I'm not exactly sure of what to say about Finland's latest NWOBHM-inspired speed demons MAUSOLEUM GATE. They're just fucking awesome! They kind of remind me a bit of their neighbors in Enforcer - fast, catchy and heavy metal as all fuck. I stumbled upon these guys while browsing Shadow Kingdom Records. I guess I found something to put in my shopping cart. They have a demo out (on CD) so you best get it.
The Teutonic bastard child of early Anthrax and Blood Feast, Germany's ELIMINATOR is a no-joke thrash metal beast that sounds more like they're from New Jersey than Nordrhein-Westfalen. Speed is the name of the game with these guys and the vocals are the tried-and-true style of the harsh thrash style (think Possessed or, again, Blood Feast). Their demo, Violence and Death, is out now. Get it!
It's a pretty crappy Sunday, what with all the rain and shit going on outside. Anyway, I was just browsing through YouTube and decided to surf through some really obscure heavy metal (not necessarily just NWOBHM). Feast your ears upon these treasures!
Finally! Germany's OLD finally gets a place here! As their name suggests, these dudes play a very ancient and sinister style of speed metal in the vein of early Bathory, Celtic Frost, Sodom and Destruction... you get the idea.
I was first introduced to them by my friend Anton a while back and these guys totally blew me away. If I can recall, Old were the first band in this style that I really liked. Anyway, much thanks to Anton!
Anyone know what's going on with these dudes? They've been keeping silent for months and the Metal Archives listed them as "On Hold". Interestingly enough, it appears that 2 of the guys play in Nocturnal now (!), another fine German thrash band. Great, but... we need more Old!
Demonical - I first stumbled upon these guys after learning that they will be playing at Germany's Party.San Open Air Festival. I've heard of all the bands on that announcement but them, so I checked them out. All I can say is, wow, pretty much the only band now that can mix old-school Swedish Death Metal feeling with modern production! These guys are aggressive, ruthless, heavy, and make memorable songs... what's there to hate? If only every death metal band these days that can learn from them. I immediately passed these guys on to some friends and they're as hooked as I am. That has to say something. I ordered their latest (and second) album, Hellsworn, through Hell's Headbangers to cut import costs a bit. I still need the first one, Servants Of The Unlight, but it's not as good as their latest. I'm guessing it's for the (better) line-up and that these guys know how to progress. This band truly has it all!
Killer - These guys were passed on to me by a friend of mine who I believe discovered while in Europe. I remember it clearly: I was over at his place and he said, check out this band from Belgium called Killer. They worship Motörhead. Frankly, any band that worships Motörhead is good in my book. The album he gave me was Shock Wave, and if you like your heavy metal done right, look no further. I'm not exactly sure as to what else I should add about Killer other than they're great. You can order their CDs through Mausoleum Records, though it's a bit pricey. If you can find their LPs second hand (like I did, at a record fair here), grab 'em. If not, definitely order some CDs.
Dark Angel - Ok, these guys aren't the most "underground" band but they are definitely INSANELY overlooked. When one speaks about the Bay Area thrash scene, especially the second wave when the music got even more aggressive, Dark Angel is hardly mentioned. There's the first Testament album, Sadus, Exodus' first, and even Possessed (again, a shame). Well, let me reintroduce Dark Angel. A band so fast and insane that you just can't help but punch people in the face. I don't know what to say about these guys. Gene Hoglan on drums. Not convinced? Then get out. Just listen to Darkness Descends because that will make everything clearer.
Agent Steel - Let's be real here: Agent Steel is the Bret Hart of speed metal. They're the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. They are the excellence in executing speed metal. The early German scene is great, but Agent Steel's better. John Cyriis resembles a true front man. Here's a man who was an extremely talented singer, songwriter, and a true character. No one knows his true history. Some say he's actually an alien. Whatever the case may be, they will never be the same without him. I'm sure they don't suck now, but there will always be one John Cyriis. The first 2 albums and EP will always be highly regarded by me, and surprisingly, they're a bit hard to find. I lucked out, to say the least, to own them on LP (thanks Slipped Disc). Anyway, get into these guys!
This is a band that I've been raving about for a while now. Germany's Violent Force sticks out of the thrash scene over there in that they do not possess the early black metal vibe like the early Kreator, Sodom and Destruction releases. I guess this is why them and Tankard never got that same "recognition" as the "Big 3"? Whatever the case may be, those of us in the know have another band that we can all worship and glorify. Violent Force are truly a gem.
After much search for their sole album, Malevolent Assault Of Tomorrow, I finally got it a few weeks ago through The Omega Order. Don't check there now, though. It seems that I've purchased the last copy and when a product is "on order" with them, it never comes. Sad, but true.
With that bullshit out of the way, let me discuss this album briefly. Basically, it's another "classic cult" album that's reissued by Metal Mind Productions of Poland and thank goodness for that. Violent Force's brand of thrash is more in tune with the way thrash first started out as in America - which was super punk and super Motörhead-like. The album's opener, "Dead City", could easily be a G.B.H. song had I not known any better. "Sign Of Evil" has a nice speed metal (sorta like Running Wild) edge to it while "S.D.I." shows the band's more "proper" early-German sound (which was all about SPEED!). The guitarist/vocalist, who's name is for some odd reason Lemmy, has what I believe is the ideal thrash vocals and I can put him up there with Paul Baloff of (duh) Exodus. It's harsh, but clean, and not in a James Hetfield-circa-1984 way (nothing against him, of course).
Violent Force performing "Dead City" in the 1986 German film Verlierer
All and all, a fine slab of Teutonic thrash attack. Not much is known about these guys today. Their official website is in German and their official MySpace hints that they are still active, though I don't see any hard proof. Well, whatever - just get this fucking album.
Violent Force's official website is over here and their MySpace is over here. I hope you know German.
Leave it to fuckin' Darkthrone to back up their beliefs with amazing songs!!!
According to the latest update on the Darkthrone blog, Fenriz has mentioned that a brand new track, entitled "Eyes Burst At Dawn", is now available. You can find the link via his blog above.
What can I say about this? It's awesome, of course! It's a bit different from the last 2 albums, F.O.A.D. and Dark Thrones And Black Flags in that it's much more traditional heavy metal in the sense of guitar melodies and the last riff - which sounds quite triumphant. I mean, I can get all pretentious and technical (not really, which is why I'd be pretentious) by making up all of these adjectives to describe how much I like the song... but I won't. Listen to it and we can discuss it.
Their new album, Circle The Wagons, can NOT come any sooner! All info for it can be found through the link on Darkthrone's blog.
*****
Be sure to check out Banished Force who Fenriz mentioned! I'm listening to them now and I must say, these guys must like Forbidden quite a whole lot. I never would have guessed that they're from Germany. Well done, kiddos!
