Abigail : "the Final Damnation"

The 6th full length from the band who proclaims themselves to be most evil band in Japan. The bar is pretty low for that title. They like to think of themselves as black metal, but they are more of a raw thrash. They have been around since 92, so they Slayer and Possessed influences make sense. Both of those band's were often seen as the first wave of black metal along with Venom. Their attitude is similar to Venom as this is pretty much party metal. The vocals remind me a a mix between early Exodus and Megadeth. Guitar solos that would be shredding on a punk album seem to crawl out from every corner of these songs.

They get more melodic for "Whiskey Coke Bitch". The solo section that consumes the middle of the song is much more rock n roll. The more melodic embellishments continue on " Sex& Metal". There is some attempts to sing on this one that are similar to the attempts made on some of the latter Darkthrone albums. "Open the Gates of Hell" is kind of bland and comes across as filler . "No Pain No Limit" is more of a punk song with obligatory gang vocals chiming in. They invoke "Bonded By Blood" era Exodus on "Sweet Baby Metal Sluts" , which I am not sure refers to the album of the same name or the band of school girls? Things don't get blasting until the last song. There is a melodic little solo section than works well to darken things up and overall this is the most black metal song on the album. So there evil intentions are somewhat suspect and childish at worst.

I'll round this album up to a 7, it's fun. There is not much depth to it, but if you are punk rocker who is trying to get into metal then I can see how this would be a pretty solid entry point to you if you have already skipped out on early Slayer. This album is being released August 15th on Nuclear War Now !

Black Fast : "Terms of Surrender"

Of all the retro thrash acts , here is one who manages to summon riffs as catchy like good thrash used to be. While the opener is all gnashing of teeth, they find  more melody on " the Coming swarm". The bass player of the band really kicks a ton of ass as he rolls very fluidly along side winding gallops.  While the band starts off melodically before they race off for the verse. By this song I get the fact that they can rip it at 100 mph, but now I begin to listen for what else they have in their arsenal.This doesn't exactly happen so "Tongues of Silver" seems to sound like a variation of what came before , but with a dash of old Mastodon to it. They really fly into a blur on
" I Conspire".  This is where the vocal delivery which is more of a dry mid range snarl, begins to get a bit stale.

"Haunted Vigil" continues to bulldoze over you. The chug here is more straight forward than some of the more fierce sinew the guitar flexes earlier in the album. They retain the brazen power and rely on the energetic assault to keep the momentum going even when things become dynamically mono-chrome. Even with the acoustic intro to the more deliberate "the Fall" when they hit the gas things begin to run together. The riffs find an occasional hook and the guitar solo certainly rips, but what they first hit me with begins to wane. "Vacuous Idol" is another speed fest, and  in all fairness back in the day thrash was often referred to as speed metal. This is head banging material for sure, but little screams for you to mosh, which was the break down of the 80s. The end the album with the brisk three and a half minute "Until Dust" which doesn't really go anywhere.

These guys are fast and intense. They attack their instruments as much as they play them. However they are also pretty much a one trick pony. They just color this trick in different shades shades of fast and mean. Sure you can say "well thrash is supposed to be like that because of it's punk roots" but some of the greatest thrash bands,...Testament, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, Nuclear Assualt, Flotsam & Jetsam... prove this is not the case. So I'll give this one a 7.5.

Death of Kings : "Regicidal Demo"

This is not our first time with Death of Kings as we reviewed their previous seven inch "Knife Hammer" This time around they recorded in the practice space, cutting the bulk of the tracks live. They have been one of those bands whose studio output I felt sounded little like what happens on stage. Some of this is due to the fact , the vocals are often sung in a lower register giving an older Mastodon feel, when in truth Matt Matson normally carries on with a thrash shriek falling some where between Udo of Accept and Kreator. Here those vocals are delivered and their punk roots kick up the sort of rowdiness that is a better representation of what they do and who they are. This is the first recording with Matt Kilpatrick in the band.

The first song that really stands out is the more metal gallop of "Sojourn" since the first two songs fast thrash that blurs past you and have a somewhat similar attack. "Sojourn" comes off of the speed and allows more of a groove to form. The guitar solo in this song breaks things up a bit. The band has not deviated much from their signature sound. They continue down a more metallic path with "Descent into Madness". The first verse finds the vocals taking on much more of Tom Araya cadence and musically has a lot in common with say "God Hates Us All"  Slayer, though funny enough their drummer Amos backs off on the double bass a little and their is more Slayer in his cymbal work. Around the three and a half minute mark things speed up in time for the guitar solos and this brings out more of their punk side.

I think they have found a formula that really works best for them when it comes to capturing the band's essence. This might not be the densest guitar sound they have ever recorded , nor the heaviest, but it is the most accurate. Some of the more dazzling solo section are plowed over in favor of an over all snarlier sound. Don't let the Suicidal Tendencies font fool you, these guys aren't joining the army any time soon, the crossover element is more at the intersection of where more modern Slayer collides with punk than 80s skate metal. A case of just because you like D.R.I doesn't mean that what is going to come out of your amp. The rawer production lends it self to an over all more feral experience shedding the nods to Iron Maiden for a gritty condensed punch that this demo packs. If you like what you hear here then make sure to catch the band when they roll through your town because what you hear is what you get.

 

Watain : "Tonight We Raise Our Cups and Toast in Angels Blood"

Live albums and  cover albums are what artists use to buy them another year before they have to put out something new, so normally I am less than thrilled about them. Here Watain is giving us both at the same time. But I love Watain and if any body is going to put out a live tribute album to Bathory then it should be them. Truth be told I prefer Bathorys viking metal over Quothon's  more punk first album and this tends to lean in that direction. They open with "A Fine Day to Die" which they nail as they are considering Bathory is one of their main influences , people have always said Watain sounds like Dissection and I've been listening to both bands for some time and aside from some moments on the last album I haven't really heard it, I have always heard more Bathory who is of course an influence on both bands.  They follow it up with the thrashier  " The Return of Darkness and Evil" . "The Rite of Darkness" is the first song that I would have rather they chose some else, it sounds to much like Venom. I like Venom as Venom, but when I want to hear Bathory I prefer the viking days.

Then comes" The  Reaper" from rawer more punk influenced first album which listening to them rock it here doesn't annoy me as much and there is a very tangible Slayer influence at work, "Show No Mercy" has been out for a year by the time Bathory's first album dropped.  One of the best songs on this album is "Enter the Eternal Flame" that carries a powerful and deliberate chug. It becomes even more evident how much common ground Bathory shares with Venom, which I had not really though about until now. If I had to pick a band I would pick Bathory over Venom as there is a wider musical scope being tackled there where Venom was like a punk rock band in spandex with pentagrams. They return to  Bathory's beginnings  going into the equally raw and barbaric "Sacrifice" that hits like most of the early thrash from this era.It's pretty straight forward. Erik does a convincing job, but it's not out of his comfort zone. Another song from The Return is cranked out in the form of "Born for Burning". This has a more determined chug to it  and even though it comes from the time in  the 80s where the lines between punk and metal where blurred, this is distinctly metal in that it owes enough to a more classic metal side.

Overall I like this more than I don't and the stuff that I normally don't like from Bathory comes across as having better production on this live album than it did from the studio in 82. I would have liked to have heard more of the viking metal , but it works to scratch a Watain itch and if you are a Bathory fan it's worth checking out as you can imagine when it comes to idol worship they are going to do it right. I'll round it up to an 8.5.

Cauldron Black Ram: "Stalagmire"

More blackness for black history month, the reason this particular band is so good is that it features two members of Mournful Congregation. Now would I rather have a new Mournful Congregation album...yes, but this works for now. It's the Australian band's 3rd full length and truth be told thats not a continent I associated with metal black or other wise.

This album sounds nothing like Mournful Congregation, instead in goes back to a more classic metal sound at times, think Venom more than Darkthrone when you are counting the genre lines. The album carries some big riffs that wow you with their heft. I can hear 80's Tampa death metal mixed in with some dazzling guitar work, that will appeal to thrash fans.

This forgotten era of  the original black metal that is invoked here is adorned in all the guitar flash and thrash leanings that it was spawned from. There is enough gallop and chug to make any metal head worth their salt want to head bang along. It's a lot of fun the vocals at times recall Deicide, the the way the rasp winds into the phrase, think Suicide Sacrifice.

Any doom influence isn't hear until "Maw" and even then it's not too oppressive of an influence. The vocals take on more of a fiendish gurgle and are almost as easy to decipher as say Sodom or Celtic Frost. Coroner and Angkor Wat can be heard in some of the accents to the riffage as well.The melodic nature of the soloing recalls day when they worked with the song rather than against them.

"Discarded Death" has that straight forward snare beat that I dislike from death metal.It causes the song to feel stiff until the more Carcass like riff seeps in. The drums don't seem as focused and into created the same sort of hooks that the first two songs had. It's not until the songs final minute that some kind of groove bites out at you. Their is some ominous weight to the riff of " A Litany of Sailors Sins". The song grinds into a really raw sludge coated style of death metal.

They thrash back with a mean gallops on " Bats", the vocals show they are fairly versatile in the range of their rasp.Rather than going in a mosh friendly direction, they drag you for better or worse down into death metal. This trend continues on " Cavern Faver" , the drumming goes more blasty. The riffing seems more throw away when they revert into the atypical death metal sections.Its no until a minute into the song that it finds a good thrash, though I am not sure if it justifies the song being an instrumental.

Thing get darker on "From Whence the Old Skull Came". If you name a song that there is one one direction it can go , and power ballad are out of the question. The vocal chant the song lead in with , is a smart move.The vocal get more of a Carcass grit on "the Devil's Trotters". There is a slight return to the doom influence as the chants return. The chants taken on a more creepy spoken refrain that they open the final song with. This gets doomy in a slightly Celtic Frost manner, though the guitar takes a little more swing to it. Lower clean baritone vocals moan over some cool guitar work that resembles a sped up version of Mournful Congregation. It drifts into more My Dying Bride realms as it winds on, which is fine with me.

Some times this album lacks focus in the song writing which is generally inconsistent.I will give this album a 7.5, if you like early 80's precursors to black metal then this album is worth your time
   


6.6

Death Of Kings -Knifehammer 7"

Thrash has always been the marriage of punk to metal, with bands like Slayer serving as the entry point for punk kids to get into metal . Metal was once a bad word in the Atlanta scene until Mastodon broke big on the road, encouraging a cross over  that saw punk kids adding more metal to their sound. Death of Kings , comes from such a back ground when the band started as Das Manics it was more of a punk band  

This 7" is product of a refinement to the bands sound since it released it's first album in 2010.The guitar is very much in your face on both songs. The vocals carry a Udo Dirkschneider sneer melded to a more Kreator like aggression, though bands like Vektor also employ a similar gurgled shriek.When the gang vocals chime in, its clear the the band members retain their punk roots.Their chops capture the dexterity required of the genre with impressive interplay between the bass and the guitar dueling,

The frantic pace the thrash gallop lends itself to more nuanced accents in the groove of  "Beneath the Obsidian". The vocals take a similar approach  The solos have more of a rock n roll feel to them on this track. The vocals carry a more grit in their delivery at time, they sound as if they are being spew rather than roared, growled or screamed.

Around the two minute mark the band finds a particularly tasty groove amid the otherwise breakneck pace , that wouldn't sound out of place on an Amon Amarth album. The Iron Maiden influences that very faintly lingers isn't in the twin guitar attack, but in the way their drummer Amos accents certain phrases and then it's the rawer feel of  Clive Burr rather than Niko.  

In this particular release elements of  power metal or death metal are not particularly present, but this 7" inch feels like a much more accurate depiction of the live sound. If you like your thrash fast and chocked full of solo, then this will not disappoint.

Knifehammer was recorded at Ledbelly Studios, where other Atlanta bands Withered, Irreversible and Royal Thunder have all recorded.  The album was produced by Sam Leyja and Matt Washburn. Mixed by Matt Washburn.  Was released  November 2013 on colored vinyl via Boris Records.

Satan's Wrath: Galloping Blasphemy

I'm all for representing the left hand path, the heavy handed cheese with which it's delivered here takes me back to Venom albums of the eighties so the sincerity with which it's delivered with is questionable. Former Electric Wizard bassist Tas Danazolou kisses the goat here and this brings a little confusion as Electric Wizard were from England but this band is billed as being from Greece?

What this album has that early Venom doesn't is prowess, there is more of a thrash vibe to the riffing, where Venom pounded at their instruments in a vein similar to Motörhead, both both bands I felt sat closer to punk. The vocal delivery is not unlike more growled version of Cronos's delivery. The confusion continues as I wonder who is the Leonard referred to in the night of the whip, that opens the album is this Leonard Nimoy bdsm fan fiction? It's fairly straight forward with liberal smatterings of guitar solos proceeding the songs closing gallop.

The Merciful Fate tribute shades the intro to " between Belial and Satan" before the song takes off old school thrash speed. The drums are slavish in their devotion to the lowest common denominator snare snapping of the time period they adore. The guitar is the clear cut winner here .

The gallop of "one thousand goats" is a bestial anthem if not a beastiality anthem, its this more mid paced riff age that the drummer seems most comfortable playing. The solos are melodic here and tasteful, if not at times "kill'em all" Metallica like, which Metallica isn't like that anymre, they only thing with a lot of this retro stuff is I grew up in the eighties so I heard all of this the first go round, while on metal blade records now back in the days these guys would have been on ear ache records for sure.

This vein of melodic Venom thrash, continues on " hail tritons , hail lucifer" and the satanic lyrics as well as the guitar playing is what keeps me on board. When the pace picks up for the title track, which isn't as galloped the goat song , but has some Maiden like harmonic guitar and gets very " To tame a land" . So the gruff vocals obscure some of the new wave of British heavy metal influences. There are a few phrases where I hear Possessed or Coroner in the vocals, though the have decidedly less personality than the vocals of Coroner. While a decent song " death possessed" bleeds right out of the title track, it begins to make me feel like I'm starting to hear a lot of the same from these guys.

In the albums final streach they are hiding any surprises, what I can say I like about this is where a lot of retro thrash are punk rock kids who figured out how to play their instruments, these songs are firmly planted in metal. I think there could be a little more though placed outside the box and the too straight forward route is often taken for my tastes, when some of the ambiance is what makes an album like " don't break the oath" so great and the vocal hooks are what made early Metallica stand out and come to think of it worked for Venom pretty well. Just thrashing for thrashing on the song like "slaves of the inverted cross" pretty much bores me and there nothing the lyrics or guitar solo can do to help. The uninitiated in this genres glory days might be more easily impressed so if you a re under twenty five add a point to this album.

The song " Satans wrath" is catchy wnought to redeem a few of the lulls and could have fooled me that it wasn't on one of the best of combat records compilations from back in the day, the vocals very Venom could still stand to be higher in the mix due to the anthemic nature of the riffs. Too bad this song wasn't the blue print for the whole album, or they might have even blown bands like In Solitude away. Buti think a 6.66 is a fair rating the band should stand behind as they have to know the influences are worn heavily as the metal on their sleeves here. So where Circle of Ouroborus set the standard of how high you can score on here with shitty production these guys scored as high as you can relying on satanic lyrics to obscure the fact there's not any original riffing , so the key is to believe in the riffs you have stolen, making this highway robbery on the highway to hell.

Huntress: Spell Eater

Female fronted metal bands have held a place in my heart, going back to Lita Ford whose writhing leather jumpsuits furthered my transition into puberty.  Over the past decade, the primal sexuality of the leather clad sirens was replaced by Andrew Loyd Webber acrobatics. This took away the dominatrix persona of the female metal singer and replaced her with melodramatic mezzo sopranos who croon to teenage girls reading Twilight books. Jill Janus’ band Huntress takes back the power.

I was skeptical at first glance of the video for “Eight of Swords” . I then learned Eric Harris the ex-bassist of Skeleton Witch is in the band, they still had a strike against them for being  from Los Angeles. In the over saturated Hollywood music scene,  retro-thrash thing could be an over zealous manager trying to steer a band away from being the next In This Moment.  

A little digging and  my suspicions were confirmed as Janus’ other name is Penelope Tuesdae. Under this name she has sung in “Under the Covers” Dave Navarro’s other cover band that’s not the popular Camp Freddy. Janus also spun as a d.j under this name as well.  

Despite the double nature of their frontwoman,  a few listens later  I was more  sold on the albums sincerity,despite the occult references being more for show than say the Devil’s Blood. This wouldn’t be the first band whose outside bull shit I forgot once they made it to my I-pod. Granted Janus’ look got their foot in the door for me but at the end of the day it’s music. I don’t care how nice your tits are if I need to clear some memory on my hard drive.

  Huntress  clearly soars in on the wings of the retro thrash band wagon with little new ground broken. At times "Spelleater" reminds me of  the first few Metal Church albums more than say the obvious comparison to Warlock. The riffs are not derivative enough for me to play name that tune with. Janus’ melodies assist the often atypical chugged riffage. The guitar is competent but not wowing.

Sure Angela Glassgow has a more of a snarl as does a half dozen other few growlers  from bands like Cerebral Bore,  Walls of Jericho etc.  Janus is actually singing. Not operatically but with the rough and powerful lungs metal asks for. She delves down into a growl or two for an effect but normally hovers over the proceedings with a healthy power metal yodel. \The band's Facebook bio claims she boasts a four octave range. This is either an exaggeration or their publicist does not know an octave consists of eight notes. She has a substantial range but is no Kate Bush. I hear traces of King Diamond, in her more theatrical moments. The choked  demons growls are very similar to what King did on “Them”. Given Huntress' more straightforward attack it comes across a little silly, but forgivable as she is at least trying to do something different.

 All of the great thrash bands, had a monster drummer on the throne behind them. Ex -Dark Black drummer, Karl Weirzbicky, gets the job done and on the  title track he even flirts with being blasty mcnasty. By and large this is no attempt at being blackened thrash. The double bass gallops are as needed, yet the drum mix didn’t really do him any favors as he is buried under the guitars. The bass is also not very present in the mix, I think if the rhythm section had gotten a little more love in post-production the album would sound tons heavier.

The guitarist’s were sitting at the left hand of their producer when this was mixed. They give the vocals plenty of room but take up everything else. They are mean enough. This album isn’t going for brutality but fist pumping.

When I back away from the magnifying glass to head band to this it’s fucking fun. Huntress succeeded at making nostalgic for the days when this sort of this was new and coming out on Combat and Megaforce. Maybe D.J. Tuesdae was snorting lines of cocaine off Tommy Lee’s dick as he spun dance music in a metal bra, here a Jill Janus she makes a helluva metal singer so I can’t begrudge her too much for it . “Spelleater” takes it time to grow on me  and  has a few moments which drag a little in the final few songs.