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 SE, JOSTA EI PUHUTA (FINLAND)
Fast intense thrash/death metal which mixes modern and classic influences the former leaning more towards the Swedish school. The music is predominantly fast with the closing "Ovat Uneni Veren Tahrimat" being a furious piece of pure old school thrash metal.
Ne, Joista Ei Puhuta Full-length, 2010 Official Site SEA OF TRANQUILLITY (USA)
Based on the "The Dead of Winter" demo, this band, whose line-up features Peter Clemens, the vocalist and bassist who has also taken t in Invasion, Shades of Grey, Skullview, etc., plays dark morose thrash/death metal which on the faster moments isn't far from early Death and Massacre, but there's a certain amount of heavy, almost doomy, sections recalling Bolt Thrower quite a bit. Still, there's a lot of dynamics on offer both of the lashing and galloping type with "Bait and Switch" being a full-on thrashing mosher, pretty one-of-a-kind since the approach is closer to death metal for most of the time. "As I Watched from Below" is an exquisite technical piece ala Pestilence and Coroner and, of course, later-period Death mixing twisting riffs with straight headbanging ones to a fairly positive effect. The singer suits the music with his brutal low-tuned growl recalling early Chuck Schuldiner (R.I.P.).
The Dead of Winter Demo, 1995 Official Site SEABLE SOUL (USA)
There is nothing "psycho" or modern here, allusions made by the album-title; this is classic power/thrash of the American school, with a few technical leanings and good bass support. The songs are all mixtures of fast and slow riffs, sometimes suddenly taking turns, without any warning, making the tracks kind of clumsy and incoherent. The middle is preserved for the more romantically-inclined fans, with the melodic epic "Deadpan" and the ballad "When The Moonlight Hits My Skin". This middle kind of influences the rest, which never speeds up, and is mostly mid-paced with more melodic guitar work, with another tender moment later on: the short
ballad "Only You" (not an Elvis Presley cover, folks, relax!).
Psychodomesne Full-length, 1996 My Space SEANCE (SWEDEN)
Seance produced two quite good death metal albums in the early 90's, before splitting up, only to re-appear under the name Witchery 5 years later, with a style firmly rooted in classic black/thrash (except for their last effort so far, where the guys expand their "horizons" beyond the "ones" of thrash). Witchery is put on hold, and here comes a new Seance release ("Awakening of the Gods") which retains some of their old sound, by enriching it with a solid doze of thrash. As a result we have a satisfying work of classic thrash/death metal quite close to the French school (No Return's "Contamination Rises", Massacra, etc.). The
music is energetic, not very fast, with the obligatory more technical sections ("They", "Invocation"). Occasionally do the guys adhere to more brutal elements ("Your Time Has Come") which are tastefully used as well as the bass wizardry displayed on the 1-min instrumental "Flight Of The Wicked". Most of the time this is all-out thrash with the more aggressive "decoration" coming in the form of the vocals. "Choose Your Enemy" is the filler here, slower and unfocused with a modern groovy flavour but it's merciless blitzkrieg thrashers like "Prisoner 666" and "Wasted" which will keep you on the alert. This is by all means a sure-handed comeback for the band, although the future of the eventual follow-up is uncertain, with the guys planning to release a new Witchery material in the near future.
Fornever Laid To Rest Full-length, 1992 Official Site SEARING I (SWEDEN)
Professionally done, but prototypical thrash/death metal of the Swedish school; some good, hard riffs and melodic solos, but this debut as a whole brings nothing new to the scene.
Bloodshred Full-length, 2005 Official Site SEASICK (GERMANY)
Based on “Bestie Mensch”, this act serve largely classic thrash with a more expressive hardcore edge and vociferous death metal vocals. The music comes with a noisy abrasive lustre, the stomping “Macht” also hinting at more modern possibilities, but sort explosive numbers like “Mutter Hure” and the proto-deathy “Only Agression” will keep the moshers very entertained, “Human Madness” adding more turbulence to the recording with its virulent uncompromising riffage. Some of the musicians were also involved in the thrashcore outfit L.S.D.A.P.
Bestie Mensch Full-length, 1998 Official Site SEASON OF THE SPRING (USA)
Entertaining alternative post-thrash with good clean carefree vocals; the few hard-hitting riffs are "drowned" (but not in such a bad way) in melodic, proto-grungy rhythms creating something which is really hard to define: maybe if you can imagine a blend of Skid Row's "Slave to the Grind", the Black Album, and Depressive Age's "Electric Scum", then you'll probably have a decent picture about what's going on here. The songs sound like rehearsals for longer compositions since they all end around the 2.5-min mark, not leaving a very deep trace in your mind. The closing "Silence Of Patience" is a fine semi-ballad which kind of predates the Metallica approach on "Until It Sleeps" three years later.
Season Of The Spring Full-Length, 1993 SEATOR (POLAND)
Based on the "Mein Kampf" demo: a very bad sound quality leaves little to be heard, but one could distinguish quite brutal and fast, but amateurish thrash/proto-death akin to the early efforts of the Brazilian bands Sarcofago, Vulcano, Sextrash, etc. The guys try to spice things with slower sections ala Messiah's "Extreme Cold Weather", but this is where you can hear the guitars more clearly, and this leaves you even less impressed.
Rehearsal Demo, 1987 My Space SEAX (USA)
Based on "Speed Metal Mania", this band offer speed metal, of course, with more aggressive thrashy insertions which were not that many on their earlier albums. So speed is pretty much the order of the day the way it was on the Cranium, or Alastor (Portugal) efforts from the newer outfits, and by all means Helloween and Exciter from the veterans. The approach varies from short sing-along anthems ("Leather And Spikes", "Nuclear Overdose") to more elaborate speed/thrashers ("Doomsday Society") where melody and speed create a nice symbiosis topped by decent mid-ranged clean vocals which could have added some dramatism with more adventurous singing.
High on Metal Full-length, 2012 Official Site SECLUDED VIOLENCE (USA)
The sound quality is bad, and diminishes the impact from this otherwise cool demo of moderately aggressive thrash obviously influenced by Slayer ("Hell Awaits") and Dark Angel ("We Have Arrived"), but having also other, heavier moments where the guitars and the bass try to sound more original (not very successfully, though). "Curse" is an ambitious 8-min doom-laden thrasher which is the highlight here although it betrays the predominant fast-paced style of the demo.
Demo Demo, 1988 SECOND BRAIN (ITALY)
Based on "The Mind Awakes", this band play modern thrash/death with both progressive and melodic twirls the final result coming as a more ambitious Dark Tranquillity. "Come What May" is a beautiful melodic progressiver, and "King of Treachery" is an ambitious epic composition which also draws the blueprint for a number of cuts in the second half, the closing "Wind Spirit" being a lamentable gothic delight with cool cleaner vocals as opposed to the main shouty death metal ones.
Into the Circle EP, 2010 Official Site SECOND HELL (HOLLAND)
A surprisingly brutal band for that time: thrash metal in the vein of Kreator's "Pleasure To Kill", very well done with good melodic solo work. It's beyond me how these guys never made it big as they were more vicious and better musicians than many other bands back in those days.
Prophets of Hell Demo, 1985 My Space SECOND REALITY (GERMANY)
Based on the debut, this act plays heavy thrash which clings between the modern and the classic trends sometimes sounding angry like Pantera and Machine Head, sometimes moshing in a mid to up-tempo fashion ala Overkill and 90's Testament. Both sides are not too bad, actually, as the shorter thrashers ("Cancer Until Vanished", "Relatives Reduction") are more appealing than a couple of longer ("Aquis Submersus"), a bit clumsy, tracks although those latter ones try to capture the steam-roller heaviness of the Germans Warpath. The singer emits the prototypical for the time angry semi-shout, in this case a bit more growly.
Monolith Full-length, 1997 My Space SECOND TO NONE (HOLLAND)
Based on the demo, this formation pull out choppy semi-technical modern thrash/post-thrash topped by somewhat hysterical very shouty hardcore vocals. The crunchy stop-and-go quirks on “Random Acts” work quite well in team with the non-fussy thrashcore shenanigans on “TellurisTheoria Sacra”, but not so much with the soulful anticlimactic balladisms on “The Snake Eats Itself”. The squashing dram on “100 Streets” is also fitting into the varied melee which also readily welcomes “Bloodshed”, a heavy atmospheric mixture of poignant balladic sections and rowdy riffy outbursts.
Second to None Demo, 1999 Demo Streaming SECRECY (GERMANY)
Secrecy are mostly progressive/power metal band, but on both their albums there are stunning thrashy outbursts (similar to later period Eldritch) that one could only wonder what would have happened if these guys had concentrated on this, more aggressive and more attractive side of their music. The band's style is actually fairly interesting: they don't sound like anyone else, and the vocals are of the very melodic type which, when mixed with the thrashier moments, make for a really compelling listen.
Art in Motion Full-length, 1990 SECRET WISDOM (INTERNATIONAL)
A collaboration between the Italian multi-instrumentalist Paolo Lizzeri (no attachment to other bands) and the New Eden frontman, the guitar maestro Dan DeLucie (also Destiny's End, Crescent Shield). This is by-and-large a rendition of the 80’s US metal trends as reflected in the works of Helstar, Savatage, Laaz Rockit, Nasty Savage as the only hints made towards acts from the Italian scene are those already influenced by the American wave like Creepin’ Death and Oblivion. A noteworthy collaboration on all counts that shows fascination with the good old speed metal initially with “Sacrifice at the Event Horizon” which overcomes a spacey Hawkwind-esque intro before serving impetuous hard-hitting riffs and choppy thrashy breaks, a complex symbiosis topped by Lizzeri’s slightly thin, not very rehearsed clean vocals which get lost quite a bit on the higher notes. DeLucie shoots a few blazing virtuoso leads into the aether, but generally the focus here is on the riffage the latter becoming heavy and macabre on “Tomorrows Choice”, a steady monolithic tech-thrashy mid-pacer with Lizzeri doing a better job with a less adventurous mid-ranged timbre. “Limitations” breezes by, a less than 3-min melo-power/speed metal cut with epic touches, rushing to leave in order to vacate the stage for the arrival of “Spell of Forbidding”, a summative 13.5-min odyssey, a near-perfectly pulled lengthy journey which will take the listener through seductive balladic segments, tight dense intricate thrashing, wild moshing sections, choppy staccato riffs, very cool bass-guided interludes, jazz/fusion expletives, and more.
What Never Was... Demo, 1995 SECTARA (USA)
This outfit were previously known as Java where the music had a more experimental character reflected on a string of three demos. On this full-length the delivery has preserved its audacious nature covering a wide ground of thrash, death and progressive metal which is wonderfully melodic on the epic rouser "Ikari Apparition", and darker and sinister on the doomy creeper "Ghoulskin". "Quatto Influenza" nearly reaches Spiral Architect-esque heights with its labyrinthine arrangements, and the twisted riff-patterns are really worth hearing for fans of the more elaborate side of metal, the "gruff vs. clean" vocal duel adding more to the drama. "Who Is Behind Conrad Baines" embraces more mechanical, more sterile rhythmic-sections the complexity from the previous number preserved all over only seen through a more melodic perspective, and jumpier riff-formulas which ala mid-period Meshuggah and Terminal Function. "Withstanding the Gooch" is a masterpiece of amorphous, ever-shifting progressive thrash in the best tradition of Alarum and Extol, the overlapping riffs bouncing off each other with the cleaner vocals taking over, especially on the more soothing balladic second half. "The Missing Chums" is a frolic optimistic opus with an overflow of melodies and hyper-active riffage which never stands still, covering everything from mathcore to power metal within less than 4-min. "Orangia Sunrise" carries on in the same direction with a cavalcade of gorgeous melodies overwhelming the listener although later on the approach is a bit drier and less exuberant regardless of the energetic, leapy guitarisms. This is a fairly original recording which hopefully isn't just a one-time spell, and the guys will follow-up with another similar "interstellar" effort.
Interstellar Terror-Beneath the Eyes of Baines Full-length, 2011 Official Site SECTARIAN (HOLLAND)
Based on the full-length, this band play dark heavy thrash assisted by gruff guttural death metal vocals. Lyrical balladic moments
("Lost Souls") are also added for good measure, giving this recording a varied aura the latter also supported by the more brutal
death metal tunes ("Thy Thousand Names") also roaming around, with more ambitious progressive compositions ("Prophecies of the Dead") serving a wider gamut of rhythms and riff-patterns. Some of the musicians also played with the death/grindcore purveyors Desensitised.
When Darkness Draws Near Full-length, 1999 Official Site SECTAS (MEXICO)
Based on "Ideas Falsas", these guys offer good power/thrash metal of the old school, thrashing out in the best tradition of the Bay-Area heroes in the beginning, also boasting solid clean vocals. The album opens with an intense speed/thrashing duo before calming down on "Ansias De Poder". "Muerte Segura" serves more melodic speed metal ala early Blessed Death with great bass support, followed by the 1.5-min thrash/crossover delight "Agelasta". "Una Razon Mas" is softer power metal and leaves its trace on the remaining songs except for the closer "Fuera De La Realidad" which returns to the speed/thrash patterns with a more melodic crossover shade.
Ideas Falsas Full-length, 1996 My Space SECTION BRAIN (CZECH)
Aggressive semi-technical thrash reminiscent of Torture's "Storm Alert" or Sepultura's "Beneath The Remains"; the vocals are of the death metal type, and the band rely on long elaborate tracks which never lose pace or sound stale. The songs move in a heavy mid-paced manner when all of a sudden comes a fast, aggressive section, and again abruptly interrupted by a more quiet, more technical, or a lead guitar-driven one. There are a lot of time changes within the songs, and maybe at times the band get carried away, changing them too soon before they manage to develop into something more sensible (actually, just when one starts to like a certain passage, it suddenly changes into another one, leaving you disappointed). Well, not for long, since the guitar work is really impressive, and the riffs are sharp and tight, dominating over the leads in terms of both time and execution. The album leaves you asking for more because, in spite of the considerable length of the individual tracks, there are only five actual compositions with the last one being a bad two-min joke ("The Czech Way"; fortunately, this is not the Czech way!). This band could have really gone far.
Hospital of Death Full-length, 1993 SECTION 8 (USA)
A heavy dark take on the classic thrash metal idea which is marred by the muddy sound quality and the brutal death metal vocals that only suit the several "excursions" into doom/death and, of course, the final brutalizer "Wrath Of God" which is pure unadulterated death metal. The band members are still around with the death/grindcore "monsters" Lividity, and the death metal outfit Embrace Damnation.
The sophomore effort is another energetic blend of thrash and death, well done, with sharp lashing riffs which cling more towards the thrash side. The speed is intercepted in clever, semi-technical way with a few haunting melodic passages involved ("Menetettyyn atiisiin") as well. Those same passages spring up more often in the second half which still acquits itself with the odd speedster ("Ikuiseen Kadotukseen", and especially the ripping shredder "Silla on Monet Kasvot"). This is a cool, professionally executed effort which finds a good balance between aggression and melody.
Musta, Kylmf84, Syv'84 Ja Samea Full-length, 2011
"The Omegan Ruins" offers a similar blend of twisted proto-doomy death metal and faster thrashy sections, the former the dominant ones although they sedom branch out into pure doom ("Lone Traveler's Journey"). "A World Without A Name" is a more intense piece thrashing hard for a bit more than 7-min, but moments of the kind aren't many at all. "Tinge Of Agony" is the odd exploration of more technical fields, done in a minimalistic slow-ish fashion which suits well the generally gloomy atmosphere on the album.
The Omegan Ruins Full-length, 1998
Sonic Cacaphony Demo, 2000
The Pale Man Full-length, 2004
Ne, Joista Ei Puhuta Full-length, 2010
Saltrubbed Eyes Full-length, 1993
Awakening of the Gods Full-length, 2009
Rache EP, 2000
Live in der Lobusch EP, 2010
Back in Bag Full-length, 2013
Mein Kampf Demo, 1988
Another Messiah Demo, 1989
To the Grave Full-length, 2014
Speed Metal Mania Full-length, 2016
Synthesis Full-length, 2014
The Mind Awakes Full-length, 2020
Metal Deadness Split, 1986
Source Trait's Full-length, 1999
The Mirror Which Flatters Not Full-length, 2002
"Art in Motion" starts quite promisingly, with the up-tempo thrasher "Trisomie XXI", but then the music switches onto progressive power metal, but goes back to thrash in the second half, for the galloping "Coroner's Inquest", the following short technical instrumental "Like Burning One's Boat", and the brilliant riff-fest "Inside You" at the end.
"Raging Romance" begins in the same raging (but not romantic) manner, with an aggressive thrashy opener ("Observer From Above"), again followed by a string of softer tracks, before exploding once again with the speed metal-based "This World's Wisdom". One more thrashy delight comes near the end: the up-tempo "Ideology" which will remind you of Attacker's "Second Coming".
Raging Romance
Full-length, 1991
This excellent short effort remained in the trenches, unfortunately, as Lizzeri was never seen again in another formation; DeLucie, on the other hand, carried on full-throttle, elaborating on the fascinating style here on the New Eden endeavours, offering a similar complex combination of the three mentioned genres. He branched out into other successful albeit short-lived (Destiny’s End, Crescent Shield) initiatives, establishing himself as a distinguished artist on the contemporary metal arena.
Fallen One EP, 2003
Sectas Full-length, 1998