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 DE LIRIUM'S ORDER (FINLAND)
"Victim No. 52" is a wild thrash/death metal shred with a few more technical decisions which remain undeveloped due to the guys' manic delivery which is full of high-speed antics on a more romantic melodic base. There is a certain Swedish influence in the guitar approach which disappears on the fine semi-technical thrasher "Dr. Lirium Orders: Suffering", and the more elaborate progressive semi-opus "Pathologist's Perverse Fantasies". The closing "The Sunrise" is the full-blooded opus here thrashing in a thought-out, less aggressive manner with tempo and mood changes galore.
Termination In Surreal Full-length, 2002 Official Site DE TVEKSAMMA (SWEDEN)
This is modern thrash with dark epic overtones sounding like a mixture between the Finns Gandalf and mid-period Cemetary. Overall this is melodic stuff sustained in a playful mid-tempo even with jocund funky sections present on "And You'll See". The singer is a gruff death metaller trying to emulate Mathias Lodmalm (Cemetary) and doing it quite well.
Perform Songs About Old Nick and Other Friends Full-Length, 2001 Official Site DEAD (USA)
Based on the debut demo, which starts in a really annoying way with a noisy 5-min long intro which unsuccessfully tries to bring atmosphere from the very beginning, this act plays (this is really relative) utterly amateurish raw metal which even the most devoted connoisseur would find increasingly hard to get back to, simply because apart from a very impenetrable wall of buzzy sound, this effort offers nothing else; literally. It's viewed as one of the early entries into the death metal genre, but it could as well be considered an entry into any other extreme sub-genre since it can be interpreted in numerous ways depending on the listener's mood: it could be hardcore, grindcore, black, thrash, death metal; even NWOBHM-influenced heavy metal (ha ha- I'm kidding here!). So it's your choice, folks... The drummer Jim Coker later took part in Brutality and Nasty Savage (incredible, but a fact!).
Musical Abortions Demo, 1986 Official Site DEAD & BLOATED (USA)
Hectic technical thrash, often quite aggressive; the music reminds of another one-album wonder: Terrahsphere, and is almost as good, albeit less aggressive and less jumpy. And if we add the vocals which are a wild mixture of Exodus' Steve Souza and Jeff Walker from Carcass, then the picture is close to complete. The bass work is brilliant, and is given quite a space, especially on technical masterpieces like the aggressive "You Don't", or the complex and diverse "Encopresis". Other tracks are more direct with a jolly crossover attitude: "Farewell, Life" and "Convulse". It might take time to get used to the band's style, but it would be well worth the time.
You Don't Full-length, 1992 DEAD ACID (GERMANY)
This is modern thrash/death reflected in brief to-the-point cuts where not much happens outside cold mechanistic mosh which seldom gets dispersed by slower, more academic exercises in steam-rolling groove like "Tonight" and "Busted". There's this noisy quasi-industrial flair that can also be detected, the vociferous shouty death metal vocals also making themselves heard prominently.
Fuck, I'm Dead Full-length, 2018 Facebook DEAD ALIVE (USA)
The debut: this band pull out a classic mixture of thrash and death, decent simplistic stuff which raises the headbanging flag sky-high ("Triumph of the Dead", "Deadites"), the freighter stopping for the nice doom-laden "Gravestoned", picking inertia right after with the death metal-prone exploder "No Rest in Peace", the hoarse semi-shouty deathly vocals accommodating all stylistic swings .
Rise of the Skeleton Army Full-length, 2021 Official Site DEAD ASYLUM (CANADA)
The debut: this Canadian outfit indulge in a modern mix of thrash and death metal with progressive undercurrents. The speed doesn't cross any sound barriers except on a few isolated sections ("Hate Evolution") where the guys tear it loose for a while with a portion of wild blast-beats. Such shortcomings aren't encountered too often, and the fan will enjoy the bridled aggression of pieces like "Machines" although the closing "Flames of Brutality" will try to engage you in a more careful listen with more serious formulas. The vocalist growls his way in a forceful but not very intelligible manner.
General Carnage Full-Length, 2013 Official Site DEAD AWAKEN (SWEDEN)
Based on the "The Noble Art Of Agitation" demo, this band pulls out brutal death metal with a few thrashy breaks inserted to take away some of the pressure. The sound is quite close to Morbid Angel, providing a couple of technical twists along the way as well as at least one more thrash-influenced number: "State Of Corrosion". Some of the band members also play in another act: Suffer, whose style is not dissimilar to the one displayed here.
Death Before Dishonour Demo, 2002 Official Site DEAD BEAT (USA)
Two tracks of bashing, one dimensional mid-tempo thrash which is not very exciting trying to capture some of the magical atmosphere of early Celtic Frost, not very successfully, unfortunately despite the efforts put by the good expressive singer who is the only one coming close to their Swiss peers pulling out impressive forceful performance resembling indeed Tom G. Warrior sounding even more attached.
Sick Mind EP, 1992 My Space DEAD BEFORE MOURNING (UK)
Based on the full-length, this band play pretty decent dark heavy retro speed/thrash the band covering a wider ground which also includes a couple of proto-doomsters ("Will We Ever Learn") amongst the impetuous galloping ("Black Sails") and the more intricately-woven Bay-Areasque pieces ("The Whip"). The latter side is also nicely reflected in the diverse Metallica-like roller-coaster "Blink" and the cool encompassing progressiver "Eye Spy" at the end which serves a fair range of moods and tempos. The singer is a valuable asset with his attached semi-clean/semi-shouty baritone, supervising the proceedings with authority. Some of the musicians were earlier active with another retro thrash formation, Enemy Unknown.
The Storm EP, 2015 Official Site DEAD BORN VISION (SWITZERLAND)
The "Reborn to Reign" EP: this is a side-project of two guys from the retro thrashers Braindead. Based on the "Reborn to Reign" EP, this act specialize in a brisk dynamic modern/classic thrash hybrid which even come served with a more dramatic deathly clout on the cool diverse "I See Dead People", the dark gothic-flavoured "Cut and Dried" a nice pulverizing thrasher as well, aptly utilizing the rough semi-declamatory deathly vocals a bit better.
Dead Born Vision EP, 2018 Official Site DEAD CHILD (USA)
Based on the full-length, this band plays pretty decent power/thrash metal with a pounding, almost doomy guitar sound, mid-paced, with the obligatory nods to doom ("Twitch of the Death Nerve", "Rattlesnake Chalice", the heavy, Saint Vitus-influenced opus "The Coldest Hands"), but the more interesting side are the energetic power/thrashers ("Screaming Skull"). "Eye To The Brain" is a fairly interesting mixture of power, doom and thrash metal with even stylish semi-technical moments inserted. The end is disappointing, though, with "Angel of the Odd": an ordinary hard'n heavy track, and the even less impressive rock-ish closer "Wasp Riot".
Dead Child EP, 2007 Official Site DEAD CHRIST CULT (UKRAINE)
Based on "Stigma", this band offers a potent blend of thrash and black metal which is often quite brutal, infused with hyper-blasts and other black metal gimmicks, but it will have its appeal to the thrash metal fan as well: there are quite a few thrashy riffs thrown in, although the full-fledged thrashers aren't too many: the epic mid-period Bathory worship "Hristos. Izrekayushchiy Nechistoty", the atmospheric black/thrasher "Golgofa. Put' Naverh", and the two short, but very cool intense outro/intros.
When It Begins to Remain Full-length, 2004 Official Site DEAD CLAW (JAPAN)
A strange (after all they come from Japan: the land of eclecticism and avantgardism) obscure act who play an unusual mixture of power, thrash and crossover. The music is mid-tempo for most of the time supported by very good bass work. The riffs are jumpy and quite heavy at times speeding up on a couple of songs ("Ride The Guns", "After Mission", "Ashes to Ashes", which is a very cool speed/thrasher), recalling Exciter and the Germans Warrant. These numbers, however, are compensated by the rest which is mid-paced at best moving from one mood to another, creating a hallucinogenic effect without being technical, especially on the progressive closer "The Lone Horseman" which offers numerous gimmicks including sleepy dreamy interludes and the obligatory speed metal inclusions. This is by no means easy to swallow music, and at first listen it will not make much sense, but those who prefer to dig deeper with patience will surely find something to like.
Bombed and Blasted Full-length, 1990 Official Site DEAD CLOWN INC. (GERMANY)
Laid-back thrash/death metal with melodic guitars, but quite fast at times as well, crossing awful death metal vocals with much better, but totally inappropriate, gothic female ones. There are couple of semi-technical ideas to be felt, but they hardly elevate this effort above the average for the style.
Clown Connected Demo, 2009 Official Site DEAD CONSPIRACY (USA)
Based on the first demo, this band is one of the earliest entries in the death metal genre. The music is a mix between thrash and death, but surprisingly stays closer to death metal which puts it right next to Death's debut as the first genuine death metal releases. This is brutal and frequently very fast stuff including some of the first blast-beats ever used in metal which also boasts the first real "duel" between two extreme vocal styles: the prototypical low growling death metal vocals, and the higher-pitched snarls, more along the black metal "ravens", but equally as effective. With this very first demo this band had made major claims for a place in the death metal pantheon. Some of the band members are still active at present with the death/thrash/black metal formation Deathsaw.
Demo #1 Demo, 1987 Official Site DEAD COWBOY'S SLUTS (FRANCE)
The debut: the interesting band name doesn't presuppose any interesting music, though: this is dynamic post-thrash with more memorable riffage in the end mostly due to the the guys' good sense of technicality ("Lusk") which disappears on the longer material ("Must Be Broken") where the sound starts dragging a bit. The listener's attention would inevitably falter due to the album's length (14 tracks) especially in the second half where the speed gets lost the band grooving with not much emotion imitating the Metallica modern experimentations from the mid/late-90's.
The Hand of Death Full-Length, 2012 Official Site DEAD CROSS (USA)
This is a collaboration between two metal lumnaries: Mike Patton and Dave Lombardo. The debut is chaotic industrialized thrashcore the band generally sticking to the speedy execution seldom offering something more coherent (the friendly crossover hymn "Shillelagh"). "Bela Lugosi's Dead" is a cool morose doom cut, and the final "Church of the Motherfuckers" is an interesting psychotic cut with numerous influences showing up reminiscent of early Strapping Young Lad.
Dead Cross Full-Length, 2017 Official Site DEAD DECEASED (INTERNATIONAL)
Old school black/thrash with dark atmosphere permeating every composition, thrash featuring as a side-dish for most of the time, decorating epic mid-pacers like "My Spirit Tainted", but shying away from extreme blasting exercises like "Suspiria". "Unleash The Wolves" is a weird eclectic shredder, the possible highlight here, and "Serpents of the Abyss" is an excellent dramatic thrasher, defying the blacky rasps of the singer. Some of the band members are also occupied with the atmospheric black metal unit Eisige Venen.
The Black Flame Full-length, 2024 Official Site DEAD EARTH (USA)
Based on "From the Ruins", this act serve modern thrashcore that has its more lyrical melodic side ("Monster", "Discharge"), but the bulk of the album are relatively intense moshing cuts ("Hatred Is My Enemy", "Evolution of Evil"), the confrontational shouty vocals supporting the energetic cause, the latter partially lost on the meeker ballad/doom hybrid closer "Burn With Me". Some of the musicians are also engaged with
the melo-deathsters 72 Legions.
"Diagnosis" is the band's most aggressive work where from the aforementioned genres it's only death and thrash metal that have been left. The speed has been increased quite a bit, and the guitar work has become much more technical drawing resemblances to Death, and even Atheist. The leads are simply stunning, some of the finest to grace these ears in the new millennium: both melodic and complex. The brutal parts might come as too much for the more technically-inclined fans, but this is simply too good to be ignored.
The debut is an ambitious undertaking, combining thrash, death and a bit of gothic metal (not much black metal here yet) on a complex progressive base which at its more stripped ("Termination In Surreal") comes close to later-period Death, bit there's a certain baroque aestheticism ala Bal-Sagoth ("Metempsykhosis") present which makes this effort a fairly multi-layered offering. Guitars and keyboards co-exist well on almost every song, and at this early stage the mix is more on the lyrical melodic side even acquiring optimistic crossover tendencies ("Too Drunk", the speed metal happiness "Convent Orgia"). The vocals remain in the brutal death metal camp, but suit the energetic delivery which gives a fair share to both styles with a few more leanings towards death metal.
"Veniversum" is the band's 4th effort, and it shows them in a fairly bright light shredding in an inspired fashion producing bombastic operatic semi-technical death metal with not much thrash present. This is eventful music which switches from one time change to another in no time, lashing out furious riffs all over which come accompanied by beautiful soaring melodies both in the lead and riff department. The subdued brutal death metal vocals are not the very suitable addition to the superior musical delivery, often semi-whispering in a forced harsh manner. The album has its slower moments which never stretch into a whole song (the exception being the elegiac, semi-balladic closer "The Aftermath"), but nicely interrupt the fast-paced passages on the appropriate places creating a complex, progressive atmosphere.
Victim No. 52 Full-length, 2004
Diagnosis Full-length, 2007
Veniversum Full-length, 2012
Raw Sewage Demo, 1988
Dead Demo, 1989
Dead EP, 1990
"The Madness of Dr. Ludvig Von Brainmatter" is a more complex offering, the aggressive complexities of "From Beyond" raising some eyebrows, towering above simplistic unpretentious exercises in vicious bashing thrash/death like "Re-Agent" and "Volt", "No Signs of Life" calming the ball down to an extent with a more measured trot, and "Hollow Man" embracing a few doom-laden strokes for a militant Bolt Thrower-like journey.
The Madness of Dr. Ludvig Von Brainmatter Full-length, 2024
"Death Always Wins" has a more simplistic sound the overall approach now quite reminiscent of the Gothenburg school with virtuous melodies provided from all sides and several impetuous gallops ("Forgotten Sacrifice") disrupting the instilled idyll. "Bred to Die" is the other more aggressive disrupter giving the energetic boost this recording by all means needs, and something its predecessor was offering more readily.
Death Always Wins Full-length, 2017
Instrument Of War Demo, 2003
..Tomorrow We Die.. Demo, 2004
Scar Graced Earth Demo, 2006
The Noble Art Of Agitation Demo, 2008
Killing Time Full-length, 2018
The full-length serves modern quasi-groovy thrash/death which can be quite nervy and jumpy (“Don't Break Your Neck”), the thrashcore corrosiveness of “I Saw Them Die” bonding well with the thrashing intensity of “Religion”. Melody and seismicity come aptly blended on “Broken Life”, but watch out for the explosive shenanigans of “I Lose Control” and the melodious lyricisms of “Inside Your Head”, the latter the highlight ton this otherwise non-fussy bellicose slab which boasts curt mean semi-clean hardcore vocals.
Reborn to Reign EP, 2022
Moving Through Full-length, 2024
Attack Full-length, 2008
In Hell... Through Pain... And Death Split, 2005
Christdeath Full-length, 2005
Stigma Full-length, 2005
The EP is a brutal concoction of thrash, death and black metal trying to give its fair share to all genres, but thrash seems to have been left behind its presence gracing the shorter material, like the intense rager "1971", or the abrasive Slaughter-esque ripper "Cessations". The second half of this effort consists of shorter faster pieces with a much worse sound quality; could have been a revision of some of their past works.
The self-titled is another piece of brutality with a more stripped-down hardcore flavour which branches out into less bridled grindcore even ("In the Wake of the Butcher") at times. Expect no sophistication whatsoever the incessant speedy crescendos exhausting the listener who may find some time to restore his breath on longer thrash/deathster "Antietam-Vultures Feeding" which reduces the speed considerably at times before the "carnage" continues on full-throttle a few notes later.
Demo #2 Demo, 1988
Demo #3 Demo, 1988
Gore Drenched Legacy Best of/Compilation, 2006
Abomination Underground EP, 2013
Abomination Underground Full-length, 2014
Dead Conspiracy Full-length, 2016
"Obedience" is much more interesting opus with hard thrashing riffs nailing the listener from the get-go, and even the more laid-back tracks ("The Bitter Taste of Sin") carry a sense of menace. "Oak Trail" is a ripping Slayer-esque rager matched later by the title-track in the middle. The second half isn't as intense the band settling for a steam-rolling mid-tempo again recalling Slayer on the morose dark "Haunted" at the end.
Obedience Full-Length,2016
The laconically-titled "II" opus is a decidedly more eclectic affair, the wild weird shredder "Love Without Love" already on the overtly apocalyptic side, the creepy quasi-industrial wonder "Animal Espionage" another offbeat decision, the frivolous hardcore-prone "Heart Reformer" lifting the spirit, its chaotic headbanging proclivities gleefully shared by the hectic hysterical "Strong and Wrong", the eccentric punker "Ants and Dragons" also working relatively well, contrasting with the straight-ahead bash on "Nightclub Canary" and the brief maddening breezer "Reign Of Error".
II Full-length, 2022