West Midlands Melodic/technical Thrashers Elyrean are back with a new single this Friday.
Now a lot of things have changed in the camp since their M2TM wins and Bloodstock performances, mainly due to the departure of former vocalist and bassist Asa.
The Band now made up of Will Edwards (Vocals/Guitar), Dan Kraushar (Guitar), Daryl Payne (Drums), and new member Josh Richardson (Bass), have shown their commitment with what they do and regrouped to get them back to a position where they can release new music and take the stage again.
This new single ‘The Omniscient One’. Is focused on the topic of climate change, Will says “It’s about people being told the consequences of their actions if they do not change, global warming is a big issue and A LOT of the pollution comes from major corporations.”
The track is a good comeback for the lads, Wills new found voice is darker and more doom laden than Asa’s more blackened thrash rasp, make the track into an atmospheric brooding monster, which, whilst it adds a change in character, the technicality and melody still remains, which is what we have come to except from the band in the track overall, as well as some fabulous production.
We wait with interest to see what comes next from the lads as they continue to grow into their new roles and voices in the coming months, and we look forward to catching them live again soon!
Veteran Garden Tool obsessed nut job thrashers LAWNMOWER DETH are back with a brand new album for 2022, featuring 18 tracks of moshing goodness that will keep all of us old farts bouncing up and down on satans trampoline until we tear it with our Zimmer frames!!
As always the tracks range from the sublime to the ridiculous as the band take us through the twists and turns of the deepest recess of their minds..
Without doing a blow by blow account of 18 tracks we thought we’d talk about some of our favourites… starting with opener ‘Into The Pit’.. the true life story (mine I think) of the ageing Mosher still hitting the Pit… Slip Your Disc!!! The struggle is real Kids!
Raise Your Snail focusses the bands inner Motorhead with a bruising Thrash N Roll swagger about those garden miscreants..Panzer snails, apparently they are Gastropods… everyday a school day!
Deth! Maim! Kill! Is a fabulous thrashy beast that keeps us bouncing up and down and ‘Power Bagging’ is a fabulous blast of nonsense about shopping in Aldi!!
Interspersed with short sharp shocks of blast beats and quick fire vocals, Blunt Cutters is everything a life long Lawnmower fan or fresh faced baby Mosher could want from them…
The new LAWNMOWER DETH album ‘Blunt Cutters’ is out on the 28th January 2022 via Dissonance Records / Cherry Red and available in all the normal places or PREORDER Here and we are sure that the new material will grace a stage for a LD party in the upcoming year!!
Look out for the band hopefully joining us for a chat on our Moshville Radio show in the coming weeks!
Moshin’ The Roof On Volume 1 Alumni Bangover are back with an all new 3 track EP to reward us all surviving the year!
These three tracks tick all the boxes when it comes to thrash from these London based thrashers, blending the classic Bay Area sound with a modern crossover vibe and a bit of UK humour!
Opener Close Encounters of the Thrash Kind, starts off with a thrashed up 5 note call to the mothership before the lads launch into the track proper, and what a stomper it is, sing along gang vocals, moshing chorus and legible humorous vocals, this is bound to be a crowd pleaser!
The next track continues the alien encounters, as the band head into Farmer Giles field to check out the crop circles, is it messages from a higher race… or is it just evidence of an alien crop circle pit!!
Finally the band is beamed back down from the Borg to thrash with us humans in a Bay Area homage that is Blood, Sweat & Beers… bang your head and let the violence spread… our feelings exactly!!
And before you can shout stage dive, the three tracks are done, Bangover have done themselves proud with these tracks, with great production and three fun and catchy songs, you can see why they are the UK party thrash band that everyone looks forward to catching live!!
Bangover – Close Encounters of The Thrash Kind is out on December the 17th via Big Cartel, Bandcamp and all the normal streaming sites
Manchester dirty blackened d-beat metallers Wolfbastard will be bursting into 2022 with a full length facefucker of an album! ‘Hammer The Bastards’ is everything you could want if you are a fan of dirty heavy metal, taking influences from bands such as Venom, Motorhead, Dark Throne and Discharge, Wolfbastards new album seamless blends the genres and sounds into a high octane, dark and angry slice of thrash ’n roll that will tear out your guts and make pentagrams with them to summon demons!
Featuring thirteen tracks of all out aural assault, this third album by the band takes no prisoners , with the song titles setting out the expectations, songs like ‘Nun Krusher’, ‘Black Friday’, and ‘Graveyard Slag’ all deliver the blackened party vibe guaranteed not to get played at Sunday school, whilst the cover art will ensure priests and vicars wear a hard hat when preaching from the pulpit!
If this is how 2022 is going to get kicked off… then its going to be a hell of a year!!
Check out the first release from the album – Fear The Exxxekutioner
Whilst Doom Metal isn’t usually a staple of the ukthrashers review list, we have all delved into the Cathedral, Sleep, Penance and Trouble catalogues in our formative years, so when Simon from For The Lost gave us a prod about the latest release from APF Records we thought we’d check out this new (old) release from these Suffolk purveyors of stoner sludge…
“For us this release is a time capsule back to a long weekend, just over a decade ago. January 2010; one of the last months of a band we had formed as teenagers. It was the coldest January since the mid-80s and on the night we recorded it was -8° overnight in London, meaning that even the canals just outside the studio had totally frozen.
We smashed out all the tracks in one evening, at the studio which was part of the Uni our friend Jason (who recorded us) was studying at. I recall we had to dodge the security guards to crash in the studio overnight. The next day, we had rehearsals for a show, the day after that, at the legendary Crobar in Soho. My memory of that evening is a blur, but apparently it involved us getting a bus full of people getting kicked off of the bus because we managed to break the doors, Christ knows how.
We also ended up at the opening party for the, now equally legendary, Black Heart and at some point in the night Ted, our guitarist, got headbutted outside a corner shop. Exciting times.”
So what do we think of this 4 track glimpse that has finally surfaced… well firstly at just over 21 minutes, this isn’t one of those Doom EP’s that goes on forever, in fact all the tracks are all fairly condensed and to the point
Opening track (intro) is a reverb and delay laden atmospheric piece that builds into the launch of the first ‘proper’ track – ‘There’s Nothing Cute About Cobra’s’ which fills the air with the distinctive sludge that you’d expect, sabbath esq riffs, and pummelling bass riffs that lock into the vibe that we have all come to associate with the genre, next track ‘Mandark’ continues in the vein, with drummer and vocalist Jack discharging his tortured and tormented vocals as if the end of the world is nigh! Final track ‘Decapodiformes’ continues the assault of the ears, and bone crushing bass lines that continue to reverberate long after the effects pedals have blown a fuse!
In summary, if heavy as fuck sludge metal that makes the ground quake and the walls tremble is your thing, then blasting out some Toom today should literally fill you with DOOM !!
Gareth checks out the new single from Helgrind ahead of his upcoming full album review, check it out for yourselves…
If you like your thrash a bit old school, the latest single ‘Massacre the Suffering’ from Arlesey Thrashers Helgrind might just be what you’re looking for; a ferocious brute of a track from their forthcoming ‘Insurrection’ album. That’s not to say that they are merely an 80s throwback, far from it, I’m talking more about attitude and execution.
The production utilises modern technology, but Helgrind don’t fall into the trap many bands do, by sounding too processed and clinical. While everything is clear and powerful in the mix, the guitars have a real bite to them, and the bass and drums are locked into a formidable bottom end rhythm section, there’s a natural resonance to the sound which just adds to the band’s inherent heaviness.
The song itself is an unremitting beast with belabouring drums and razor sharp riffing, Paula’s vocals adding to the savagery, yet there’s a melodic structure that underpins the brutality, which will anchor the song into your brain after only a few listens, there’s a hint of the LA legends Slayer in the sound, yet the melody incorporated in the lead interplay between Si and Joe is more Smith and Murray than King and Hannemen.
The bottom line is this: if you’re in any way into thrash or extreme metal, you need to hear this, this is a fantastic 3 minute taster, ready for the main course ahead.
The New Album Insurrection is out on the 22nd October, go and pre-order NOW
Paradox are back with a follow on to their classic album Heresy, here’s what Gareth thinks…
Let me take you back 800 years or so, to a time when a controversial religious order, the Cathars, was gaining power and a foothold in France, but was starting to become problematic to the Catholic church, the practitioners were regarded as heretics and their order was petitioned against by Pope Innocent III, to King Philip II of France and after this successful petition, the Cathars over a 20 year military campaign, were persecuted, tortured, massacred and eventually wiped out. Moving forward 770 odd years and German band Paradox released their sophomore album ‘Heresy’, a concept album about the ” Albigensian Crusade”, a relatively unknown, but very respected release for those in the know.
Now finally, we come back to the present day, and Paradox are about to release their 8th studio album: ‘ Heresy II: End of a Legend’, which, if you haven’t spotted it, is the long in the making sequel. It’s always a bit of a risk when bands follow up a seminal piece of work with a follow-up, Not only is it immediately open to scrutiny, to its predecessor, but if handled incorrectly, you run the risk of actually lessening the original, Operation: Mindcrime II anyone!!? No need to worry, anyone who has listened to Paradox over their career will know that they only release quality albums, with the last two ‘Tales in a Weird World’ and ‘Pangea’ being of particularly high quality.
So how does part 2 measure up. Well obviously, being written and recorded 31 years apart, and only having two of the same members, main man Charly Steinhuer, on vocals and guitar, and returning drummer Axel Blaha (who incidentally last appeared on part 1) there are bound to be some differences. However, the consistency that has been achieved is very impressive. The original ‘Heresy’ had one of the best productions of its era, and so with modern recording techniques it’s not surprising that the new record is better, its similar, modern yet reminiscent, a bit beefier in the guitars and the whole mix being more even, with every instrument having its own space in the overall soundscape. Charly’s vocals are a bit gruffer, but he still has a clear and powerful voice.
For people who aren’t familiar with Paradox, they occupy the more melodic end of the thrash spectrum, even straddling into the power metal genre. Saying that, this is more in the vocals than the riffing, which can be quite ferocious at times, although the guitar work can also be very intricate and much more symphonic than your typical meat and potato thrash band.
Lyrically and musically, this starts where the original left off, opener ‘Escape from the Burning’ is a future live classic, with a suitably epic opening before building into a real riff fest, with high energy passages and a catchy chorus. The two already released singles are up next, the fierce ‘Mountains and Caves’ and the brutal ‘The Visitors’, both with driving riffs and pummelling rhythms, where lead guitarist Christian Münzner gets to show his worth, with some fantastic interplay with Charly. The whole album runs over 75 mins, so there’s certainly value for money and if you like to really get your teeth into the lyrics and music, you certainly won’t be disappointed. ‘A Meeting of Minds’ and ‘The Great Denial’ are both longer, more progressive and involved tracks, with slower parts and quieter aspects. Whereas ‘Priestly Vows’ and ‘Unholy Conspiracy’ show the thrashier and more aggressive side of the band. That said at 75 min, I think they could have shaved at least 10 mins from the overall length, and this would have tightened up the outcome.
This is a worthy successor to the original ‘Heresy’ release, and I think fans of that album will be very pleased with ‘Heresy II’. If you’ve heard Paradoxpreviously and didn’t like them, there’s really not much here that is going to alter that opinion. Will it pull in new fans? Well possibly, this album will hopefully be better marketed and advertised than the original. A very solid and competent release that ensures that Paradox still don’t have a duffer in the discography.
Paradox – Heresy II: End of a Legend was released on the 24/09 on AFM Records
Gareth reviews the new Album by Elimination, here’s what he thinks…..
I first got into Elimination last year when I had the pleasure to review their comeback EP ‘Of Gods and Beasts’, and whilst researching for that release, I soon discovered that they had been very active previously, with two full length albums already under their belts, ‘Destroyed by Creation’ and ‘The Blood of Titans’. And now almost 10 years on, it’s a huge delight to be reviewing album number three, the rather splendid “Echoes of the Abyss”.
Those of you who are already familiar with the band will already know, they aren’t quite the same beast as they were 10 years ago, with Neil Stevens (vocals and bass) the only member left from the original line-up, now he’s joined by guitarists David Hill and Leigh Rumsby, The continuity from those early albums is continued, mainly with Neil’s distinctive bark, he’s an excellent thrash vocalist, he’s aggressive, and almost spits the words out, yet at the same time there’s plenty of melody and the diction is so clear you can pick out the majority of the lyrics with relative ease, Leigh and David do differ from the original guitar duo, in that for me they employ a bit more melody in the lead work, perfectly syncing during the solos, and more dynamic in the riff department.
Let’s dive into the album then, first track ‘Disciples of the Beast’ is an absolute fantastic opener, starting with a simple, yet ominous melody plucked out with a an acoustic guitar, with a beautiful building dual lead in the background, this continues to grow and while the acoustic fades, and with a 1, 2, 3 drumbeat, the song cuts in, the two guitars, complimenting each other yet pulling in completely different directions, it’s a terrifically ambitious start, and highlights both the confidence and maturity the band has gained in the last twelve months. The meat of the song powers along on a driving main riff, which shifts slightly into the bridge, before throttling back for the chorus, which I guarantee will be shouted back with glee in the live setting, and then they even have time for a Maiden inspired instrumental section, with a great solo and wonderfully melodic harmony parts. Terrific opener.
‘Black Wings’ sees the band really stepping on the accelerator, starting fast and escalating during the bridge, there’s even some blast-beating greatness before the chorus, another one that’s going to stick long in the brain, and the ending to the solo piece is just chaotic greatness. ‘This is War’ is a bit groovier with a cool bouncy feel to the riffing, and has a guest vocal slot from Aaron from neighbours Shrapnel (get well soon buddy) who adds a slightly blackened bark into the proceedings.
This is a seriously good album, it also sounds great, and you’d never guess they are a drummer down, whoever has done the programming for the tubs, needs a weighty pat on the back, and also the drum sound is immense. Add to that the guitar tone, it’s aggressive and heavy yet clear as a bell, when you use as much melody as these two, you need a seriously good sound. Neil’s vocals are nicely placed as well, and my only complaint is the bass is perhaps a little bit lost.
Onwards we go, ‘Damaged’ literally throws itself out of the speakers, and is a real shred fest, and not just with lashings of tight riffing, I’m talking about seriously good lead & loads of harmonies. We are already familiar with ‘Victims by Design’ which being the shortest track is a perfect pick for the lead single. Strange feedback and a brief news announcement introduce ‘The Nameless City’ which for the most part is a fiendishly up-tempo brute, that has some serpentine melodies and a section that shuffles along on an unnerving syncopated beat, before the chase to the finish, ‘Blind Leading the Blind’ cuts in straight from the outset, and sees the band slow down a touch, at least for the chunky chord lead chorus, with some heavy muted parts, but contrasted nicely by some clean dynamics.
Then to finish off we have the epic ‘Infernal’, the band’s most ambitious track up to this point, commencing with an acoustic beginning, the song builds and builds, lots of different sections, and more classy solos, parts segue seamlessly from one to the other, and a cracking climatic crescendo before a lull before the ending storm, and a brave and surprising end. What a tremendous climax to a supremely impressive album. If you like thrash, but with plenty of melody, top notch song writing and a bit more than your average release, then this is an album that you need to check out. This is so good it’s gone straight in as my album of the year so far, and it’s going to take something ridiculously good to knock it from the top spot. Absolutely stunning.
Hutch finds things not as he thought as he checks out the new Hellsword album…
I assumed that this would be a record with more in common with power metal. Anything with the word sword tends to swing that way. But no, Hellsword are far removed from soaring vocal harmonies and rapid-fire melodic speed. Instead, Hellsword are rooted deeply in the early days of black metal; think Venom, Bathory and Hellhammer.
Formed in 2009, it’s taken the Slovenian trio of Mark Massakre, Mike Manslaughter and Ironfist over a decade to produce this debut full length release. Apart from the ridiculous names, there’s plenty to enjoy here despite the lack of originality. It’s well produced, with a raw edge and prototype feel but avoiding that outside toilet production of the early 80s.
There are plenty of riffs from the Devil’s locker here, with a tempo that varies from blistering speed and thrash to more demonic overtures that slow things down yet retain all the demonic elements you expect. It’s unsurprising that Cold is the Grave features tracks such as Satan, Death and Fear, Baphomet’s Shrine and Unholy Reich – the band are pinning their flag firmly with ol’ Nick after all.
Whilst Hellsword may not intentionally have done so, they have thrown their hat into the ever increasing ring of blackened thrash that continues to emerge apace. If you like that gnarly, aggressive and full-on aural assault, then Cold is the Grave may well be an album you’ll fancy taking a punt on.
Hutch checks out Italian Death metallers Dark Redeemer and their new album…
Piling on with the blatant Swedeath worship are Italian veterans ‘Dark Redeemer’. Their debut LP ‘Into the Deep Black’ comes off their 20+ year career as atmospheric/progressive death metal behemoth ‘Aleph’ – named Metal Hammer’s ‘new Italian band of the year’ in ’06 – whereby having stripped back all the progressive elements of the band’s previous form leaves them sounding more straightforward than ever. 9 tracks over a 45 minute run-time translates to some serious meat for any fan of classic death metal to sink their teeth into, and with the members’ previous efforts showing a clear proficiency in the songwriting department, there’s no doubt that ‘Into the Deep Black’ is on the long list of solid metal releases of 2021.
In essence, the core components of ‘Into the Deep Black’ are the raw violence a la anything that came out of Sunlight Studios in the early 90s (Grave, Entombed, Carnage or Dismember… you get the point) and psychotic precision with the structures and nuances of the coexisting US scene (Morbid Angel, Immolation etc.). These styles collide and thus set Dark Redeemer apart from other bands whose sole purpose is to release Left Hand Path 2 (not that anyone’s complaining though), where the D-beat and hardcore influences are scrapped with the aim of going from hard to harder with flurries of blast beats and descents into filthy old-school breakdown sections.
Trackwise all the songs take a similar approach and meander through a frenzy of savage riffing with some repeated sections without resembling a strict verse-chorus structure. Riffs will revolve around the pounding thrash beat and will transition to halftime grooves with keyboard laden intricacies scattered throughout to create some seriously eerie moments. Lead single and opener TMC gives a taste of all these elements in its blisteringly fast thrashy intro, blast beat transitions and groovy chorus section that makes great use of a haunting keyboard melody in a ‘Testimony of the Ancients’ fashion. ‘The Zombiemarch’ is also of note being the main consistently mid-paced track, which really helps to break up the rest of the album and keep it from turning into a giant blur of speedy riffs with no sense of memorability. The highlight however has got to be ‘Killing Ritual’. A 4 count on a whipcrack of a snare straight into an unmistakably Dismember esque thrashy pummelling is an instant recipe for success.
‘Into the Deep Black’ as a whole walks a fine line between carefully constructed and rabidly chaotic, where the ultimate goal is to mix the best bits of two of the most distinct death metal scenes. The savagery in the simplicity of the Scandinavian tremolo riffs under the thrash beat and the devastatingly heavy mid-paced sections and creative flair from the US makes for some quality death metal. Sure ‘Remains’ and ‘Grotesque Deity’ are following Swedeath worship more closely, but listeners that aren’t such big fans of hardcore will appreciate Dark Redeemer stripping back anything that isn’t pure death metal and cramming elements of yes… more death metal in its place. The only gripe I have with this record is that despite the beauty of the cranked HM-2 sound, the tone comes out fairly wispy and thin. This is remedied however by listening on different speakers or just turning up the bass, but I listen to music with all the EQ cranked all the way up anyway.
Dark Redeemer – Into the Deep Black was released on the 24/09/21 on Blasphemous Records
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