but
effective, faster sections, and angry brutal vocals. Madball are an obvious influence on these youngsters who successfully manage to avoid the metalcore "traps" along the way, despite the predictable character of their style.
Enough Is Enough Full-Length, 2011 CRACKDOWN (PORTUGAL)
Based on the "Against The Rules" demo, this act pulls out pretty decent power/thrash metal, still more classic-sounding, "against the rules" of the time, mid-tempo with a dark tone and gruff semi-death metal vocals. There is a cool attempt at a more ambitious song-writing: "Hidden Propaganda" which is a nice atmospheric mix between heavy thrashy and peaceful balladic sections.
Against The Rules Demo, 1996 Fan Site CRANEAL (ARGENTINA)
This is crushing heavy thrash/death quite close to the "exploits" of the early Dutch school: Asphyx, Beyond Belief, etc. One will enjoy hammering steam-roller riffs aplenty, several faster outbursts ("Imperio de Odio"), pure high-octane doom ("Conceptos
Nuevos"), abrasive almost industrial guitar noise ("Venganza"), extremely brutal low-tuned vocals ala Chris Barnes all over, and for dessert a not very bad cover of Slayer's "Mandatory Suicide" as a finishing touch.
Furia es Dignidad Demo, 2005 Fan Site CRANEO CANDENTE (ARGENTINA)
Soaring speed/thrash with epic undercurrents; cool music of the "eagle fly free" variety with several nods to the 90's
power/speed metal movement. The sound quality is not very good making the guitars sound too thin and high-pitched trying to
outshout the singer whose not very forceful timbre has problems on the higher tones at times. Still, this effort, which could
hardly pass for a full-length with its only six tracks closing on just over half an hour, isn't totally without merits and with a
better production the guys' future releases would make more heads turn.
Igual Que Ayer Full-Length, 2012 CRANEOSCURO (CHILE)
Sloppily-produced monotonous mid-paced retro thrash which turns to unabashed hardcore at times to confuse the listener even more. The vocals are of the shouty deathly variety, but are not an obstacle for one to "appreciate" this sincere, but heavily flawed, nod to the old school which creates the impression that all that has been recorded in a cellar with the hollow-sounding drums and buzzy guitars which at times manage to miraculously capture the dark ominous aesthetics of Hellhammer/early Celtic Frost.
Esclavizados Full-Length, 2012 CRANIAL CRUSHER (BRAZIL)
Based on the full-length, these lads serve old school thrash/crossover which can be both dramatic and stomping (Tendencia Suicida") and ripping and vigorous and bashing (the lively roller-coaster "Vida Sem Sentido"). Run for cover on the maddening headbanger "Ciclo da Degradacao", although the all-instrumental odyssey "Resiliencia Depressiva" going home with all the laurels being an exemplary diverse thrashterpiece, missing the semi-shouty hardcore vocals gracing the remainder. Some of the band members also play in the retro thrashers Keeptor.
Necropole EP, 2016 Official Site CRANIAL VORTEX (USA)
Ambitious brooding modern prog-thrash on display here, concocted by just one musician, the name Mikael Vredensdal, the man imbuing his creations with plenty of melodic developments (“Brain Distiller”), the slow-burning epicness of “Dreaming up Curses” decorated by swathes of lead-driven dexterity on “Inhuman Speech”. The doom-laden aesthetics don’t come as a surprise having in mind the controlled character of the material, but watch out for the abrupt speedy digression on that one, a sheer neck-sprainer.
Infinite Interactions Full-length, 2024 Official Site CRANIUM (CANADA)
Based on the "Necropolis" demo, this act specialize in emulative 90's post-thrash with echoes of The Black Album, the early Metallica endeavours also showing up above ground on the sturdy mid-pacer "Atheist". The vocalist is a total James Hetfield impersonator, and does a good job, one that deserves a more distinct musical accompaniment than this trite copycat stuff.
No Exit Demo, 1988 CRANIUM (SWEDEN)
This band did a lot to resurrect the glorious speed/thrash metal sound of the 80's, and not only with their bombastic (and not
really imaginative) album-titles. The style is closer to early Angel Dust and Iron Angel, but these guys play faster and more
directly, recalling another band from modern times: the Finns Solitaire. All their works are in the same vein: relentless
speed/thrash metal attacks (just look at the album titles: they will tell you the story quite well), but what more could one ask
for?
Speed Metal Satan EP, 1997 My Space CRANIUM CRUSHING (BRAZIL)
A band which crosses the Floridian school with thrash; this is intense music with brutal low death metal vocals, simple but sharp guitars and a cool faithful cover of Slayer's "The Antichrist" at the end although the attempts at screaming made by the singer are way more ridiculous than the one on the original.
Reaper of the Lives Demo, 2008 My Space CRAPULENCE (GERMANY)
This album starts in an awesome fashion with a forceful speed/thrash metal number reminiscent of Angel Dust's "Into The Dark
Past" sounding like many thrash fans' dream come true. Alas, there's only one more song on this album which equals the opener in
terms of intensity and speed; the rest is a more melodic, slower style reminding of later period Squealer. Apparently the very
misleading, but great opener will be the most memorable part from this slightly above average album.
Darkness Remains Full-Length, 1999 CRASH (BULGARIA)
Thrash metal bands from Bulgaria are a rarity, but generally they pleasantly surprise with high-quality music (Ira Deum, Fifth
Cripples Band, Agresor, among others). Crash are another proof to this rule with their excellent uncompromising style reminding of
Sepultura's "Beneath The Remains" and Torture's "Storm Alert". The album begins in a truly aggressive manner, with "The Day Of"
and "Innocent Death", which sounded as though the sound would join the death metal field at any moment, but it never does although the tempo remains fast and intense throughout. It slows down for a while, on the excellent atmospheric dark "The Beginning Visions". The singer has a low-tuned, but mean-ish timbre, which comes as a blend of Schmier and Kerrmit (Tyrant (Ger).
Unreal Dreams Demo, 1993 CRASH (SOUTH KOREA)
Based on "Endless Supply Of Pain", these Koreans provide us with classic 80's thrash metal reminiscent of (if you haven't guessed already by the album title) early Kreator, with a heavy dose of Sepultura's "Beneath The Remains". Great stuff- a proof that apart from Japan there are also other countries in the Far East capable of producing some really good thrash.
Endless Supply Of Pain Full-length, 1994 Official Site CRASH ATLANTIC (RUSSIA)
Modern abrasive power/thrash which militant march-like veneer is only too obvious on the tank-like “Metal Meltdown”, before a surprising balladic touch is offered on “All That Matters”, a spacey tractate that is surrounded by the rowdier all-instrumental “Sunrise” and the semi-balladic etude “The Word of Serenity”, vocal-less again. In fact, half of the racks featured are instrumentals-only, the singer, whenever he’s in action, providing a mean thin-ish clean timbre.
Generation Full-Length, 2024 Youtube CRASHDEATH (CHILE)
Interesting atmospheric thrash which clings more towards the classic side, with intriguing melodic hooks and subdued semi-declamatory vocals. "Frontline" is a cool soaring speedster, the opposite is immediately provided in the form of "Look Through the Chaos", a sprightly mid-pacer and "Fly Away", a cool friendly power metal anthem. A few attempts at more progressive song-writing ("The Wall") could have been made more dynamic since they drag the end a bit their, less eventful monotonous approach.
Conspiracy Theories Full-Length, 2017 CRASHED (FINLAND)
This is just two tracks, "This Man" a macabre but also melancholic doom/thrash hybrid with steady patiently-woven riff-patterns; and "Commercial Bloodshed" which is just a nostalgic acoustic instrumental. The rough death metal vocals are suitable for the first cut, but based on just two compositions it's hard to tell what exact genre these troubadours had chosen on their demos before and after. Some of the band members had also exercised a similar brand of music for two more demos under the name Chrystler at around the same time.
This Man/Commercial Bloodshed EP, 1992 CRASHKILL (BRAZIL)
Based on the full-length, this band play typical old school thrash which is full of optimism and vigour, the crunchy semi-intricacy of "Artificial Intelligence" moving the otherwise pretty unpretentious delivery into more demanding realms. Still, it's fiery outbursts like the title-track and "Digital Conflict" which propel this recording forward, with the hyper-active roller-coaster "Year of Darkness" another plus in this album's resume. The same, however, can't be said about the hysterical shrieky vocals which add their over-the-top contribution to this effort. Some of the band members also play with the groovy post-thrashers Skin Risk.
Hate Zone EP, 2017 Official Site CRATERFACE (AUSTRALIA)
17 jolly energetic thrash/crossovers dedicated to famous personalities from all walks of life (singers, actors, politicians,
scientists, etc.): check the song-titles for more reference. The music packs a punch, thrashing with force more than now and then,
speedy the whole time accompanied by cool both hoarse shouty and semi-clean at times vocals akin to the ones of M.S. "Scruff" Lewty (Hellbastard). The songs are short, the longest barely going over 2-min, and the guitar work is razor-sharp and brisk, very seldom "staggering" towards hardcore or punk patterns, although "Flavour Flav" at some stage is pure grinding extreme stuff.
Canibal Argentino Full-length, 2022
Evolution EP, 2022
Morbosa Tempestad Full-length, 2024
Less than a year later the guys have gone head over heels into a modern post-thrash territory, and "Blame" delivers exactly that. Nothing "against the rules" here: three songs of jumpy alternative stuff with sterile guitars and semi-angry vocals. Consequently, a change of name followed, to Str@in, under which one album was recorded featuring the same music. The musicians also had one other project around the same time: the classic thrash metal formation Morbid Minds, and are now active as the more crossover-based, but again pretty classic-sounding, act Assassinner.
Blame Demo, 1997
Putrefakt EP, 2018
Ciclo da Degradação Full-length, 2023
"No Exit" is a heavy power/speed/thrash concoction, the guys rolling onward in a consistent mid to up-tempo, the melodic embellishments on "Man" giving this effort an imposing epic touch. "Warrior's Pride" enlivens the setting with sprightly galloping rhythms, before "Savage" explodes in a fervent speed/thrashing crescendo. The short ripping "Kill" add another vital doze of thrashiness to this varied slab which also boasts the stylish all-instrumental odyssey "Doom".
Necropolis Demo, 1994
Speed Metal Slaughter Full-length, 1998
Speed Metal Sentence Full-length, 1999
"To Be Or Not To Be" concentrates on the Sepultura influences, by adding 80's Slayer-like aggression, bordering even on death
metal (the final part of "Machine of Silence"), and the result is another good slab of classic thrash. The vocalist suits the hard-hitting music quite well, with his delivery seamlessly crossing Tom Araya and Max Cavalera. More modern tunes could be heard here and there ("Turn to Dust", "Reality Discord"), but they seldom stretch into a whole song. The overall tempo isn't as energetic as the one on the debut, but a couple of bombastic thrashers stir the blood ("Hate Breed", "The Addiction Conspiracy"). Clever semi-technical riffs could be caught as well ("in Process of..."), showing the band readily expanding their horizons by not falling prey to the modern standards.
"The Massive Crush" is weak boring groovy modern post-thrash with very few shades of the band's previous output. There are more
smashing thrashier moments ("Dignity", "Acid Rain"), but the rest is unimpressive rehashed riffs, with no edge and variety whatsoever; a "massive crush" indeed....
"Terminal Dream Flow" is really bad seeing the band abandoning all thrash metal and more intense approaches settling for calm
bland post-thrash (thrash here can be pretty elusive) metal which doesn't really sound more appealing spiced with assistance from industrial, grunge, alternative, ballads, funk, and other unnameable atrocities.
"The Paragon of Animals" was hardly expected eagerly by anyone from their old fans after the disaster which "The Massive Crush" was, but the listener will be surprised to hear decent energetic modern thrash for most of the time with cool melodic guitar work, a rare adherence to ballads which this time sound much better, and clever semi-technical riffs ala Jeff Waters ("Atheist"). Worth of note as well is the "fierce" closer "Fierce People" which is a major speedy thrasher with a nice classic edge. This effort could pass for a fairly capable excuse after the several shaky performances sticking to the more recent formulas to a positive effect.
To Be Or Not To Be Full-length, 1995
Experimental State Of Fear Full-length, 1997
Terminal Dream Flow Full-length, 2000
The Massive Crush Full-length, 2004
The Paragon of Animals Full-length, 2010
Consumed by Biomechanics Full-length, 2020