The Thrash Metal Guide

Copyright (c) 2007 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

F.A.F. (CANADA)

Members of the thrashcorers Spewgore, who are also assistants to Gord "Piledriver" Kirchin in his new project The Exalted Piledriver, gather forces for the release of this simplistic, but enjoyable, tribute to the good old thrash crossover, having also invited the former Eidolon singer Criss Bailey, who would be ultimately hard to recognize, here singing in an attached semi-shouty manner. The music is jolly sharing the seat between mid-period D.R.I. and Suicidal Tendencies's "How will I Laugh Tomorrow,...". emitting loads of catchy hooks, occasionally lashing with force ("Driven Insane"). This is decent stuff showing loyalty to the old school without any unnecessary claims for originality.

Koalition Of The Willing EP, 2011

F.A.L. (ARGENTINA)

Quite good retro thrash of the more melodic variety in mid to up-tempo picking up more intensity and speed (the instrumental "Represalia") here and there. "Bajo El Amparo De La Cruz" is a cool speed/thrash headbanger recalling the works of their compatriots Lethal.

Bajo El Amparo De La Cruz Demo, 2007

F.B. BASTARD (SWITZERLAND)

Very good speed/thrash well conformed with the German trends; the music bears resemblances to Warrant, Iron Angel, early Helloween, Angel Dust. "Little Breaker" is a pure speed metal delight with great leads in the Kai Hansen vein, followed by the slower pounding power/thrasher "Nuclear War". "Bastards Never Die" is brisk headbanging speed/thrash, vintage early Angel Dust with excellent leads again. "The Land" is the soft power/heavy metal filler, and "Ride" is a speed/thrash explosion. The last "Fed by Your Blood" calms things down, thrashing in a moderate mid-pace. Unfortunately this talented outfit never recorded anything else, but some of the members later took part in the modern power/thrash metal act What's Up?, with which they released a cool full-length in 1993.

Bastards Never Die! EP, 1987

F.C.D.N. TORMENTOR (USA)

Based on the "Demonic" demo, this is really brutal stuff for the time of release: violent thrash/proto-death metal with short 1.5-2min tracks. This is very fast and aggressive music, not bad if you're a fan of bands like Napalm Death, Repulsion and the likes, because you will definitely feel the grindcore atmosphere here, although on a musical level this one is way higher.

Demonic Demo, 1986
F.C.D.N. EP, 1991

F.K.U. (SWEDEN)

Along with Cranium, this band incorporate the classic, 80's speed/thrash period better than most of their contemporary colleagues. The debut features shorter, more aggressive, but very effective tracks, whereas the second album shows a slightly more technical approach. Both efforts are highly recommended: classic speed/thrash metal can not simply get any better than this.
Expect the same roller-coaster atmosphere on "Where Moshers Dwell"; the guys thrash with power the whole time, slowing down, but just to produce the desirable change ("The Pit And The Poser", which will remind you of the Metal Church period with Mike Howe; the singer is actually quite close to the greatness of the latter, and right now he is one of the more impressive voices in thrash metal equally as convincing both in the rougher and more melodic department.). The moshers, wherever they "dwell", will do no wrong tracking this monster down which will entertain both those who like their speed/thrash more controlled in up-tempo, and the ones who prefer short proto-blasting furious killers.

Metal Moshing Mad Full-length, 1999
Sometimes They Come Back... To Mosh Full-length, 2005
Where Moshers Dwell Full-length, 2009

F.O.B. (CZECH)

Based on "Default", this band plays heavy crushing thrash/death metal of the old school, with very brutal low-tuned vocals. This is an interesting approach to the hybrid, which also gets occasionally fast (the technical blaster "Imagination On The Sea", "Just Another Day"), carrying a weird sense of melody, reflected both in the lead and riff department. The guys never bash with passion, but prefer to deliver gradually with atmospheric insertions, too, and a touch of doom/death ("Land Of Markets"). Thrash takes over on the nice technical "God Is Technology", but the diversity hits the top on the merry stoner closer "Restore Default", an all-instrumental oddity with jolly, quasi-folky rhythms. Still, this remains an entertaining listen all the way, avoiding the mish-mashy pitfalls where so many contemporary ambitious attempts fall.
"The Dice" flows in a similar vein, maybe adhering to melody more often (the playful groover "Spam Exported"). Hard and grindcore have been introduced to make the picture more appealing (well, that's relative), but the catchy melodic hooks are literally everywhere, making this effort the more impressive one compared to its predecessor.

Blame? EP, 2000
Follow the Instructions Full-length, 2003
Default Full-length, 2005
The Dice Full-length, 2008
Tomorrow's Fires Full-length, 2011

F.T.G. (MALAYSIA)

"After The Promise" is dark, brooding thrash bordering on death metal, not too far from Protector; quite well done with long, thought-out tracks. The debut EP is supported by a very heavy bass-bottom which takes the upper hand, and makes the guitar sound thin; the pace is faster and more intense, and the nods to death metal are fewer ("Fight for Freedom" is the only more brutal, death-laced track). The songs are also long, and the music is dark and brooding, but the worse sound quality makes it a less satisfying listen. A stylish touch is the Oriental guitars on "Kill the Evil". "Behind This Wall" is a heavy semi-ballad with a Metallica-flair (think "One", "Sanitarium"), where even the singer makes an attempt to sing clearly, as opposed to his gruff, death-metal-ish main tone.
"Aku Tak Peduli" is more modern and more melodic, still holding a few more aggressive "surprises": "Askar (Biar Putih Tulang)", "Aku Tak Peduli", but the majority of the songs are proto-modern "sleepers" with repetitive riffs and mellow hooks.

Freedom That's Gone EP, 1991
After The Promise Full-length, 1992
Spirit to Rebel Full-length, 1994
To the Front Full-length, 1996
Aku Tak Peduli Full-length, 1998
Made in Malaysia Full-length, 1998
F.T.G. Full-length, 2000
Made in Malaysia Vol.2 Full-length, 2001
Reborn Full-length, 2002
Stop this Madness Full-length, 2003
Kuasa Full-length, 2006

F.U.C.T. (USA)

Heavy thrash/crossover with death metal vocals, which becomes faster at times, accompanied by some very cool solos. The music is not too far from D.R.I.'s later efforts, but there are a few longer songs, which excel in heaviness, recalling even the Exhorder debut.

Dimensional Depth Perception Full-Length, 1990

FA-Q (USA)

This album is a one-time collaboration between Gary Meskil, the Pro-Pain singer, and three guys from Overkill, who at that time were taking part in half of the bands around, including their main one. The music is decidedly modern, but not as good as it could be expected having in mind the musicians involved; this is typical modern thrash coming as a cross between 90's Overkill's lesser period (1995-1999), and Machine Head's more laid-back style (after "The More Things Change..."). The music lacks an edge, and sometimes goes straight into crossover territory ("Skankly"), or straight into cliched, blatant hard rock ("Are You Satisfied?" (if you are, we're not at all!), "Hey You"). It was good that the guys laid this formation to rest after this only effort.

Each Hit Full-length, 1996

FACE DOWN (SWEDEN)

Based on "The Will To Power", this band is a typical representative of the Swedish wave; modern thrash/death metal ala The Haunted, Construcdead (members of both bands take part in this band), Corporation 187, etc.

Mindfield Full-length, 1995
The Twisted Rule The Wicked Full-length, 1998
The Will To Power Full-length, 2005

FACE DOWN HERO (GERMANY)

This is a side project of two members of the technical thrash metal act Mind-Ashes. The style here is different, being modern groovy thrash with just passing technical tendencies, calling to mind Nevermore or Scariot on the best moments; not bad, but too far from the high standards set by the father band.
"Where All This Anger Grows" is a worthy follow-up, sounding better than the debut; it thrashes more aggressively (the smashing opener "Bursting Evolution"), but the more derivative, groovy elements are still here, and the rest of the material seldom reaches the intensity of the impressive opener: the up-tempo thrasher "The Pharao" is the exception, and the pounding closer "Three Bullets Ballad", or at least the beginning, since later the song is too busy to justify its title so it turns into a tender ballad for a big part, before going up to thrash again near the end. This is not a bad album, but compared to the Mind-Ashes output (their first two albums), it is just decent, to put it mildly.
The 3rd consecutive effort finally paid off: "Of Storytellers and Gunfellas" is the band's finest hour. The guys pay tribute to the 80's Bay Area scene quite often, and this innovation, combined with their already established modern approach, sounds quite appealing. The band waste no time starting the attack from the very beginning, with the brisk thrasher "Disposable Significance", which takes more aggressive dimensions on the following madness "Modern Prophets and Saints". "Deceptive Silence" is totally immersed in modern thrash ala Lyzanxia and the likes, but "A Breathing Plaything" will cause you a headache, with the pounding heavy rhythm section and the speedy riffs. "Grave of an Unknown Soldier" is a nice quiet lead-driven instrumental, which takes away some of the edge, but the thrashing continues afterwards in a milder manner, with "My Fifteen Minutes" and "Benefactors-Disguised Aggressors". The closer "Erased" is a more ambitious take on the modern/classic formula, mixing slower and faster passages to a fairly cool effect. The balance between the classic and the modern sound is perfectly found on this album in a way not dissimilar to the last Squealer release ("The Circle Shuts") and Metallica's "Death Magnetic", the resemblances with the Americans further aggravated by the good rough James Hetfield-like vocals.
"Divisions And Hierarchies" shows no signs of slowing down, producing another sure-handed slab of modern/classic thrash which starts in a nice energetic manner with "Isolation" promising a lot of headbanging moments not far from recent paradox at their best. "The Art Of Silence" thrashes even harder adding good sing-along choruses. Sparce blast-beats can even be heard on "Integrity Of The Sun", which continues the speed/thrashing saga on full-throttle. "Executed For A Thought" is a more lyrical moment: a mid-paced crusher with a few beautiful melodies and genuine technical passages; a very cool "interlude", after which another "thrashin' madder" comes: "Reality (Divisions Of Life)", but this pales in comparison to the following "Seventeen Years", which is furious thrash at its best. "Apotheosis" is a 2-min atmospheric keyboard-infused reliever, well needed, but steel gallops will overwhelm you on "False Hierarchies", before "Synthetic Heart" wraps it up in a heavy semi-balladic fashion with plenty of soloing and fine melodic hooks. This is by all means the guys' finest hour, and although the infatuation with Paradox, is quite obvious, the high level of professionalism displayed here is without questioning, finally justifying the band's strong pedigree.

Opinion Converter Full-length, 2007
Where All This Anger Grows Ful-Length, 2008
Of Storytellers and Gunfellas Full-length, 2009
Divisions And Hierarchies Full-length 2011

FACE OF A VIRUS (POLAND)

Based on the "Behind the War Lines" EP, this act provides very heavy modern thrash which crushes in a constant mid-pace with occasional awkward turns to blasting death metal, plus one stylish exercise in more technical jumpy thrash ("EOFTH"). The vocals are very angry sounding like a more low-tuned version of Robb Flynn (Machine Head).

Face of a Virus EP, 2005
Behind the War Lines EP, 2006

FACE OF AGONY (SLOVAKIA)

Based on "Imitations Of Life", this band play cool thrash metal mixing both modern and classic riffs. This is heavy crushing music reminding of the Germans Warpath, maybe with a slightly more modern edge. At times the guys exceed in heaviness bringing their music close to doom metal ("Dreaming", "Story (The Love Song)"); on the opposite side we have "Influence", a nice fast 1.5-min headbanger.
The debut is a cool effort with a more classic sound recalling the Americans Ultimatum and mid-period Exodus, also boasting nice semi-clean vocals ala David Wayne (R.I.P.) and Steve Souza. The tempo is again mid for most of the time, but the riffs bite with power and crush admirably providing one major headbanger at the end: "Attack", which thrashes wild as though to compensate for the previous less energetic material.
"The Die Is Cast" is another heavy steam-roller, but the pace is more energetic this time providing speedy numbers well before the end: "Trashdance", which is intense retro thrash metal, and the following "The Black Order" which a tad more melodic with a pinch of Madball-esque hardcore, and before the end another classic headbanging surprise awaits you: "Reborn". This mix is fairly entertaining, actually, and it would be interesting to check whether it was a transition towards a full-blooded attack on the next album...

Welcome To Our Souls Full-length, 1998
Imitations Of Life Full-length, 1999
The Die Is Cast Full-length, 2005
Hunting Season Opened Full-length, 2009

FACE OF EVIL (SWEDEN)

A good mix of classic black/thrash is what is on offer here; the music is quite energetic and fast with touches of death metal; there are stylish interesting riffs which create a somewhat sinister atmosphere. These guys will remind you of some more recent bands, like Ravage (Germany), Fastkill (Japan), Sauron (USA), and even Necrodeath.

Face Of Evil Full-length, 2004

FACE THE UNKNOWN (UK)

This act could be considered the continuation of the thrashers X-Seed who released a solitary album in the mid-90's. The music at play here is quite close to the modern post-thrash heard on that album, here slower with a darker guitar sound, but by no means better: this is boring clumsy stuff with repetitive heavy-handed riffs; too slow even for the modern thrash metal fans.

Face the Unknown EP, 2009
At Death's Door Full-length, 2010

FACELIFT (DENMARK)

This is a side project of the members of the death metal outfit Konkhra, assisted by the omnipresent Sharlee D'Angelo (Mercyful Fate, IllWill, Dismember, Arch Enemy, Witchery). Here they try their hands on cool energetic modern thrash with heavy, meaty, but also quite dynamic riffs, and an overall approach not miles away from Machine Head's "Burn My Eyes". Ironically, to these ears the best track seems to be "Solitude & Despair", which is a very good doom metal ala Solitude Aeturnus and Candlemass, where the vocals (which are quite gruff death metal-ish) take a nice melodic turn. "Guilt Be Thy Name" is not much faster, but is much more experimental, where the guys get carried away adding abstract spacey leads and even funk-ish moments to the 10-ton hammering riffage.

State Of The Art EP, 1997

FACIAL CLIMAX (AUSTRIA)

Based on "A Face Of Gray Pulchritude", this band play typical modern thrash metal trying to find the perfect balance between the energetic blitzkrieg style of Corporation 187 and Hatesphere and the angry approach of Pantera. They find it on most of the tracks, and the preferences go towards the faster and more appealing side of the genre, where cool headbangers like "Path Of Anxiety" (this one will surprise you in the beginning with smashing blast-beats) and "Time To Judge" belong. There are occasional touches of gothic ("Deep Silent Water", "Lurch In My Cradle"), and even doom ("Ghosts Gliding", which boasts great technical riffs in the middle). The closing "Full Of Insanity" is a good attempt at progressive metal ala Opeth, which provides quite a lot, including those wailing clean vocals, which at some point turn into agonizing sinister snarls, and more.

Melancholeric SchizoPhobia Full-length, 2004
A Face Of Gray Pulchritude Full-length, 2008

FACINORA (BRAZIL)

A good 4-song demo of intense retro thrash; the guys thrash theirs souls out (check out the opening "Empty Illusions" and "The Evil"!), but some tracks ofer the obligatory slower breaks: "War Between Selfish", and there is one mid-tempo stomper as well: "Despair".
"Hell Is Here" brings "hell here" and there, ably assisted by all the 4 tracks from the EP, with the new material doing its best to thrash along, and the opening trio ("Hell is Here", "Source of Madness", "R.I.P (Religions Is a Plague)") will bang a lot of heads, before the "Intro", strangely placed in the middle, only lightly calms things down. Then follow the songs from the EP accompanied by the new piece "Terror", which is another fast ripping thrasher. The band doesn't disappoint, and fans of the good old thrash metal will be pleased all over to hear their favourite music palyed with competence and enthusiasm.

Born in Fear Demo, 2008
Hell Is Here Full-length, 2010

FADED LINE

Edgy brisk modern all-instrumental thrash metal, both slower and faster, with a few more technical breaks, but mostly direct and aboveboard, partially "betrayed" by several metalcore passages. The sound quality is very clear making the guitars sound very sharp and lashing, but at the same time giving a little chance for the bass to be heard.

Contemplating Oblivion EP, 2010

FADOM (GREECE)

These Greek "thrash bandicoots" let it loose with merry roller-coaster retro speed/thrash mixing the sharp riffage of Anthrax and early Mordred with slacker crossover arrangements. More modern sounds with a Swedish vibe can be caught on "The Rage Of The God", but the rest is the good old thrash, the way it used to be played in the 80's. The singer delivers with his assured clean mid-ranged tember without trying anything adventurous too often.

Thrash Bandicoot Demo, 2011

FAFF-BEY (FINLAND)

Although almost completely unknown, Faff-Bey are one of the better thrash metal bands from Finland. "Birthday" offers cool retro thrash in a nice headbanging tempo, but never very fast, with modern insertions thrown in: "The Alligator", "Dead by Dawn". "A Joker" is a more light-hearted crossover number, and "Birthday" breaks the slight monotony with great intense riffs near the end.
"New Religion" starts quite well with the imposing intro "Man with a Harmonica", taken from the Sergio Leone's monumental western "Once Upon a Time in America", but what follows is a lot inferior being a melodic insipid mix of post-thrash, groove, crossover, funk, grunge and ballads- simply awful; a really degrading way to end a thrash metal-fixated career.
The debut is a raw brutal affair, primal thrash/crossover with a buzzy guitar soud and violent shouty semi-death metal vocals. "The Slaymaker" is a nice switch to full-blooded intense thrash ala Slayer (a nod to the American made with the title as well?), and later on one more exercise in a similar vein follows suit: "I'm the Tormentor". The closer "Back from the Grave" is another "break" from the pattern being a slow moody piece in the spirit of early Celtic Frost.
"Doesn't Feel Like Laughing..." calms down in the music department quite a bit, but the brutal vocals remain; this gem would be a no-brainer to the classic thrash metal fan. Now the delivery is purely thrashy, and the guys start lashing with force from the very beginning with the title track which begins in a mlder mid-paced way before it turns into a smashing ball of fury near the end. "Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts" is an obvious nod to the Beatles' legendary album title-wise, but in the music department we have an awesome speed/thrasher in the best tradition of early Angel Dust and Toxic Shock. "Six Feet Under Ground" is in the same vein, a short blitzkrieg instrumental, followed by the much calmer "The Eyes of Mephistopheles", a heavy mid-pacer with an obligatory speedy passage in the middle. On the next "I'm So Sue" the assault carries on with full force this one being the ultimate killing speedster- thrash till death here, guys! "Bleed for Me" is another aggressive heads-down thrasher, and later on there is very little mercy shown "I Drink Your Blood" bashing out in a less controlled proto-death fashion, the pressure taken away a bit by the following short crossover joke with the even jokier title "Cunt Wanking Men". The final "The Second Funeral" is again in a more laid-back mid-paced manner with a slight power metal feel, a well deserving break for the guys who up to that point must have sprained quite a few necks along the way, and not only in Finland.

S/M Party EP, 1988
Back From The Grave Full-length, 1988
Doesn't Feel Like Laughing... Full-length, 1990
Birthday Full-length, 1991
New Religion Full-length, 1994

FAHRENHEIT 212 (GERMANY)

Based on the debut, these Germans pull out prototypical playful power/post-thrash metal of the modern 90's variety. The music is mid-paced with slightly one-dimensional tracks within the 3-4min range, but surprisingly towards the middle the compositions become longer, although nothing really interesting happens, especially on the very boring uneventful 9-min ballad "Der Name Der Rose". "Die Hymne Der Zeit" contains a couple of more interesting heavy riffs, but that's all about it; the rest is not even average.

Der Hexer Full-length, 1995
Kreuzzug der Gef�hle Full-length, 1996
Neues vom Hexer Full-length, 2007

FAITH OR FEAR (USA)

Cool thrash metal from the heydays of the genre; heavy, crunchy, semi-technical, mostly mid-paced riffs plus some fast headbangers to spice things up. The style is quite close to early Testament ("Practice What You Preach", in particular), with some very tasteful guitar work, which comes a bit complex at times, but quickly alternates with a more direct headbanging moment. In the second half the album partially loses steam, coming up with a few more melodic power/thrashers ("Shadow Knows","Ripoffs"), but the next number "Time Bomb" compensates with great leads and smashing technical riffage, the highlight here.
The band are back after a whole century... oops, sorry, only 20 years of absence. This is actually a compilation of unreleased tracks from their post-"Punishment Area" period. The guys have preserved the Bay-Area spirit to an extent, although again they were not brave enough to come up with a more aggressive material, so the music here recalls Testament again, and more particularly "Souls of Black" on the more intense moments, and "The Ritual" for most of the time. Since this is a compilation, it shouldn't be a surprise that the album is whole 14 tracks long. The 2nd half actually shows the band's teeth with the mid-paced crushers "Hidden By Animosity" and "True Life", and later on things get really "scary" with the brutal proto-death sound on "Sacrifice", and the thrashy monster "Straight To Hell". Unfortunately the guys are quick to spoil the impression with some bland 90's groove on "Disintegration" and "Power Lies", and although the last two songs bring back the edgier thrash metal patterns, especially "Planet X" with its interesting semi-technical hooks, this effort can hardly be viewed as one of the best compilation albums of recent years.
3 years after the compilation, which introduced every track the band have composed to light, the band are back with their 2nd full-length. However, it will hardly please the old fans of the group revolving around not very exciting proto-groovy patterns with a strict modern flavour which seldom gets dissipated by the casual reference to the classic field, and seldom have a strong thrashy bite. The music is not very eventful, in a constant mid-pace (the short semi-headbanger "Afterglow" is the sole more energetic number), introducing a tender romantic all-instruental "CJ") as a final touch, which is embarrassing, not parring well even with the mellow material heard previously. This effort can barely pass for a decent one, and is really far from any high, past or present, standards.

Punishment Area Full-length, 1989
Instruments of Death Compilation, 2009
Titanium Full-length, 2012

FAITHFUL DARKNESS (SWEDEN)

Expect a more melodic, gothic-ornated version of the modern thrash/death metal mixture, originating from the same country. The gruff vocals are fine, but the clean inclusions are simply bad, and this is when the band start sounding like Lacuna Coil, with more balls, of course. It's a pity that brisk thrashers like "Fast I Fall" (can't you fall a bit slower...) and the lively "Alive" (watch out for the nice keyboard decorations here), and especially the explosive death/thrash delight at the end "Fields Of Yesterday", are not that many to oppose to the less impressive, albeit atmospheric, Septic Flesh-like gothic/death/thrash metal blends.

In Shadows Lies Utopia Full-length, 2008

FAITHREAT (GREECE)

Thrash/crossover of the old school, but surprisingly meek, with half the tracks being mid-paced at best, which is a pity since when the guys come out with speed, they sound almost as convincing as D.R.I. and the more recent representatives of the style Municipal Waste. The problem is that apparently they are willing to give a slower twist to the genre, but from just a twist it turns into the dominating sound, making the faster numbers seem like occasional throw-ins. The singer is cool, though, staying close to Kurt Brecht (D.R.I.).

Back to the pit Full-length, 2009

FALL (USA)

Based on "Fierce Cries of The Manic", these guys play cool death/thrash of the old school with a nice technical edge. The music switches from more intense to more laid-back passages, keeping the technical chaotic play for most of the time. The songs are generally short, and the frantic complex riffage makes them quite an intense and interesting liten. The pace is not very fast, but there are exceptions, like "Cleansing", which is a nice mix between furious blast-beats with a black metal shade, and technical guitars ala Morbid Angel. The music is related to the Americans, actually, but a closer soundalike would be mid-period Carcass, including the vocal duels, so typical for the early works of the Brits. "Embodied" is a fine exercise in twisted technicality, hard to swallow, but intriguing all the way, despite tha lack of any more up-tempo moments. These up-tempo moments come aplenty on the following "Revenge is a Color", which is much faster and more aggressive, full-fledged death metal. "Recreational Homicide" is a very odd orchestral ambient instrumental composition lasting for more nearly 6-min. After that the band turn to pure death metal reducing the technical performance for the sake of a more brutal bashing which doesn't leave a very positive impression compared to the 1st half, although the final "Reawakened" tries to make up with a handful of stylish riffs.

Vigorous Repercussions From The Appalled Full-length, 1996
Fierce Cries of The Manic Full-length, 1998
This Brutal EP EP, 2000
This Brutal Reality Full-length, 2005

FALLACY (PORTUGAL)

Dark, brooding thrash with an almost gothic atmosphere; the songs are longer, but one-dimensional and flow in the same vein with occasional up-tempo moments here and there; still the overall impression is definitely on the positive side. The song "Halloween" is a nice take on the tune from the cult horror film, here turned into a good thrasher. The overall style actually bears resemblance to the Germans Darkness. Too bad these guys were never heard of again.

Martirios EP, 2000

FALLENLIGHT (INDONESIA)

The "Last Man Standing" demo: 2 songs of merry-go-round black/thrash metal in the spirit of Motorhead and the Swedes Bewtiched, the black metal tag mostly based on the evil raspy singer. Fast-paced, slightly abrasive, guitars follow through acquiring a more sinister Celtic Frost-esque tone on the 2nd track "Obsolete".

OSBM Demo 2005
Last Man Standing Demo 2010

FALLEN ANGEL (SWEDEN)

Apparently apart from Hexenhaus there were other quality thrash metal bands from Sweden around the same time. Fallen Angel's style is more standard, but it has its hooks and twists. The music has something in common with the Bay Area scene (Metallica, Testament), but it also resembles the Swiss Apocalypse (and especially their sophomore release), and early Megadeth. The singer has a cool semi-clean voice which doesn't change the tone too much, but fits the music very well. The album begins with a couple of heavy intense thrashers with not much speed present, but quite good. It's the 3rd song "Spectacle Of Fear" which starts thrashing fast and hard, but this is apparently not the band's preferred dimension, as "Faith Fails" returns to the slower formula, even introducing baladic passages in the beginning. All of a sudden comes "Injection-Overdose": a ball of fury with steel crushing riffs: a sure-handed thrashterpiece. The following "At Night" is the only failure here, a melodic power/thrash metal piece. Afterwards the band mix faster with slower tracks closing with the excellent Testament-like "Visions Of Terror". If Hexenhaus were the "gods" of Swedish thrash metal back in the 80's, Fallen Angel were not too far behind.

Trapped In Syberia EP, 1990
Faith Fails Full-length, 1992

FALLEN ANGELS (ITALY)

This is modern power/thrash metal of the calmer type, the only aggressive thing being the brutal death metal vocals, and the short smasher "God is Dead" in the middle. Otherwise the guys acquit themselves with crisp melodic guitar work and a couple of more complex progressive arrangements.

Hell\'s Top 5 EP, 2007

FALLEN ANGELS (USA)

Good 80's speed/thrash metal with gruff sinister vocals being just on the edge to tumble into death metal. The music is not straight thrash, though, and has its death metal elements, boasting both more Bay-Area-based numbers ("Rise from Ashes") and more intense nods to acts like Demolition Hammer and Massacra ("Cerebral Infection"). "Looking Over The Walls Of Despair" is a sylish and slower attempt at a more technical play with faster "ornaments", a track which strangely reminds me of the Dutch Asphyx. "Slaves In Words" follows, abandoning the technicality, remaining in the mid-paced sector for most of the time. The thrash moshing returns with "The Essence Of Violence", and the intensity reaches new heights on the proto-death shredder "Cries Of The Dying". "Silent City" could grace any of the mid-period Death albums, and is a solid speedy smasher, providing cool lead guitar performance as well. The closer "Massacred By Madness" thrashes with full force for about 6.5-min, exiting quite well with a Death-like technical twist, much slower, but truly satisfying.
"Engines Of Oppression" is a really good slab of thrash once again, this time without any takes from death metal whatsoever, and with several modern elements added. The guys start thrashing hard from the get-go with the intense Bay-Areasque "Engines Of Oppression", and the next "Forever Burned" is a pure speedster in the best tradition of Paradox's "Heresy": check the brilliant Kai Hansen-like leads on this one, too. "The Veil" slows down adding balladic and epic passages, but all hell breaks loose once again on the excellent speed/thrasher "Minds Of No Emotion". "Rebirth" is a short 1-min acoustic instrumental, but the "carnage" carries on with the more technical approach on "Legacy Of Pain". "The Gates Of Irony" is another headbanging paradise, and "Descension Into Madness" slows things down big time reaching even doom proportions in the middle to a very good impression; watch out also for the great folk/acoustic exit. "To Dust" is more modern-sounding, but the riffs lash no worse there takng a nice technical, almost Coroner-esque, shape at some point. Another peaceful instrumental interlude, this time longer (close to 2-min), and called "Remembrance", follows suit, before the closing "Laid To Rest" shoots everyone at close range mixing raging with more technical riffs to a fairly impressive effect again recalling Paradox. The lead guitarist steals the show pulling out amazing performance all over, but the others assist him quite well to produce one of the most impressive entires into the thrash metal catalogue of 2010.

Rise From Ashes Full-length, 2008
Engines Of Oppression Full-length, 2010

FALLEN DECADE (CANADA)

Modern thrash metal with classic overtones; cool melodic stuff with rougher semi-shouty vocals. The guys' strength lies in the speedy pieces ("Perimetr") whereas the slower side is less original delivering in a more quiet mid-tempo manner ("Then It Dies"). Some of the musicians play similar stuff with Social Disease, maybe a bit more power metal-based.

Under No God Full-length, 2009

FALLEN FATE (UK)

Based on the full-length, this band plays decent modern thrash relying on enchanting Oriental melodies (the beautiful "Origin of Sin") to pull it through, but the headbangers won't be disappointed, either, with ripping pieces like "Descendancy", and the more classic-sounding speedster "Asphyxihate". The compositions in the middle grow bigger in length, with an increased presence of melody, recalling more recent Trivium (Shogun, in particular), which are basically the major influence.

Revengance EP 2008
The Virus Has Spread Full-length 2011

FALLEN FUCKIN' ANGELS (ITALY)

Light-hearted speed metal with slight touches of thrash similar to 80's Exciter with a certain Motorhead flavour added,too. Although some thrash metal fans might find it too soft fot their taste, this is not a bad stuff.

Metal Against MTV EP, 2003
Fat Totalitarian Metal Full-length, 2005
Raise An Earthquake/Bombman EP, 2006

FALLEN MARTYR (USA)

Based on the "The Six Roots of True Will" EP, this band offers prototypical derivative modern post-thrash metal with all the expected gimmicks: a dual vocal attack (gruff-modern), a lot of energy, a couple of metalcore elements, numerous melodic hooks, soft semi-balladic breaks, etc.

Winter EP EP, 2008
The Six Roots of True Will EP, 2009

FALLEN SANCTUARY (USA)

This talented act specializes in potent dark power/thrash metal with both progressive and doomy shades springing up, with a general delivery clinging between the classic and the modern sound. "Theories of Ruin" is the heavier achievement, with the opening "Takers And Betrayers" setting the tone with its solid mid-paced riffage and the sudden fast breaks. The crunchy guitar approach becomes a bit more dynamic on the following "Whores Of Mammon", a hard thrashing number with a quiet lead-driven balladic interlude. "Prophecy Of The Last Deceiver" is pensive power/doom, but "Machinatus Deitas" is an intense faster offering, despite the misleading balladic intro. More "flirtations" with the ballad will be encountered on "Chaos Architect", which is a heavy sleeper, the alternation between the two sides carrying on with "The Hive", another more aggressive thrashy cut. Then come two more thoughtful numbers, before the final two, which are more energetic, the closing "Fallen Sanctuary" having the heavy duty to justify its title, and succeeds, pulling out hard-hitting riffs with a clever technical edge ala Unleashed Power. The singer fits the picture with his attached, clean mid-ranged singing which is not a "stranger" to the odd high-pitched wail.
"Malevolent Symmetry" starts with the impressive intro "Dark Defective Synergistic", which introduces heavy doomy riffs amid stylish lead guitars, before the actual opener "The Fetid Kingdom" hits with hard, speedy riffs topped by good catchy choruses. The attack continues with the dark steam-roller "Prelude to Supremacy" which unleashes a super-heavy rhythm-section recalling Nevermore and Eidolon, and the heaviness remains for another thundering piece: "The Quaternary Code", which relaxes with a few melodic hooks in the middle. "Blessed Afflicted of Man" brings forward more technical riffage, again recalling the aforementioned Danes (Unleashed Power), as well as more intense galloping moments. More darkness and technicality on "By Virtue of Impurity", which is a stomping number with hammering guitars and gruff proto-deathy vocal insertions. "Enemy" is full-on thrash without too many interferences, except for the very cool leads, which are on a pretty high level the whole time. "Perjury of Thought" is seismic thrash with super-heavy riffage, a dramatic composition worthy of acts like later-period Hexenhaus and Pathos, and the closer "The Thrall Contagion" offers an encompassing complex sound, putting together hard thrashing sections, much more peaceful baladic, ones and a main mid-tempo motif with a strong dramatic flavour of the doomy type. With two albums of a consistently high quality with top-notch musicianship displayed all over, this band seem well equiped to establish themselves as one of the leaders of the darker, more thoughtful side of the genre.

Theories of Ruin Full-length 2005
Malevolent Symmetry Full-length 2010

FALLING IN DISGRACE (BRAZIL)

Aggressive early Kreator-esque retro thrash with a comprehensive sound and slightly hysterical screamy vocals which try to emulate Mille, and actually succeed at times. The guitars are sharp and fast, although the slower stomping moments are not too few, either. Some of the guys are also involved with the death metal outfit Abyss of Darkness.

Never Die Alone EP 2010

FALLING TO PIECES (USA)

Typical modern thrash/death metal, which apart from the few obligatory groovy sections sets the scene for some intense headbanging as well ("Shades of Grey"), sometimes even going over the top ("Bleeding the Surface") with more aggressive and faster riffage.

The EP to Kill By EP, 2004
Left to Rust Full-length, 2007

FALLOUT (AUSTRALIA)

Intense thrashcore with modern undercurrents; the music is very direct, with short 1/1.5-min tracks and shouty semi-death metal vocals.

Spit On The Innocent Full-Length, 1998

FALLOUT (BELGIUM)

A decent album providing retro thrash which doesn't really sound like anyone else; the hypnotic mid-paced riffs from the opener "The Sirens" flow into the faster up-tempo barrage on "Suicidal Thoughts" , but speed apparently will not be the order of the day, and "Bone As Dust Shall Be" and "Hate" slow down again. Soon, however, things get more dynamic with the nice headbanger "Modern Vampire" which is a pure "classic vampire", if you ask me, sounding quite close to early Metallica. But that's all about it from the faster sector since the remaining tracks are not very interesting mid-tempo pounders touching the ballad on the soft power/thrasher "Preacher Of Darkness". The last "Addicted" simply had to sound vigirous and intense, if the guys wanted to leave rather a positive impression, and it doesn't disappoint again thrashing in a way again akin to Metallica's early efforts. Some of the band members also play more aggressive black metal-tinged music in Infernal Legion.

Bone as Dust Shall Be Full-length, 2009

FALLOUT (CHILE)

This is the Chilean answer to Metallica. The style is a direct impersonation of Metallica's more technical heavier period ("Master Of Puppets", "...And Justice For All"). Everything sounds close to the mighty Americans: from the guitar work to the heavy bass section, to the long technical numbers.

Demo 2 Demo, 1989
Factory Tapes Demo, 1989

FALLSTAF (CANADA)

This is an eclectic affair, avantgarde stuff which on a modern base piles up a few influences (post-thrash, a bit of hardcore, stoner/doom, groove), one of which is stripped-down jazz, which intersects with the gruff semi-shouty vocals, and the heavy crunchy guitars. The saxophone background is cool, but repeats on every song, and at some point one may just stop paying attention to it. "The Hounds" is a cool post-gothic ballad ala later-period Sentenced, and generally the peaceful tone of the album is very seldom broken, with isolated sections from the songs. This is original and non-conventional, but it would take a bit of refinement before it reaches the higher standards.

Bastard Sons Of A Pure Breed Full-Length, 2011

FALSE HOPE (USA)

Thrash/crossover which at times sounds quite thrashy and aggressive ("Not Your Day"), at times heavy and doomy ("Carrions Keep"), and at times more melodic and punk-ish ("Agony or Defeat").

Cease to Exist Demo, 1987
Guilty Of Everything Demo, 1989

FALSE LIBERTY (USA)

Furious thrash/crossover which surprisingly sounds close to S.O.D.'s "Speak English or Die"; this band's sense of humour is perhaps not as clearly expressed, and their infatuation with speed is bigger, but the approach is pretty similar with the tracks seldom exceeding the 2-min range. The difference is in the vocal department mostly; here we have hoarse hardcore-ish vocals which fit the music quite well.

Silence Is Consent Full-Length, 1986

FALSE MODULATION (USA)

Based on the "If I Shall Die" demo, this is aggressive thrash reminiscent of Devastation's "Signs of Life", or the Sacred Reich debut. Sometimes the music acquires a more brutal proto-death character ("Self-Destructive Humanity"). Some of the songs are long (5-6min), but there is nothing too interesting or technical there except for a few attempts on bass.

If I Shall Die Demo, 1989
Infectious Blood Demo, 1990
Inexplicable Consciousness Demo, 1991

FALSE PROPHET (USA)

First demo: good aggressive thrash, badly produced; second demo: great aggressive thrash with a better production preceding Demolition Hammer's similar sound. The second one hits you like a steam roller rolling down a slope; really brutal. Quite often actually does the sound jump into the death metal camp, drawing comparisons to Obituary's "Slowly We Rot".

Sign of the Cross Demo, 1989
The Second Death Demo, 1991

FALSE WITNESS (CANADA)

This obscure act offers 11 songs of high-class progressive/technical power/thrash metal coming as a more aggressive version of early Fates Warning and Lethal's "Programmed". The opening "Laughing To The Skies" is a marvellous twisted technical power/thrasher mixing direct headbanging sections with hectic complex ones. "Confessions" is more conventional dark power metal, but the smashing galloping riffs on "Wall Of Shame" bring both the thrashing and the technicality back in the best tradition of late-80's Helstar. "Crestfallen King" comes close to early Hexenhaus which are another close soundalike, and is a fine blend of atmosphere and hard-hitting technical riffage; and this is the end of the band's 1990 demo. The next "Can't Last Forever" is the beginning of their 1993 demo, and is a clear shift from their potent classic sound: this one is an angry 10-ton steam-roller betraying the speedy technical tone heard up to this point, openly walking in the modern 90's acts' shoes. "Guns, Sex And Pain" is a bit more dynamic preserving the groovy sound which lets loose on the creepy doomy "Don't Push Me". Then "Welcome To My Paradise" brings back the more energetic delivery from the beginning being vintage old school power/thrash metal, which shouldn't be a surprise since it's their very first demo never released before. The remaining 3 songs follow a similar pattern being more American power metal-sounding with epic touches. This talented band hadn't been given a chance by the metal gods back in the good old times, but this very recent re-release of their discography should be able to expose them to a wider audience this time.

Crestfallen King Best of Compilation, 2008

FANATICAL VIEWS (CANADA)

Thrash/crossover of the more melodic type, along the lines of Lawnmower Deth; this is quite enjoyable, actually, with memorable melodies and hooks.

Ecologic Disaster Single, 1989

FANTASMAGORIA (SWEDEN)

I am sure quite a few of you would be surprised to find out that this is a side-project of the Morgana Lefay guys, who here play nothing more than the fashionable groovy post-thrash of the time. The high level of musicianship of the other band is nowhere to be heard, and this music is simply boring and unoriginal (except for the excellent melodic leads ("From Dawn 'Til Death", which sound surreal on the remaining unimpressive background), sounding like a washed-down copy of mid-period Machine Head.

Fuck You All Full-length, 1998

FANTHRASH (POLAND)

Based on the full-length, this act provides interesting modern technical thrash, which starts in a jumpy hectic manner with the mechanical shredder "Allocation of the Soul", before things get more dynamic, and equally as interesting later on, first with the intense puzzling speedsters "Aggressor" and "Forced", and then with the more dramatic elaborations of "Duality of Things". "Under the Open Sky" is a ripping shredder with a more aggressive deathy edge, but the remaining material is a mixture of the two sides, smelling later-period Death a bit ("Green Tattoo") on the more progressive parts. A nice addition is the 2-min instrumental "Lizard Skeleton", which is a jumpy technical piece with jazzy tendencies and a strong bass support. And certainly, the more relaxed speed metal delivery on the final "Rita from the Hills" is more than welcome to bring a more direct delivery with its soaring, carefree rhythms. The vocals are of the gruff, semi-death metal type, and kind of don't do justice to the more proficient musical approach. Quality technical metal is not anything new on the Polsih scene, but those "fans of thrash" are well-equipped to become one of its more prominent representatives.

Trauma Despotic EP, 2010
Duality of Things Full-length, 2011

FANTOM (HUNGARY)

Based on the demo, this band could rank right beside Tormentor as one of the first extreme bands from the Hungarian metal scene. Their style is an evil, sinister mix between early Bathory and Hellhammer, with more brutal parts also recalling their Brazilian counterparts Sarcofago, Sextrash, Vulcano.

Lucifer jelenj meg ! Demo, 1987
Pr�bafelv�telek 1987-1988 Best of/Compilation, 2004
Fantomania Split, 2007

FANTOM WARRIOR (USA)

Good thrash with intense hard core-ish elements; the majority of the songs are of the fast-paced aggressive variety, but there are a few places where the band slow down which are more melodic, going towards classic heavy metal even.

Fantasy or Reality Full-length, 1987

Vibrations of Doom

FARSCAPE (BRAZIL)

A retro thrash metal band who, like Bywar, Executer and Violator, look for inspiration at the German thrash heritage. The style is not distant from the other three mentioned bands- thrash metal along the lines of Sodom, Kreator and Destruction, done with style.

Demon's Massacre Full-length, 2003
Killers On The Loose Full-length, 2006

FASTIDIO (ARGENTINA)

A more aggressive take on the modern 90's sound not miles away from the last 2 Massacra efforts; so expect a heavy wall of sound of the groovy type, spiced with a couple of faster sections ("Puercos, Fachos, Antisemitas", the frantic parts from "Muerte al Dictador"); the main difference comes in the form of a few dry mechanical twists ala mid-period Meshuggah which border on modern technical thrash ("No Mas Odio"), and should have been more. "Menen" is highly-charged industrial doom ala Godflesh.

Agiten Full-length, 1998

FASTKILL (JAPAN)

This is fast aggressive thrash metal at its classic best; imagine Destruction, Necrodeath, and the Swedes Hypnosia, but played faster. This is beautifully crazy, ridiculously fast, but never crossing the border towards death metal. Ritual Carnage have to be cautious with bands like these around, who actually richly deserve theit bombastic name.
"Nuclear Thrashing Attack" is a commendable follow-up to the striking debut; it offers the same frenzied high-speed thrash, but this is exactly what everyone expected. The intro "Nuclear Devastation" is a bit misleading, as it is heavy and mid-tempo, but when the next number ("Bloodbath") starts, you know you haven't been betrayed. Still, there are several up-tempo tracks: "Kill And Possess", where the guys slow down, but only a little. With Ritual Carnage apparently not active anymore, this band seem like one of the main pretenders for the thrash metal throne in Japan.

Infernal Thrashing Holocaust Full-length, 2004
Nuclear Thrashing Attack Full-Length, 2007

FAT MONSTERS (RUSSIA)

Based on the EP, this act pulls out intense proto-death laced retro thrash metal akin to Merciless' debut and Hypnosia. This is fast relentless stuff with not much variety outside the speedy downpours assisted by hoarse, but intelligible, death metal vocals.
"The History of Human Errors" is an intense thrashy affair, not much death metal here, except in the vocal department, where the man growls in an attached manner, accompanied by better clean vocals. The guys lose it at times, though, with a few short blasting moments ("Traitors Faith"), but generally the thrash tone of the album is sustained well, sometimes coming with a more playful, speed metal edge ("No NATO"), or introducing mellower balladic sections ("Na Obochine Snov"). "1995" is a formidable steam-roller with doomy overtones, and "The History of Human Errors" is a brisk speed/thrasher near the end, also bringing forward cool screaming leads. The 2nd track "Balkans" is remixed at the end, turned into a surprising (or even shocking to some) techno/industrial cut, not having much to do with the original, except in the vocal department, but those growls this time sound really surreal, and not fitting at all, on the dancey musical background.

The World Is Not Enough Full-length 2005
Stop The Terror Full-length, 2007
Intifada EP, 2010
The History of Human Errors Full-length, 2011

FAT TORTOISE BUTCHER (USA)

Based on "Want A Flower With That?", this act pulls out laid-back melodic thrash/crossover clinging more towards the hardcore/punk side. There is not much speed present, unfortunately, and the mid-paced edgeless delivery wears thin before long "helped" by the pedestrian throaty vocals and the repetitive riffage.

Luciferngully (The Softer Side of Satan) Full-length, 2000
Want A Flower With That? Full-length, 2010

FATAL (USA, Florida)

A 3-song demo of cool brisk retro thrash in up-tempo, staying close to the Bay-Area patterns; the guys do a good job mixing the direct thrashing with nice melodic hooks ("Born 2 Thrash"). "Sacrificed In Vain" is heavier, witht a slight technical edge; "The Call Of War" slows down, but retains the technical guitars, mixing them with heavy stomping riffage and a great melodic lead guitar tune near the end.
The EP adds 3 more tracks into the band's catalogue which are a tad less intense, except for the speedy opener "Firebeast" which justifies its "fiery" title with ease; and much longer, featuring the calm mid-paced power/thrasher "Self Destroyed", and the 8-min progressive opus "Synthetic Satisfaction" which is a potent mix of fast raging sections and much slower, almost doomy, ones.
The "Cast into Filth" EP features brutal death metal vocals ala Martin Van Drunen (Pestilence, Hail of Bullets, etc.), and the music has consequently gone up the aggression scale now being pure intense thrash with strong presence of death metal, which to these ears sounds more appealing coming with a nice technical shade ("Ravenous Descent").

Born 2 Thrash Demo, 2008
The Law EP, 2009
Cast into Filth EP, 2010

FATAL (USA, Michigan)

Fatal are a thrash/death metal band whose only 3-song EP mixes both styles with shades of early Kreator sneaking through.

A Somber Evocation of Nihilism EP, 1991

FATAL AGGRESSION (USA)

Based on the "Nation of Chaos" demo, this is glorious speed/thrash which combines the speedy aesthetics of the Angel Dust debut with the Bay Area style (think Exodus, Testament). There are cool technical riffs (those from "The Maze" will definitely remind you of Testament's "Burnt Offerings") present here, too, and the singer is a find, with a great voice recalling Dave Mustaine, but meaner and more aggressive.
"Disrespect" shows "disrespect" to the classic school, reducing the speed to a considerable extent (actually there is only one more up-tempo track here: the album opener "Pitch Black"), and concentrates on heavy smashing riffs along the lines of Exhorder's "The Law" and Cyclone Temple's "I Hate Therefore I Am". Modern elements (including even rap-styled vocals on "The World Within") have come to replace the more technical ones which were quite common on the demo, and at times the sound exceeds in heaviness reaching for doom metal ("Careless Existence", "Blown Away", which is a semi-ballad). Although this is not bad at all, the band's early works were much superior from a classic point of view.

Justice Is Blind Demo, 1988
Termination of Life Demo, 1990
Nation of Chaos Demo, 1991
Meet the Street Demo, 1992
Disrespect Full-length, 1995
Organized Confusion Full-length, 1998

FATAL ARRAY (AUSTRALIA)

One of the gems of the Australian thrash metal scene; a nice job has been done here reminiscent of Deus Vult's "Soul Assault" and Forbidden's "Forbidden Evil", with great both heavy and speedy, technical guitars. This is probably the best thrash metal effort from Australia after Bezerker's "Lost"; there is some similarity between the two albums, both music and vocal-wise; Bezerker are the more technical and faster band, whereas these guys are "champions" of memorable, melodic guitar hooks.

Fatal Array Full-length, 1993

FATAL EMBRACE (GERMANY)

One of the better bands from the German thrash metal wave of the late 90's; old school thrash with nods to both sides of the ocean; the debut is quite fast, with nods to Slayer (both their early and late 80's period), but finished with a cover of Exodus' "Bonded by Blood", although there is hardly any Bay-Area influence on it. "Legions Of Armageddon" retains the Slayer influences, but the sound is more aggressive, bordering on death metal. The vocals are a bit of an acquired taste, having a strong hardcore blend. "Dark Pounding Steel" follows on the steps of its predecessor, being another well executed intense classic thrash, this time with less takes on death metal.
"The Empires of Inhumanity" is a cool varied effort which never strays from the classic thrash metal idea starting with the smashing piece of Slayer-esque brutality "Wake the Dead", before settling down for more moderate speed/thrash on "Nothing to Regret" which still rages on all over. "Haunting Metal" tries to match the opener in terms of aggression, and admirably succeeds, before "Another Rotten Life" calms the ball down with heavy stomping mid-paced riffs, the latter staying around for the bit more dynamic "Empires of Inhumanity" and "Into Your Face". Before one starts mourning the loss of inertia comes the ball of fury "Rapture for Disaster" and the merciless speed/thrash metal bomb "The Prophecy". "Way to Immortality" is a lengthy, and not very necessary, deviation into the semi-ballad, but "Ravenous" is already on the opposite pole moshing far and wide, fast and relentless with a tinge of proto-death. The real closer, however, is a nice faithful cover of Iron Maiden's "Killers" which nicely fits into the picture, albeit sounding softer the guys trying to capture the magic of the legendary Maiden guitar "duels".

The Ultimate Aggression Full-length, 1999
Legions Of Armageddon Full-length, 2002
Dark Pounding Steel Full-length, 2006
The Empires of Inhumanity Full-length, 2010

FATAL ENERGY (UKRAINE)

Based on "Paradoxes of Times": these guys pull out cool speed/thrash of the old school, mixing fast-paced songs with slower, jumpy semi-technical ones. Both work well, as a slight preference could be given to the faster material, especially on the intense thrasher "Prorok", or the speed/thrash monster "Gladiator". The singer provides a semi-clean melodic tember, but he is not very good handling the higher tones, and often ends up stifled by the forceful guitars and the pounding bass.

Mir Straha Full-length, 2002
Paradoxes of Times Full-length, 2003
Mankind Enemy EP, 2006

FATAL IMPACT (UK)

3 tracks of fast aggressive Slayer-esque thrash plus one peaceful balladic instrumental ("From The Ashes").

The Enemy Within Demo, 1988

FATAL INFLUENCE (USA)

A nice piece of Bay Area thrash calling to mind Metallica and Testament, finished with a nice cover of Megadeth's "Hook In Mouth".

World unbalanced EP, 1998

FATAL INJURY (SPAIN)

A blend of modern and classic thrash metal with a gothic atmosphere which on the slower songs sounds quite close to the Finns Sentenced (think "Amok"), but intense headbangers like "Don't Do Anything For Me" dissipate the slightly monotonous feeling of the album in an impressive manner. "No Stronger Than Reality" goes over the edge, with the introduction of some unnecessary blast-beats, followed in its turn by the very good quiet and peaceful acoustic instrumental "A Piece Of US", graced by magnificent lead guitar, but on the next two songs the more aggressive death metal sound remains, as well as the impressive leads. This is an uneven effort, but has its moments.

Fatal Injury Full-Length, 2007

FATAL NATION (AZERBAIJAN)

This is a chaotic incoherent mix of thrash and death metal of the modern type with groove and very fast sections not very well blended together. Still, there are more interesting headbanging moments to be enjoyed: "Insuffisiensy Of The Hate", the violent deathster "Decision", but the rest is pretty mish-mashy ruined by the buzzy guitar sound and the raw synthesized quarrelsome vocals.

Suicide is the Easiest Way of Solving Problems�But Not the Best Demo, 2006

FATAL OPERA (USA)

This band was formed by Gary Samuelson (R.I.P.) after his departure from Megadeth. The style is complex, but often intriguing progressive power metal with shades of thrash, especially on the good debut; it's those shades actually which produce the finest songs on those two albums: "Dead by 1998", "Devil Monkey's", "Evil Tears", "Kill'Em". The music is quite quirky, with cool leads and frequently changing riffs, and is closer to early Psychotic Waltz, Spastic Ink, and Juggernaut, rather than Megadeth.

Fatal Opera Full-length, 1995
The Eleventh Hour Full-length, 1997

FATAL RAGE (USA)

The debut demo is just 2 tracks of brutal early Kreator-esque thrash with elements of proto-death. This is speedy merciless stuff with screaming leads and vicious Mille Petrozza-like vocals. "Evil Dies" contains a super-extreme brutal section bordering on grind.

Demo Demo, 1988
Demo Demo, 1990

FATAL SIN (USA)

A cool 3-song demo which combines aggressive Slayer-esque thrash with more quiet semi-balladic moments. The bonus track "Epitaph" is excellent thrash metal with great twisted riffs ala Target and Realm and more aggressive, close to death metal, vocals. Apparently it was recorded at some later stage of the band's career, a sign for much bigger things in the makings, which, unfortunately, never materialised.

Fatal Sin Demo, 1989

FATAL TERROR (USA)

A 3-track demo of vicious, aggressive mixture of thrash, speed, proto-death metal, and hardcore which must have been an obvious influence on the more extreme metal genres: death metal, grindcore. Despite the bad sound quality and the not very high level of musicianship, this rare item is worth tracking down, especially by those who want to trace the roots of their favourite extreme music down to the very beginnings.

Demo Demo, 1985

FATAL VIOLENCE (USA)

The band's style is quite close to the Savatage debut album. There is, of course, a slight doze of thrash thrown in here- enough to secure this band a place on this site. The final mixture is similar to the style displayed on the first two Exciter albums. The singer resembles John Oliva, except in the cases when he goes for the high-pitched screams.

Demo Demo, 1986

FATALITY (CANADA)

These guys offer cool retro thrash of the more intense faster variety with a slight crossover atmosphere. The guys share their interest in drinking and beer with their German colleagues Tankard, and music-wise they are not too far, either, recalling the Germans' more recent efforts. The closer "Thrashterpiece" should have been more aggressive; the band has used it as a joke, and this purely instrumental track is melodic lead-driven thrash/crossover with good guitar work and memorable melodic riffs.

Beers from the Grave Full-length, 2009

FATALITY (IRELAND)

Good retro thrash with a nice technical edge, strongly recalling early Megadeth; "Terminal Aggression" is an awesome opener, although there is nothing too aggressive on offer. "Bring Back the Days" is a total nod to Megadeth (think "Peace Sells...", above all), including the vocals. "Almost Broke" speeds up again, with very good up-tempo riffs. "Gritface" follows a similar pattern, but the guitar work is more melodic offering nice leads. "Shock Treatment" is an excellent up-tempo technical thrasher, with sharp riffs and a playful mid-section. The next two songs are in the same vein, energetic numbers with very good guitar work, but the closer is a pure classic heavy metal hymn: "Are you Ready to Rock" (well, not exactly), which is slightly off-context, but the ending moments are sheer speed/thrashing madness, compensating for the very soft nature of the first part.

Metal As Hell!: Chapter I Full-length, 2008

FATALITY (SERBIA)

A 4-track demo of cool retro power/thrash, more on the melodic side, mid-paced to up-tempo, featuring more intense riffage (the galloping "Your Worthless Power", and the energetic thrasher "Othello Poem").

Dredge Metal EP, 2007

FATIGADOS (ARGENTINA)

A melodic mix of power and thrash metal sitting somewhere between the classic and the modern school; the music is not miles away from the one initiated by the "holy" Argentinian trio (Horcas, Hermetica, Lethal), but here the approach is not very edgy sticking to mid-paced riffs with more nods towards power metal. There are only 5 tracks related to music the rest being spoken intros lasting for a bit less than a min.

No Mas IMperios Full-Length, 2009

FATUM (RUSSIA)

This act plays decent classic thrash metal mixing fast and slower songs both coming with a slightly annoying fuzzy guitar sound and brutal death metal vocals. Both sides deliver as preferences could be given to the faster one which recalls their compatriots D.I.V., among other heroes from the past. The end is occupied by two covers: "Messiah" (Hellhammer) and "Hades" (Bathory), both delivered faithfully with the Bathory cover a bit superior nicely capturing the unbridled evil spirit of Quarthon's (R.I.P.) early works.

Skverna Full-length, 2010

FAUSTINO SIN CUELLO (CHILE)

Brutal early thrash/death metal quite close to the Sadus debut; so expect fast bashing music with relatively short tracks, simplistic riffs and sparce slow-downs. The vocals are a detraction being very hysterical shouty semi-black.

Promo Demo, 2009

FAUSTUS (USA)

The band's line-up features two former members of David Wayne's (R.I.P.) Reverend. The style here, however, is different being heavy modern, semi-technical thrash which is not bad at all, and although you might not be able to headbang a lot to it, if you enjoy stomping crushing riffs with a certain technical edge (check out "Erosion"), you won't be disappointed. "Poisoned Minds" is a very good attempt at progressive thrash metal closing on 8.5-min containing quite a few interesting moments including higher-pitched Rob Halford-like screams near the end (the basic vocals are semi-clean, mid-ranged ones resembling Joe Comeau (Liege Lord, Overkill, Annihilator). The song which follows is truly a revelation: "The Hell We Make", which greatly speeds up, and sounds close to something Nevermore could have written. The next two songs slow down again, but increase the technicality, resulting in truly inspired sections where the guitarists fully show what they are capable of. If there had been more time spent on this project, Faustus could have turned into one of the major forces on the contemporary metal scene.

...And Still We Suffer Full-length, 1996

FEAR-TECH (USA)

This is the band from where Jeff Loomis started his career, before moving to Sanctuary and respectively Nevermore; he was only 17 years old back at that time. This is probably the reason why he merely assists the other guitarist Gary Sanders who is responsible for some of the finest leads on the 80's US underground metal scene. His guitar work is perhaps too melodic, so the style is power metal for most of the time with timid adherence to thrash reflected in a couple of more aggressive galloping riffs ("Welcome Oblivion", "The Nihilist"). One, however, may miss those moments enchanted by the virtuoso guitar performance which easliy overshadows the majority of the Shrapnel signings at the time producing some of the finest classically-inclined hooks and leads. Despite his sincere efforts, the singer can not be viewed as anything more than just a capable support to the guitar players with his dramatic clean mid-ranged delivery: check out the balladic passage on "The Nihilist".

Demo Demo, 1987

FEAR ABSOLUTE (CANADA)

Technical thrash/death metal, produced by just one guy named Dale Lyons, which features quite a few guitar virtuoso parts and could pass for a Shrapnel record, if it wasn't for its aggressive nature. The music reminds of the Belgians Chemical Breath and later period Death, but often moves into a more brutal death metal territory. The blast-beats are quite annoying, because at times they break an otherwise nice technical passage. The vocals are brutal, low-tuned death metal ones. The songs are long, the shortest being 6-min, and are quite complex, with many tempo and time changes. The guy messes it up a bit on the very long 13-min "The One You Hate" which is also very mild with more melodic guitars, and could even pass for a ballad on many sections. The band are best mixing nice technical riffs with more atmospheric lighter melodies without any more aggressive brutal passages: "All That I Had", "Forgotten". "Absolution"- the other monstrous song (11-min), is a better offering, with more intense riffage, still slow-ish, but genuinely atmospheric and creepy.

Apprehension Full-length, 2003

FEAR ITSELF (DENMARK)

This act is the early incarnation of Manticora. This 5-song EP is more direct classic speed/thrash metal without too many progressive leanings, despite the relatively long compositions. The songs mix faster with slower passages, but to these ears the doomy monolithic "Fugitives of Paradise" goes away with all the "laurels", a nice heavy semi-balladic composition. The other highlight is the shorter more immediate straight thrasher "Infusionism", although the final "Rage" could qualify for it as well with its cool blend of hard-hitting riffs and scattered balladic moments.

Fugitives of Paradise EP, 1995

FEAR ITSELF (USA)

A heavy, dark blend of thrash and death metal which recalls Nocturnus, and not only due to the unobtrusive keyboard presence, but also thanks to the several more clever arrangements ("Calcination"). Otherwise the approach for most of the time is energetic and aboveboard, with several songs being pure aggressive death metal ("Damnation Defined", "Mental Grave") numbers. The leads are quite thin, though, and the singer is a really brutal, guttural growler.

Soundtrack Of The Damned Full-Length, 2011

FEAR OF FOURS (ITALY)

This is another band where Terence Holler (Eldritch) is in charge of the vocal parts. The style here is progressive heavy/thrash metal recalling Eldritch at times, but missing the straight-out thrashers which used to make that band's works so memorable. The music here is mid-paced with quite a few hard-hitting moments ("Edge of Insanity", "Blind"), although the guitars have this abrasive sound, which might annoy some. There are 3 tender ballads, which are a bit too much for such a work, recalling the Eldritch efforts in the field, and "Carved" and "Of the Things That Have Yet to Come" are ambitious takes on progressive metal, very similar to Opeth. "The Days of Betrayal" is almost as equally as complex as those two, but the riffs hit hard with full force, producing the highlight of the album: a nice progressive thrasher, with an overlong quiet interlude. If Eldritch do not rise up soon (their last offering "Blackenday" was not that great), Holler might be better off staying with this act, whose first effort is quite promising.

Never Heaven Full-length, 2007

FEAR OF GOD (USA)

This is the band where Dawn Crosby (R.I.P.) found shelter after her previous band, Detente, split up. "Within The Veil" contains dark hypnotic thrash with a unique sound of its own bordering on doom metal at times; a really original album. You won't hear the infamous Crosby screams from the Detente album: she uses a very declamatory style, not involving too much singing, but helps in creating genuine sinister atmosphere fitting perfectly to the dark brooding musical delivery. "Drift" is a masterpiece of haunting gothic thrash metal mixing the heavy riffs with superb atmospheric passages. Even the shorter more immediate thrashers ("All That Remains") are decorated with those elements. "Betrayed" is a great mixture of doom and thrash. "Red To Grey" is not too far behind, and could be considered the better song by those who like their thrash metal spiced with brilliant balladic sections. "White Door" is the only pure doom metal number here again coming with balladic moments. "Love's Death" also smells doom most of the time, but the riffs there are quite sharp and stomping, and there are no shades of ballads. "Wasted Time" develops like a ballad until suddenly changes into dynamic up-tempo thrash: a great track, despite the slightly underwhelming laid-back ending. This is a one-of-a-kind album which has definitely had its influence on many future gothic/doom, industrial and thrash metal acts.
Although "Toxic Voodoo" is not as bad as some reviews on the Net suggest, it's certainly less impressive than the debut featuring a more conventional modern thrash sound with heavy death metal-ish sections. The bass work has been emphasized on, and the bass will literally blow your speakers. The previous album did not contain a song with the album-title, but here comes "Beyond the Veil" to open this one with smashing heavy riffs, not too far from early Celtic Frost, who are an apparent influence on at least half of the album. Crosby brings some of her more intense vocals from the Detente period which work great. "Cloud Chamber" is another very heavy track graced by crushing death metal-like riffs and jumpy semi-technical parts. "Burnt" is an awesome thrasher recalling the debut with a more aggressive death metal approach. "Feed Time" follows in the same vein, but the heavy Celtic Frost riffage sneaks in at some stage. In the second half the songs become longer, and the doomy moments, so common for the debut, settle in on some, nicely mixed with the faster sections some of which are true headbangers ("Santismo"), and produce at least one genuine doom metal hymn: "U.V.". The closing "Worms" develops in a playful crossover fashion until the final part which is mighty crushing doom at its most shining best; those heavy guitars might make you want to hear this last part over and over (the doom metal fans I mean, of course).
"Killing the Pain" contains 3 songs which sound like leftovers from the previous album. These ones sound even better: the hypnotic dark thrasher "Killing the Pain", the energetic up-tempo "Infrablack", and the awesome doom metal number of the more melodic type "Mourning Light". The untimely death of Crosby (reportedly caused by excessive drinking) put an end to this great band, who could have left a bigger legacy to the metal fans.

Within the Veil Full-length, 1991
Toxic Voodoo Full-length, 1994
Killing the Pain EP, 1995

FEAR THY NAME (PORTUGAL)

Based on the "I - The Awakening" demo, these guys pull out atmospheric melodic black/thrash metal; good, feelgood, mid-paced stuff with gruff death metal-ish vocals. The music has numerous cool melodic hooks, surrounded by two excellent short orchestral instrumentals, serving as an intro and an outro.

I - The Awakening Demo, 2002
Isolation (promo) Demo, 2005
Riding the Chariots of War Demo, 2005

FEAR TRADERS (ITALY)

This is a promising debut for these Italians who mix power, thrash and doom (the hidden track) metal. The first half is a mixture of power and thrash metal recalling Morgana Lefay at times, but in the second half the band switch to excellent technical thrash ala Megadeth where even the vocals change into a Dave Mustaine-mode to better suit the music. Apparently these guys are still looking for their own identity, and with more focus on their technical side next time, things would be really good.

Obsession Full-length, 2005

FEARS TOMB (PORTUGAL)

Pedro Gouveia, a renowned singer who has sung in quite a few Portuguese metal acts like Pitch Black, Dove, Headstone, Final Mercy, among others, has started his career with this 4-song demo which offers dynamic classic thrash ala Xentrix and late-80's Metallica. His gruff semi-clean tember is already here, and it suits well the heavy semi-technical music which only flaw is that it never develops beyond the stomping mid-pace consequently sounding the closest to Xentrix's "Kim", but without the balladic infatuations of the latter. Some of the band members later formed the doom/thrash metal act Cycles.

Fears Tomb Demo, 1995

FEDHJA (FRANCE)

Melodic modern thrash metal with moments of Pro-Pain-like hardcore; the music is quite intense and energetic with up-tempos aplenty and a couple of metalcore breaks. The guitars are sharp, and the singer is very angry unleashing a brutal low-tuned semi-shout.

La Fin D'une �re EP, 2008

FEEL THE PAIN (MEXICO)

Modern thrash with death metal moments which make it quite dynamic and interesting at times; still, the groove is too much for this to be a striking effort despite the dynamics and the heavy riffage. Industrial overtones (in the form of short musicless noisy instrumentals) and a couple of more technical decisions can also be caught from time to time, and surprisingly the harsh semi-black metal vocals don't sound awkward giving this work a cool meaner tone.

Life Is Pain And Pain Is Our Life Full-length, 2009

FEKETE SEREG (HUNGARY)

Based on the debut, this band's sound is not too far from the one of other Hungarian bands- Moby Dick and Akela. In other words, this is heavy power/thrash metal, slow to mid-paced with a balanced mixture between sharp and melodic hooks. The problem is that once the guys settle for a particular approach, it very seldom changes throughout the album, and all tracks tend to sound samey with heavy pounding riffs in mid-pace the deviation coming in the form of a slower doomy passage or a semi-balladic melodic moment.

Els� Hadj�rat Full-length, 1999
Halott Vid�k, Mit J�rtam Full-length, 2001
V�gv�ri �rt�zek Full-length, 2003
Gy�jts S�t�ts�get Full-length, 2006

FELINE MELINDA (ITALY)

Based on the debut: this Italian trio pulls out melodic power/speed/thrash recalling their American counterparts from around the same time. The guys really deliver when they switch onto full speed ahead ("Easy Blood", "Feline Melinda", the intense Angel Dust-esque speed/thrasher "Metal Ladies", the explosive short killer "You�re A Witch"). Their more tender side is sincerely heavy metal-ish ("If You Need Me"), but watch out for the closing 1-min instrumental, which is a very cool accordion tune taken from the Russian foklore heritage.

The Felines Await You Full-length, 1988
Living In Europe EP, 1995
Feline Melinda Full-length, 2004
Morning Dew Full-length, 2008

FEMUR (ARGENTINA)

Based on the self-titled album, this act plays pretty conventional old school thrash with a hardcore sting, the latter resulting in a few more offbeat sounds, belonging to the funk and doom movement, among other influences. The vocal performance is quite diverse trying to keep with the numerous musical nuances, and the drunken semi-clean blend acquired by the singer at the end suits well the closing mournful doomster "Corazon De Melon".

Thrashin' Maniac Full-Length, 2010
Femur Full-Length, 2011

FENTANYL (HOLLAND)

For some reason this band remind me of Voodoocult mainly because of the declamatory vocals, something which is hard to be called singing. The music is not bad with a slight industrial touch, not too far from Skrew or Malhavoc (but less industrial-tinged), or the second Voodoocult album.

Feeble Existence Full-length, 2006

FERAT (CZECH)

The debut is a fine slab of classic thrash similar to their compatriots Kryptor or late 80's Kreator: great aggressive music with frequent technical hooks spiced with jollier speed/power metal tracks ("Rainhold"). Five years later on the self-titled sophomore effort the order of the day is just average modern thrash metal.

Rainhold Full-length, 1993
Ferat Full-length, 1998

FESTER (USA)

This band is a side project for the members of Nasty Savage, minus Nasty Ronnie. Based on the demo, the guys have done a fairly good job here, as it takes the place between "Indulgence" and "Penetration Point": it's more complex than the first, but is still too far from the technical brilliance of the second one. There are enough sharp headbanging riffs to enjoy as well as several which would require a more careful listen. "Slay Ride/Binge and Purge" is an ambitious 10-min track, quite heavy and interesting, without being too technical or twisted.

The Other Side of the Ice Demo, 1988
The Plot Sickens EP, 1990

FESTERING SORE (USA)

Easily one of the best thrash metal albums of recent years, this album will be pure delight for 80's thrash metal fans. It has everything which made the 80's scene so unforgettable: black-tinged guitars ala early Bathory and Venom, Bay Area riff-fest in the tradition of Violence and Exodus, vicious speedy guitars in the Destruction and Exumer vein, even more technical attempts bringing to mind Kreator's "Coma of Souls". A mandatory release which hopefully will not be left without a follow-up.

Chlorine for the Gene Pool Full-length, 2000

FEUH! (FRANCE)

Mechanized, industrial thrashcore with a big dance potential, but also pretty intense at times; this is not as bad as it may seem, even managing to come up with a few stylish melodic leads, crossing the electro-metallic boogie of KMFDM with the more aggressive core-isms of Swamp Terrorists. The expectedly synthesized vocalist doesn't interfere much, leaving the organized electronic noise to overwhelm the listener, and fans of pogo-prone tunes will find their new favourite in tracks like "Dr. Red" and "Ziad", while others will listen with more care on the longer, slower, but more thrashy shredder "Vadim".

Trash-Test Full-length, 2011

FICTIONAL PRISON (USA)

Standout classic power/thrash metal with technical tendencies not too far from Helstar's "Nosferatu" and the one-album-wonder Bezerker (Austrlia); this band's music is more edgy and aggressive, and at times it will also remind you of Sanctuary and Nevermore on the dark heavier parts, also because of the excellent Warrel Dane-like vocals which are mixed with a more throaty James Rivera-like performance. "Dreamkiller" opens the album in the best possible way with heavy pounding rhythms and sharp lashing riffs, a crushing dark composition. "Nitefall" speeds up and is more ordinary, but also more optimistically-sounding, but all speed is gone on the 10-ton hammering epic doomster "Evermore". The doom and gloom carries on to even bigger proportions on "Fallen from Grace", but fortunately the aptly-titled "Saviour" comes to save the day with great galloping guitars and ultra-smashing rhythms. "Burn in Hell" is a nice complex technical number in mid-pace, and "Nothing" offers literally "nothing" being a very tender piano-driven ballad ala Depeche Mode's "To Have and to Hold"; not bad, but kind of off-context. A great compensation is offered on the majestic Oriental "Egypt in Decay", a first-rate galloping riff-fest. "Spider's Realm" is a short technical thrasher with cool lead guitar work and a memorable main riff recalling King Diamond's "Halloween", but the closer "Wasteland" goes away with all the "laurels": a great progressive composition containing a lot of headbanging thrash as well among the more complex decisions which nicely alternate sharp technical riffs with more melodic parts which transcend into the peaceful acoustic outro "Dreams Reborn". Albums of the kind were quite a rarity in the 90's, and even a decade ago this effort could have been the highlight of any year. Sadly very little information can be found about this very obscure formation who sank without a trace after that.

Dreamkiller Full-length, 1997

FIERCE (FINLAND)

Based on the "Back For More" EP, this band play good Germanic speed/thrash in the best tradition of early Angel Dust with the only complaint coming from the average angry vocals. There are stomping moments with a modern taste thrown in, but they are hardly a distraction, and serve well to bring some variation. The guys unleash furious thrash bombs in the face of "Lawmaker" and "Defy The Divine", and slow down, but just a bit for "Rotten Domain", which also shows their melodic side. Two more fast-paced speed/thrashers follow suit warming up the scene quite well for the eventual full-length.

Where The Flames Prey EP, 2007
Back For More EP, 2008

FIERCE CONVICTION (SWEDEN)

Based on the debut, the band's style is mostly power metal with elements of thrash. Good stuff, but there are cheesy moments ("Tell Me Who Do You Think You Are"), ballads ("The Ballad Of Tinuviel") and the last song is a direct take on the Candlemass epic doom sound ("Visions From An Ancient Time").

The Requiem Of A Mourner Full-length, 1998
Decline / Rebirth Full-length, 1999

FIERCE FIRE (BRAZIL)

These Brazilians play a mild, kind of monotonous brand of modern power/thrash which evolves around mildly heavy riffs and lengthy structures, which could have benefitted from a more dynamic performance. The singer is a gruff semi-shouter, who kind of fits the tedious musical delivery, which at its best touches The Black Album.

Abandoned At Fierce Fire EP, 2011

FIFTH CRIPPLES BAND (BULGARIA)

Bulgarian thrash metal bands are a rarity, but it's worth looking deeper there especially after the music is as good as in this case. A nice slab of 80's energetic (but not very aggressive) thrash metal with bass-dominated sound and gruff death-ish vocals. The overall sound is not too far from Sepultura's "Arise" with touches of Slayer and Evildead in the more intense sections ("Swarm in Heaven", "Tired of Life"). The music is fast-paced with a strong bass-bottom and a slightly thin guitar sound. The guys are not strangers to a more interesting technical play: the excellent instrumental "Executor", although it's a solitary experiment. "Mortal Life" is misplaced being much slower with plodding repetitive riffs. The vocals are a mix of more death metal-styled ones and Max Cavalera.

When if not now? Who if not me? Full-length, 1992

FIFTY LASHES (USA)

Based on the first demo, this is melodic thrash/crossover with a slight traditional metal shade ("Final Darkness"). The music is not very thrashy, and "Thrashophobia" doesn't deserve its title being the softest song here. Reportedly on later works the guys have hardened the course.

Demo Demo 1988
Pain Demo 1990
Harder Full-length, 1994
Power Hitter Full-length, 1996

FIGHT (USA)

Rob Halford exited Judas Priest after the climactic "Painkiller" apparently not willing to mess this masterpiece up with anything else, to explore new metal territories, and Fight is the product of that decision. He is assisted by the "drum machine" Scott Travis, who took part in "Painkiller", and had earlier been a full-time member of the Shrapnel heroes Racer X. If those who expected that Halford would bring back the vintage Judas sound from the early/mid 80's, would be in for a shock, after hearing the opening riffs of "Into The Pit", which scream modern angry thrash even louder than Pantera and Exhorder. Halford delivers his hellish high vocals, not too far from the ones he unleashed on "Painkiller". The explosive opener doesn't really set the tone for the whole album, though, and later on we have the mid-paced thrashing "Nailed To The Gun", the melodic heavy power/thrash piece "Life In Black", the stomping "Immortal Sin", after which the listener, already warmed up for cool headbanging modern thrash with the first track, might start showing signs of nervousness. "War Of Words" may stir his mood a bit being a more aggressive number, but not fast and aggressive enough to make him jump around. If "Laid To Rest" doesn't make him turn the player off with its slow hypnotic doomy guitars, the next "For All Eternity" definitely will: a tender, albeit very good ballad, which Judas are yet to produce. "Little Crazy" is heavy/power metal, no ties to thrash here, and right after it the real attack begins (too late, some may say) with the mid-paced crushing "Contortion", the openly brutal "Kill It" and the less intense, but equally as "vicious" "Vicious". "Reality, A New Beginning" is a great closer: slow enchanting power/semi-thrash metal with superb vocals, the best ones on the album (well, the ones on the ballad are not too far behind, to be honest).

Halford mixed most of the songs from the debut on "Mutations", producing a worthy, but not really great, industrialized work, before coming up with a new full-length, hopefully developing this undustrial direction. But no: "A Small Deadly Space" preserves the heaviness, but the music has lost speed considerably, going deeper into modern metal, acquiring a somewhat alternative sound. Thrash is almost nowhere to be found, except on isolated sections from separate songs, and even shades of grunge (hello, Nirvana!) can be clearly heard. Halford sounds very restrained, sticking to cool, albeit not exceptional, mid-ranged vocals, with very few deviations, if any. Having seen that he was going nowhere with this band, Halford gave up "fighting", and put an end to Fight.

War Of Words Full-length, 1993
Mutations EP, 1994
A Small Deadly Space Full-length, 1995

FIGHTFIRE (LATVIA)

Three Latvians are responsible for this energetic classic/proto-modern thrashfest which starts in a sweeping fashion with the crushing instrumental "The Fundamentally Lost World". Later on the album never loses steam although a couple of more moderate proto-modern breaks ala Annihilator can be caught here and there ("Speeding Slut"). "K-1" is a very cool turn to more technical Bay-Area-sque thrash with great swirling leads, followed by another show for the lead guitarists: the fine semi-balladic instrumental where the leads are intercepted by even better acoustic passages. "Your Shameful Heaven" tries to follow those balladic patterns in the beginning, but at some point starts thrashing in a more laid-back mid-tempo manner. The 2nd half is actually the inferior one with a more accentuated modern sound and slower songs which better suit the angry semi-shouty singer.

The Fundamentally Lost World Full-length, 2010

FIGURE OF SIX (ITALY)

Based on "Brand New Life", these guys offer melodic modern thrash/death metal, carefree and predictable, moving from fast-paced to slow-moving sections the whole time in a predictable metalcore fashion.

Step One Full-length 2005
Aion Full-length 2008
Brand New Life Full-length 2011

FIJI (DENMARK)

An avantgarde form of the 90's post-thrash, with quite a few non-standard decisions (choppy rhythms, heavy guitars, etc.), but the music very seldom speeds up, except on the cool progressive track "Turn The Tide". There is certain intriguing guitar work at play ("Exposed"), but it soon gets lost in the majority of more ordinary groovy riffs.

Long Shadows on a Long Day EP, 2005

FILACTERIA (PUERTO RICO)

Based on "The Rise Of Lepers", this act offers dynamic modern post-thrash with both groove and fast hooks mixed on an alternative base. This is a jumpy melodic affair, not far from early Helmet, also mixing it up in the vocal department with angry semi-hardcore and melodic vocals. There are no surprises, except for the aggressive thrashers "Undesired" and "The Wise One" thrown in in the middle, the latter also reminding of the aggro-thrash of early Pantera. Depending on the taste, some may find the cool acoustic ballad "Silent Echoes Of Death" near the end another highlight.

Filacteria EP, 2004
Paz Interior Full-length, 2005
The Rise Of Lepers Full-length, 2010

FILII NEGRANTIUM INFERNALIUM (PORTUGAL)

Cool black/thrash metal with a playful classic heavy metal attitude and slow doomy songs; reminds of the Swedish Bewitched in the more up-tempo sections. The "R�trofornicat�r" EP is 3 songs of a varied nature: "Merge To Abscond" is a diverse affair with black and thrash metal crossed in a fast manner interlaced with slow epic moments; "Necropachacha" is a brutal 2-min "outbreak of evil"; and "Ecumenica Matanca" is classic speed/thrash metal at its best where the unpolished black metal rasps are replaced at times by much better clean vocals. Still, the guys do a better job in Ironsword where some of them are also involved, and in Moonspell with whom this band has quite a few ties member-wise.

A Era Do Abutre EP, 1995
A Queda...Sodoma Em Ascen��o EP, 2002
Fellatrix Discordia Pantokrator Full-length, 2005
R�trofornicat�r EP, 2010

FILTER (CHINA)

This young Chinese act offers plain 90's power/post-thrash with strong 90's Metallica influences clinging somewhere between the Black Album and "Load". The harder moments pack a punch boasting heavy pounding riffs, but the more melodic ones are not quite appealing also coming with a slight alternative flavour. The music never speeds up beyond the mid-pace, and the singer is hardly an asset with his unemotional semi-clean delivery.

Tomb's Wolf Full-length, 2005

FINAL ASSAULT (FINLAND)

Classic thrash/crossover ala early D.R.I. and Attitude Adjustment; the delivery is pretty hardcore-ish on the shorter material, but the music delivers with its constant intensity which doesn't go down even on the heavier, more mid-paced moments (the steam-roller "Something Outside").

Dead By Dawn Full-Length, 2011

FINAL ASSAULT (USA)

Based on the "First Warning" demo, this band play decent speed/thrash metal along the lines of the Blessed Death debut and Destructor.

First Warning Demo, 1985
Final Assault / Messenger of God Single, 1987
The Second Coming Demo, 1988

FINAL BREATH (GERMANY)

Classic thrash metal with a modern production and nods to death metal; the band's debut sticks more faithfully to the 80's scene than the other albums, and is an all-out thrashing assault, quite close to their contemporaries Hypnosia from Sweden. "Rat Race" brings forward melodic death metal of the Swedish school, but the classic thrash riffs take the upper hand later on, and stay firm till the very end. "Killing Machines" comes again with more death metal thrown in, and is a great death/thrasher with an At The Gates-shade.
"Mind Explosion" is where actually the band really shine: it starts in an uncompromising fashion with the explosive thrashing madness "Under Pressure", but it's with the following "Mind Explosion" that the real tour de force begins. There follows a string of longer complex technical thrashers where speed is not the order of the day anymore, and every track is a great combination of smashing technical riffage and up-tempo, more straight sections: check out every song, but the best example of the description above would be the superb "Break Down" which provides genuine headbanging moments among the heavy complex delivery. "Nondescript" comes forward with another slab of an At the Gates-like riffage, a tendency later also heard on the shorter "To Live and to Die", and partially on the "careless" closer "Careless".
"Let Me Be Your Tank" safely returns to the more immediate straight formula from the debut; apparently one album of such a calibre was enough for the guys for the time being. This offering is by no means bad; it is a non-stop headbanging riff-fest, this time featuring not only all-out speed songs, but also mid-paced numbers ("Coma Divine") which are graced by quite stylish semi-technical guitar work. "Empty Eyes" reminds of the previous work with genuine technical moments which also stay around for "Eyes of Horror" (which is not a Possessed cover), partially. "Let Me Be Your Tank" deserves its title providing a mid-paced heavy tank-like approach which would stand proud even on an Amon Amarth, or a Bolt Thrower album.
The debut EP shows the band sticking more to the death metal formula, coming with a sound quite close to the Swedish school, but more interesting, with nice melodic guitars and occasional technical licks. The music is surprisingly restrained with no fast sections, just a few up-tempo ones; the rhythm guitar is all over the place again in a Bolt Thrower manner, leaving not much room for the leads, but it does a fine job giving the music a genuine atmospheric colouring.

End Of It All EP, 1997
Flash Burnt Crucifixes Full-length, 2000
Mind Explosion Full-length, 2002
Let Me Be Your Tank Full-length, 2004

FINAL COMMAND (SWEDEN)

Based on the full-length, this Swedish trio provides a wild amalgam of thrash, hardcore, and even grind which ranges from merry crossovers ("Medic is a Spy") to outrageous "bullets" (the Cryptic Slaughter-esque "Power To Kill"), all tracks no longer than 2,2.5-min. The singer semi-declamates in a clear forceful manner, and his attached antics get the message through.

The First Command EP 2010
Greetings From Reality Full-length 2011

FINAL CRY (GERMANY)

Based on "Neptune's Relief", this formation pulls out pretty capable classic speed/power/thrash metal crossing early Iced Earth with the more elaborate arrangements of Blind Guardian and Manticora. The more serious tone of the first 2 songs is replaced by heads-down thrash on "Riddle of the Sands", which comes mixed with soaring epic melodies on the following "A Faerie Forlorn", which is vintage early Falconer with a thrashy twist. The flag of thrash is raised high till the end, with the Hallows Eve cover of "Plunging to Medadeath" near the end making things even more aggressive, stifling the softer epic tunes springing up here and there. The singer delivers with his comprehensive gruff semi-death metal tember, which still leaves something to be desired in the melodic department.
The debut starts with the intense speedster "The Adder At Your Chest", but later on the acceleration gets decreased, still remaining hard-hitting, although the overall approach stays closer to power metal, with one good , albeit a bit overlong, ballad ("Stormclouds") included. "Wavecrest" is a cool epic power/thrasher, and the final "Ember" is a furious thrashing piece with super-heavy riffage which will crush you with its almost 7-min of constant mosh.
"Spellcast" is in a similar to the debut vein, beginning with the carefree galloper "Mallow Weed", but the following "Ebony Embrace" is already more hard-hitting thrash, a glorious speedster with nice epic overtones in the best tradition of Manticora and early Blind Guardian. "When The Stars Fall" is a beautifully melodic speed metal cut, before "Beloved" nails you down with hammering 10-ton riffs. Time for some epic cheesiness with the 7-min opus "The Healing" which still holds several speedy surprises in the middle. "Dreams" contrats its title with some of the most aggressive guitars on the album, a forceful pounding piece with a few faster rhythms as well. Two more heavy pounders follow suit, before the bombastic cover of Death's "Evil Dead" shatters your reality to pieces, preceding the actual closer, "Iemer Mere Owe", a 4-min tender ballad sung in German.
"Wolves Among Sheep" traditionally begins with a more aggressive cut, the awesome dramatic speed/thrasher "Bluebeard's Chamber", which also sees the singer acquiring a more brutal deathy tember. When the next "Wolves Among Sheep" continues in the same smashing spirit, one may finally hear the guys serving full-throttle thrash all the way, and indeed, even though "Breathe My Sorrow" slows down, is a sure-handed stomping thrashterpiece. "From Frozen Skies" contains gorgeous melodies, and is more power metal-based, but "Raven Rosary" is classic speed/thrash at its absolute best. "The Tempest" doesn't betray the thrashy spirit, neither does "Raise of Cain", leaving the more moderate delivery for the excellent nostalgic power metal hymn "Moonfleet"; again beautiful melodies here, both in the riff and lead department. The real closer, however, is a great cover of Whiplash's "The Burning of Atlanta" from "Ticket to Mayhem", a furious speed/thrashing number which closes the band's most thrash-fixated release with flying colours.

Wavecrest Full-length 1997
Spellcast Full-length 2000
Wolves Among Sheep Full-length 2002
Neptune's Relief Full-length 2006

FINAL CURSE (USA)

A cool effort of pretty cool heavy steam-roller old school thrash, which inevitably reaches seismic doomy proportions ("The Inferno") at some stage, translating those in a clever technical way as well, ("Unveil The Eyes") on a couple of longer, more thoughtout compositions. The 10-ton riffs remain throughout, and although the speed has been sacrificed quite a bit, this is hardly a complaint the solid, occasionally hectic, mid-paced guitars delivering on all counts. The most pleasant surprises, however, have been preserved for the end: "Who Am I?" is a very cool progressive thrasher with enchanting balladic moments supported by fine leads and stylish arrangements; and the final "Alone In Death", which is crushing dramatic thrash in the best tradition of Sacred Reich's "The American Way". The singer is a forceful semi-declamator who pulls out a comprehensive gruff tember capably asssisting the very good music without actually singing too much.

Constructing the Destructive Full-length, 2008

FINAL DARKNESS (CANADA)

This band is the "brainchild" of just one man, the ex-Into Eternity guitarist Rob Doherty, who pulls out decent speed/thrash with both classic and a modern edge, recalling the Paradox albums of the new millennium. The main vocalist has a clean, alternative tember, but his indifferent antics are "rudely" broken by very brutal low-tuned deathy insertions. The guys thrash with conviction, also adding the necessary doze of atmosphere on the more laid-back material, like on the excellent dreamy gothic-like "Memories". After the speedy crescendos in the beginning, the band gradually abandons the more aggressive delivery, settling in the 2nd half for softer mid-paced patterns with power and post-thrashy tendencies. "Two Of You" is the "rude awakening" here, an awesome speed/thrasher with fiery riffs, and of course the almost death metal-esque closer "Darkness Falls". This is slightly uneven, but still delivering the goods, effort which shows Doherty still walking in the shadow of his former act, in this case still for the better.

Final Darkness Full-length, 2011

FINAL DEADLINE (ITALY)

Modern laid-back power/thrash metal in a predictable mid-tempo without any more interesting decisions, with flat unemotional clean vocals, and repetitive monotonous guitars. A few classic leanings can be heard, and the guys try to timidly speed up here and there, but those attempts remain unfinished (due to a lack of space, or a lack of talent?)...

Root Of Anger EP, 2010

FINAL DEPRAVITY (GERMANY)

Modern thrash meets groove: not bad, actually, with plenty of melodic tunes "roaming" around, without standing on the way of the quite a few fast moments which don't hide their bond with the Swedish school too well. Still, the headbanging potential of all-out speedsters like "Vortex", or the ripping headache-causer "Relief of Beliefs" can not be denied; neither can the more serious progressive leanings on the still quite intense "The Larcenist". Still, there is a lot of clumsy grooving to be encountered, more or less aprropriate, especially on several overlong (7-8min) tracks which may pull back some of the more intolerant fans.

Nightmare 13 Full-length, 2010

FINAL JUDGEMENT (USA)

An uneven mix of modern and classic thrash metal with very gruff death metal vocals which are put too much up front in the mix that at times completely deafen the instruments. The music is quite dynamic, though, with a regular alternation between faster and slower passages the former working much better coming with an appropriate death metal shade boldly going over the edge with the ultra-brutal grinding closer "Unworthy", which is not exactly "unworthy", but still...

Desolating Sacrilege Full-length, 1994

FINAL PRAYER (USA)

An obscure thrash metal piece comes your way provided by these guys who specialize in intense heavy, but also quite energetic, thrash with a couple of death metal leanings, mostly in the blast-beat section. The music takes a slower, almost doomy edge sometimes, but there is no speed lost, especially on death-laced numbers, like "Pandemic" and "2Faced".

Human Atrocity Full-length, 1996

FINAL PROPHECY (USA)

Based on the demo, this band come up with cool heavy, somewhat technical, bass-driven thrash reminiscent of the Brits Acid Reign's early period. To keep their music from sounding monotonous, the guys speed up at times, or slow down to doom-metal dimensions (both deviations can be heard on "He Set His Captives Free"). "Where Pain Never Dwells" starts as a ballad, but develops into a powerful thrasher later.

He Set the Captives Free Demo, 1990
Rude Awakening Full-length, 1991

FINAL THRASH (ITALY)

In spite of the name, the band are not pure thrash, be it a final one: they're a mix of black and thrash metal with a dual vocal attack, one in the death, the other in the black metal camp. The music is cool staying mostly in the mid-paced range. The guys like covering different veterans from all walks of the metal scene: Burzum, Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, etc.

Time to die Full-length, 2003
No Way Out Full-length, 2006

FINAL XIT (USA)

These obscures pleasantly surprise with their brand of dark semi-technical power/thrash metal recalling Sanctuary ("Into the Mirror Black"), respectively Nevermore, and another not very known act from the 90's: Sardonyx. This is not fun of the headbanging type, but is for the lovers of more thoughtout progressive music. "Mask of Mine" is a nice mix of heavy crunchy guitars and deep meditative balladic passages, with a great thundering bass bottom and excellent emotional clean vocals, close to the ones of Jeoff Tate. "Sooner or Later" begins in an awesome dark thrashy Sanctuary manner, but during its 7-min expect balladic episodes, doom-laden moments, and more. "Rude Awakening" is in the same vein, mixing intense riff-driven sections and calmer balladic ones, but is more satisfying, shortening the latter, concentrating on the dark sharp riffage. When exactly the same pattern is repeated on "In Vain", one may start losing interest, although "In the End" (yes, right, that's the closer) will try to win him "in the end", abandoning the initial sleepy balladic intro for the sake of more energetic, still dark and gloomy, power/thrash metal later on.

True Nature EP, 1999

FINALLY DECEASED (GERMANY)

Based on the full-length, this young German trio specializes in aggressive old school mix of thrash and doom/death metal which begins in a brutal uncompromising way with two in-your-face speedsters, before taking an unexpected, but quite compelling, turn to a more pensive doomy sound on "Reverie", and on the melancholic doom/thrasher "Decisive Fault". The more dynamic death/thrash metal-inclined approach returns for "Darkened Soul", but not for long since "Day By Day" is another portion of atmospheric gothic guitars which produce some of the best melodic tunes on the album. Both sides alternate till the end which comes with the nice dark galloping piece "Path Of Hope" which nicely captures both the energy and the darkness from which this effort has aplenty.

Blessed by Demons EP, 1995
Escape Demo, 1996
Finally Deceased Full-length, 2011

FINGERNAILS (ITALY)

Melodic speed/thrash metal influenced by Motorhead and Exciter.

Fingernails Full-length, 1988

FIRE (COLOMBIA)

The good old Germanic speed/thrash metal is brought to us for the 100th-and-beyond time this millennium by these young Colombians who deliver the goods with who will warm you up big time with the energetic opening instrumental "Annihilations". The songs which follow are much longer, and will remind you of Necronomicon's "Apocalyptic Nightmare", and, respectively, Destructions' "Infernal Overkill". The generally fast tempo is often intercepted by more clever stomping passages both sides executed very well topped by mean Schmier-like vocals. The sound quality is very clear making the guitars cut pretty sharply, mostly in a direct stripped-down manner, which never sound annoying despite the relative big length (6-7min) of the compositions.

Thrash Of Fire EP 2011

FIRE FOR EFFECT (USA)

Based on "Inner Dimensional Chaos", these guys come up with an interesting style: the dominating sound is crushingly heavy, a mixture between Slayer's late 80's period in the best moments, and the groovy heritage of Pantera and Machine Head from the 90's, spiced with slight hardcore aesthetics ala early Pro-Pain, an impression which is further aggravated by the similarity in the vocal styles. With 15 tracks included in this album, one could easily find some waste, like the nu metal-ish "Fatal Hesitation", for example, or the semi-acoustic "Burial to Shroud".

Fire for Effect Full-length, 2005
Inner Dimensional Chaos Full-length, 2007

FIRE IN THE SKIES (USA)

Modern gothic-tinged thrash sounding quite close to Sentenced's "Amok"; this is peaceful mid-tempo stuff with gruff death metal vocals with casual faster "outbursts" (the brutal grinding passages on "Rapture"), and better doomy Cemetary-sque ("Safety Lines") "calmers".

Fire in the Skies EP, 2009

FIREIGN (CANADA)

Modern speed/power/thrash metal with a black-ish singer; not too far from Children Of Bodom and the likes, but with a more thrashy edge. The guitar work is melodic, without too much sharpness, and often does the sound move close to the modern speed/power metal trends ("The Legend of Crusher", "Death From the Forest"), but this makes intense thrashing pieces like "Deadtime" and "Iron Stake" more than welcome, when they come. "What Lies Within Us" is a peaceful acoustic instrumental, closing this album, which could have been closer involved with thrash.

Valley of Unrest Full-length, 2002

FIRETOWER (RUSSIA)

Dark gothic, slightly depressing, thrash metal in a gloomy mid-tempo with gruff semi-death metal vocals; the guys try to speed things up here and there, but their power lies in the atmospheric doomy numbers among which the 10-min opus with the even longer title "Beyond The Endless Dream - Capture Of Solitude (No Way Out)" is particularly impressive mixing sprawling, but listenable, slow passages with more energetic thrashy guitars. The other track which will strike a cord is the fine progressive thrasher "The Great Stillness (Silence)" which offers quite a few twists during its nearly 8-min remaining heavy and intense with sharp, but also melodic, guitars.

Near Death Experience Demo, 1993

FIRST AID (GERMANY)

Based on "Infection", these guys pull out enjoyable light-hearted speed/thrash metal not too far from the Heathen debut with cool melodic, albeit slightly undeveloped, vocals. "Haunting Solution" is a sure-handed fast-paced opener whereas "Quite Alone" adds slower touches along with another portion of speedy guitars and a melodic middle section. "Witchery Of Fire" is an excellent varied track, clinging towards mid-paced power/thrash more, still thrashing intensely wherever needed. "Hospital Brutality" accelerates again, but "Raped" kills the inertia sticking to a softer more power metal-oriented approach. "Face To The Wall" thrashes with conviction, influencing "Poser Hunt" which, despite the melodic, even balladic parts present, is another sure pick for the headbangers. "Mask Of Metal" is enjoyable more laid-back speed/thrash metal, but more aggression comes with "The World's New Chapter", which is the final outburst, before the coming of the closing instrumental "Fire Power" which focuses on melodic lead guitar work. Nevertheless, this album leaves quite a positive impression, considering the fact that it comes from a very obscure band, and will satisfy both the more hard-boiled thrash metal fans and the less radical lovers of the power/thrash metal hybrids.

Prisoner of Hell Full-length, 2003
Infection Full-length, 2007

FIRST BLOOD (UK)

Based on the "Nameless Fear" demo: the music is good, early Destruction-influenced thrash (think "Sentence of Death"), straight-forward and enjoyable, but there are two things which ruin the impression: the bad hardcore-ish vocals sounding like Simon Cobb from their compatriots Anihilated, and the bad joke song at the end "Toilet Song" (what can you expect from such a title?).

Nameless Fear Demo, 1988
Silent Summoner Demo, 1989

FIRST REASON (ITALY)

Modern thrash metal of the faster variety, but pretty unimpressive as well; angry semi-death metal vocals top up dynamic up-tempo riffs "broken" by the odd metalcore element.

Never Give Up EP, 2009

FIRSTSTRIKE (USA)

Good power/thrash which will bring you back to the glorious 80's, and more particularly the American scene: think early Helstar, Aftermath, Meliah Rage, Savage Grace, etc. The music is mid-tempo with memorable choruses, good clean semi-high vocals, cool solos, and more. Some tracks carry the playful rock-ish attitude: "The Agony", but rest assured that this is nothing like Guns'n Roses or Ratt.
The "Deadly Voltage" demo is another confident slab of the good old power/thrash metal this time recalling early Iced Earth quite a bit. The pace is again mid for most of the time, but the hard lashing riffs will guarantee good time to both power and thrash metal fans. "Simply Psychotic" is a particularly impressive semi-technical instrumental with excellent lead guitar work, and "Terminal Injustice" after it elaborates on the technical side to produce another less ordinary, hammering power/thrasher. The guys were sure-handedly moving towards the full-length sector, but with the swiftly-changing musical tastes at the time their style became obsolete before they managed to reach this stage.

Agony Pit Demo, 1990
Deadly Voltage Demo, 1992

FISCHEL'S BEAST (USA)

Barry Fischel from the 80's speed/thrashers Sentinel Beast has decided to form another "beast", but under his own name this time. The music here is quite similar to the one displayed on the only Sentinel Beast album, but while Debbie Gunn was a great addition to the energetic music on the latter, here the singer is not that impressive singing in a clean unemotional tember without changing the pitch a lot. The tracks are long, and some of them are moderately complex and intriguing. The change from speedy to slower, almost doomy at times parts, is done proficiently, with more concentration on speed. Mentioning speed, it is speed metal which takes the upper hand most of the time, and as such this short effort is really engaging, coming quite close music-wise to the last couple of Exciter albums. "The Phoenix" is worth mentioning with its interesting Oriental lead guitar variations, as well as the excellent speed/thrasher "One Man's Cry", which after the clumsy shaky start gains inertia, and contains a virtuoso guitar passage in the second half, where the music could easily pass for quite progressive stuff, and is not bad, although the intensity drops there considerably. "Fate Of Kings" is the definitive speed metal masterpiece, again with technical pretensions, substituting for the stormy riffs in the middle. "Where Am I" is doom/power metal for the bigger part, but more aggressive speedy riffage can be heard as well. This is so expertly done that the only logical next step would be a very good full-length with those five songs here serving as a strong base.

Commencement EP, 2009

FISSION (SWEDEN)

Vintersorg (Vintersorg, Borknagar) has apparently gotten tired with the black metal circle, and this is his attempt to make a name for himself as a thrash metal performer. Well, he does a pretty decent job mixing the thrash metal base with complex arrangements which remind of his own band, plus atmospheric folk/pagan passages which, combined with the sharp thrashy riffs, make up for an engaging listen. His modern death metal vocals are mixed with the clean ones which he had already mastered so well. There is a room for improvement, like, for example, the black metal sections which could be left out for the future, in case of Vintersorg gathers enough courage to venture into thrash metal territory again.
Vintersorg finds some more time to record under this name, and we have an adequate continuation of the same sound heard on the debut, but this time the emphasis is more on thrash rather than black, and the black metal passages are replaced by post-black ones not miles away from Borknagar: another act with which Vintersorg is involved. The pagan/folk moments have been increased quite a bit, at times stifling the more aggressive thrashy riffage, although on "Pain Parade" this mixture produces quite listenable results. "Collision And Collapse" is another number which combines raging fast thrash with beautiful pagan melodies, but this is too modern-sounding to be placed in the same league with Sabbat and Bifrost. Vintersorg provides a wide gamut of singing styles, but to these ears his black metal grunts are not very pleasant on the milder music background.

Actually this band is a one-man project, whose name is Benny H�gglund, and Vintersorg has been invited to provide the vocals on both albums, so this is not Vintersorg's own act. H�gglund also takes part in the death/thrash metal band TME.

Crater Full-length, 2004
Pain Parade Full-length, 2008

FIT OF FRUSTRATION (USA)

Based on the self-titled EP, this act pulls out thrash/crossover mixing heavy groovy sections with vigorous fast ones the latter clearly dominating creating a cool headbanging atmosphere although at times the music is stripped-down hardcore.
"No Questions Answered": the full-length finally arrives, and fulfills the promises for hardcore-tinged thrash metal which this time sounds more thrash-fixated in a way not too far from Hellbastard's "Natural Order". Watch out for short outrageous grinding deviations ("The Man Upstairs", the brutal blitzkrieg closer "Artificial Peace") and for heavy stomping thrashers ("Sandcastles And Tsunamis", "One Last Bullet For The Bedside Manner") of the imposing doomy variety.

Dead Hearts�Dying Minds�Buried Souls EP, 2009
Fit of Frustration EP, 2009
No Questions Answered Full-Length, 2010

FIURACH (ITALY)

The Italian answer to Bal-Sagoth, only more thrash-sounding; in other words we have operatic black/thrash metal, quite dynamic and melodic at times, long on atmosphere created by the participation of keyboards and dramatic vocal "duels" (clean and very gruff black/death metal ones, plus sparce low-pitched declamatory ones). Another soundalike would be the Dutch Bifrost since epic/black/thrash metal blends can be heard here more than now and then ("Enter The Triangle"). The brutal very fast moments are very few, but the music jumps from slow to faster sections the whole time, the most shining "diamond" being the closing "Chaospawner - Part I (One Thousand Years After)" which is stand-out speedy intense thrash with fine melodic keyboard "decorations".

Chaospawner Full-length, 1999

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH (USA)

Based on "War Is The Answer", this band offers groovy alternative post-thrash of the playful more memorable variety, with a nice pinch of gothic (check out the excellent "Crossing Over" and the ballad "Far From Home"). The music is dynamic, featuring both melody and heaviness, both capably mixed on almost every song. The other mix, between the very angry hardcore shouts and the clean alternative vocals, doesn't work all the time, the latter being the much better side, a potent reminder of Burton Bell (Fear Factory), Dax Riggs (Acid Bath), and Nick Holmes (Paradise Lost). "Canto 34" is a nice instrumental piece mixing very good leads, beautiful Oriental tunes, a heavy riff bottom, and a couple of softer balladic implements.

Pre-Emptive Strike EP, 2007
The Way of the Fist Full-length, 2007
War Is The Answer Full-length, 2009

FIVE FOOT THICK (USA)

Based on "Blood Puddle", this act offers your average 90's post-thrash which comes spiced with rappings, pure hardcore outbursts, alternative moments ala Tool, industrial elements, and what not.

Circles Full-length, 2000
Blood Puddle Full-length, 2003
This Cold Life... Full-length, 2005

FLAGELAD�R (BRAZIL)

A promising speed/thrash metal band with good fast riffs, nice solo work, and rough death/black metal-ish vocals which at times scream sky-high. There are moments when the style slightly reminds of early Helloween, mixed with the early efforts of Destruction. Near the middle the album loses steam, featuring slower and slightly unfocused tracks, and only partially captures the high-speed aesthetics of the first half later on, maybe because of the inclusion of another more melodic number: the Motorhead-influenced "A Noite do Seifador". The sound is a bit hollow, though, especially the one of the drums. The guys do a cover version of Slayer's "Evil Has No Boundaries", although their style has little to do with this band.
"Obcecado Por Sangue" sounds very close to the debut as though both efforts were made at the same time. The only complaint comes from the very buzzy guitar sound which considerably takes away from the sharpness, and the vocals which this time have tried to add an "improvement" in the form of a high hysterical shout which make them sound even worse. If one manages to go over the constant buzz of the guitars, he will be able to enjoy this decent take on the good old speed metal with hints at thrash "courting" the German school, above all. The guys are also occupied with the black metallers Kabarah, and the classic heavy metal formation Raw Raze.

A Noite Do Ceifador Full-length, 2006
Obcecado Por Sangue Full-length, 2009

FLAGELLATOR (USA)

If you manage to ignore the hysterical black metal screeches, you'll come up with cool old school thrash metal which will remind you of Celtic Frost, Bathory, Sodom, etc.

Channeling the Acheron Full-length, 2003

FLAME (FINLAND)

This band was founded by Blackspirit666 and Infernus: one of the most hard-working representatives on the Finnish underground, also members of the black metallers Barathrum and another similarly styled act: Urn. What we have here is very well executed old school thrash metal along the lines of early Destruction and Exumer's "Possessed by Fire". The music is faster, and will also remind you of the Japanese Fastkill. This is great thrashing riffest with touches of the Scandinavian black metal scene still present, but not to an annoying extent. The production is raw recalling the good old days.
"March Into Firelands" is a much wilder affair now incorporating death metal to the blend with black metal stepping in more, too, resulting in more aggressive and faster music. "Fireland" is a fine epic thrasher of the doomy variety, but rest assured that full compensation is offered on at least half of the other material: the furious piece of black metal madness "Rites Of Endless Hatred", etc. Thrash metal plays a second fiddle here, and major thrashterpieces like the closing "Gateway To The Birth Of Lunacy" are not a very frequent occurrence this time.

Into The Age Of Fire Full-length, 2005
March Into Firelands Full-length, 2011

FLAMES (GREECE)

The most celebrated Greek metal band; the first two albums are possibly the band's finest hour, with a style which is not too far from Venom and the Germans Backwater. On later works the music becomes much more aggresive and heavier moving towards the German scene, and more particularly Kreator, with touches of death metal on their 90's releases ("In Agony Rise", in particular). "Nommen Illi Mors" is worth mentioning from their later efforts, with its hard-hitting sound and excellent, fast-paced songs, sounding like a capable continuation of Kreator's 'Extreme Aggression".

Made In Hell Full-length, 1985
Merciless Slaughter Full-length, 1986
Summon the Dead Full-length, 1988
Last Prophecy Full-length, 1989
Nommen Illi Mors Full-length, 1992
In Agony Rise Full-length, 1996

FLAMES OF HELL (ICELAND)

Iceland has also given its share of thrash metal to the music scene in the form of this band who play cool minimalistic thrash along the lines of Venom with slow doomy riffs ala Celtic Frost added for good measure topped up by really weird semi-clean vocals; pretty basic, but interesting.

Fire and Steel Full-length, 1987

Vibrations of Doom

FLAMING ANGER (GERMANY)

The band's two demos are excellent technical thrash (in 1988 even Coroner were sounding more conventional), and the fact that they remained unsigned, is one of the biggest mysteries of the German metal undeground. The first demo contains the more aggressive and faster material, and will stun you with its steel technical riffage and the very high level of musicianship. The singer has a cool mid-paced melodic tember, if we exclude his attempts to scream like a banshee. The demo would probably leave you asking for more, since it's only 4 songs (the first one doesn't count, being a very short intro).
If you want to satisfy your hunger for more of the same, "Humaniced" might surprise you; here the intensity is more controlled, and the speed has been reduced, replaced by a stronger bass work, and more complex song-structures. The guitar sound is heavier, pounding, and despite some up-tempo sections thrown in, the final result is not as good. The new singer has a more trained voice, but lacks emotion and variety. "Interior" is a marvellous technical instrumental, showing a nice interplay between the roaring bass and the sharp energetic riffs, and is the finest track here.
"Biosphere II" (where is "Biosphere I"?!) arrives too late to take part in the German progressive/thrash metal movement, which at that point had completely gone into retirement to a degree that even the "fathers" of the whole genre Mekong Delta had gotten tired of it (check out their album released the same year ("Pictures at an Exhibition"). Still, it delivers on all counts, producing a sound not too far from the one of Lost Century & Depressive Age. The music has become even more melodic, now being a mix of thrash, speed and power metal. The album starts ambitiously with the progressive complexity of "Gods, Priests, Charlatans", which quite well blends fast thrashy passages, vortex-like twists and balladic breaks. "Nightfall's Before" is a more aggressive speed/thrasher sounding like a leftover from Helstar's "Nosferatu", with another very cool balladic moment. "Duck and Cover" is excellent progressive speed/power/thrash, a seamless blend of hard-hitting thrash, bombastic speed metal and a fair amount of complexity, an approach later imitated by numerous acts (Manticora, Hellfire, Eldritch, etc.). "Biosphere II" is brooding technical power/thrash at its best, never speeding up, providing consistent heavy riffage and a great bass-driven Oriental twist. "Wonder Pill" is the filler here: a heavier brand of Queensryche-influenced progressive metal, but what follows is probably the highlight of progressive thrash of the mid/late 90's: "Union Carbide" is the composition Mekong Delta never made: a one-of-a-kind combination of hallucinogenic elaborate riffs, more direct speed metal parts, a stomping heavy mid-section, followed by an abstract Voivod-like passage, all this finished by a haunting lead-driven outro. This great opus inevitably overshadows the following material, although "Lost in a Secret" does a good job, being a more immediate progressive speed/thrasher along the lines of Depressive Age. "My Suicide" starts in a curious heavy mid-paced fashion, but later speeds up admirably, bringing even Blind Guardian and early Helloween to mind; the technicality has been left behind setting the tone for the light-hearted closer "Accidents Never Happen", a jolly crossover number, not the most perfect ending to this strong album, but a cool touch nonetheless. 12 years gone, and still waiting for "Biosphere III", hoping at the same time for "Biosphere I" to jump out of somewhere...

Fall of Pnom Penh Demo, 1988
Humaniced Demo, 1991
Biosphere II Full-length, 1997

FLAMMA IGNIS (SPAIN)

This is modern thrash, mid-paced and generally not very hard-hitting, ornated by progressive deviations. The music too often strays into balladic waters, which is compensated by the odd heavy doomy section ("Armagedon") which in its turn comes accompanied by the casual brutal death metal growl. The compositions are quite long, the last one alone lasting for more than 15-min, but there is not much happening, just intense edgy riffs taking turns with sprawling one-dimensional balladic passages.

La Muerte ha Salido de Cacer�a Full-length, 2007

FLAMMEA (BRAZIL)

Based on the "First Scream", this obscure all-female act pulls out cool classic speed/thrash metal which is faster and edgier than the one offered by their colleagues Volkana who are another girls-only band from Brazil. There are certainly leanings towards the power/heavy metal side ("Heartbreaker"; the heavy semi-ballad "Scream Of Sadness"), but most of the tracks are raw headbangers with direct simplistic riffs with not annoying buzzying echoes. The girl behind the mike does a good job unleashing a melodic attached mid-ranged tone.

Hell is Here Demo, 1989
Dark Brain Demo, 1990
First Scream Demo, 1993

FLASHOVER (BRAZIL)

There has been a flood of thrash metal bands from Brazil in the past few years. Flashover are one of the better ones, with their aggressive old school sound reminding of No Return's "Contamination Rises". The Brazilians' style is a tad less aggressive featuring playful, semi-joke songs ("Die Die"), but when they thrash, they take no prisoners: the smashing opener "Land of Cannibals", the aggressive Slayer-esque "Dogs Of War", the speed killer "Wrong Place...Wrong Time" (all songs from "Land of Cannibals").
"Superior" is not exactly "superior" to many of the more recent thrash metal releases, but is a worthy slab of aggressive energetic thrash with occasional death metal leanings. The end is preserved for the heavy/power metal hymn "Underground" and the Accept cover of "Balls to the Wall".

Infamous Country Full-length, 2001
Land of Cannibals Full-length, 2003
Superior Ful-Length, 2008

FLATLINE (USA)

Based on "Massive Aggressive", this band pulls out a diverse (but not that "massive") mix of retro thrash, crossover, groove and a bit of death metal. The blend is nothing really striking, with the heavy groove ala Pantera and Machine Head leading the pack, leaving little room for the sharp classic thrash riffs to develop. The Pantera influence is made even more obvious with the cover of "Rise" at the end, and the forceful Phil Anselmo-like vocals.
"Pave The Way" is a more dynamic, and generally more enjoyable, affair. It thrashes hard with a nice deathy edge leaving the groove behind, settling for mid to up-tempo stuff with sharp, hard-hitting riffs topped by throaty death metal vocals which here don't resemble Phil Anselmo that much. The album is filled with crips little thrash/deathsters (the technical speedster "Nefarious", the massive pounder "The Passing"), the guys not ignoring the melody department (check the leads on "God As My Witness") completely, those reliefs offered mostly in the lead guitar section.

Redefining The End Full-length, 2003
Massive Aggressive Full-length, 2005
Bred On Deception EP, 2006
Pave The Way Full-length, 2008

FLEGMA (SWEDEN)

A thrash/crossover act from Sweden similar to their American counterparts, but with a more aggressive, sometimes bordering on death metal riffing, plus the typical for the time dragging, groovy moments, and passing more melodic nods to Motorhead ("Skullfuck").

Eine Kleine Schlachtmusik EP, 1990
Blind Acceptance Full-length, 1992
Flesh To Dust Full-length, 1994

FLESH (SWEDEN)

This young Swedish outfit pull out a blend of thrash and death metal which is not too far from the Gothenburg school, but often adheres to borrowings from the classic period. As a result this album is satisfying providing fast-paced (predominantly), at times quite technical, stuff. The guys mix furious blasting pieces ("Feast On The Soul") with genuinely atmospheric, slower ones ("Fuck The Romantic,..."), which are served with cool technical guitars, and are arguably the better side of the band. "Sadistic Penetration" is a nice mid-paced number with a very cool galloping speed/thrashy break in the middle. The last song "Worship The Soul of Disgust" is again of the slower atmospheric type finished with an excerpt from a popular Russian song. The band founder Pete Flesh (aka Peter Karlsson) is also a member of Maze of Torment, the heavy metal/proto-thrashers Deceiver (his colleagues from there also help him here), and the dark black/doomsters Thrown.

Worship The Soul of Disgust Full-Length, 2008

FLESH DIVINE (FRANCE)

Death/thrash (more on the death metal side) metal with nods to both the modern and the classic school.

Necropolis Full-length, 2003

FLESH MADE SIN (HOLLAND)

First-rate classic aggressive thrash metal which recalls some of the biggest names from the 80's scene: Slayer, Devastation, Destruction, Kreator, to name a few. The music is fast-paced most of the time, with nice semi-technical touches which brings to mind another great band of recent times (not active anymore): Hypnosia. This band is a fine addition to the thrash metal renaissance of recent years.
"The Aftermath Of Amen" is a more ambitious undertaking which starts in a surprisingly restrained manner with the proto-modern "Total Slave". Then things take a nicer shape with the retro headbanger "Zarathustra", but the guys are set on not offering everything at high-speed, and "The Cold Steel Redemption" mixes slower and faster rhythms. A string of not very impressive mostly mid-tempo modern thrashers follow before "The Dirge You Dread" brings more life with more dynamic riffs. "Feed Your Demons" carries on more aggressively adding up death metal "fuel" to the fire recalling the guys' other band: the more death metal-based Antropomorphia. Then the sound returns to the safer thrashy patterns producing two cool headbangers the preferences going towards the second one "The Reaping", which is also the closer, and lashes fast steel riffs again with a slight death metal edge. This effort shows the band in a more diverse, but less enthusiastic, light trying to broaden their vision losing from the spontaneous stripped-down attitude of the debut quite a bit in the process, also failing to bring the best from the modern elements which only occasionally give out sparkles of technicality.

Masterwork In Blood EP, 2002
Dawn of the Stillborn Full-length, 2004
The Aftermath Of Amen Full-length, 2008

FLESH MECHANIC (AUSTRALIA)

This is a heavy undistrial post-thrash affair sitting somewhere between Puncture and Grope, with a pinch of mid-period Meshuggah on the more technical moments. The guys shred with a lot of buzz, even creating catchy headbanging moments ("Beggar Art"), and generally the delivery is pretty dynamic with plenty of tempo changes within relatively short time-limits (3-4min). This is "busy" stuff, although this 10-ton hammering downpour may tire the listener, as well as the unpleasant, synthesized shouty singer.

Picture This Full-length 2003

FLESHGORE (UKRAINE)

Reportedly on theit full-lengths and EP's the band used to play brutal death/grind with some deathcore leanings on more recent efforts; but the "Defiance To Evil" demo is pure aggro-thrash in the best tradition of Pantera and Machine Head. The guys are more dynamic and diverse than those acts, ahving in mind their deathy background, but the approach is pretty angry and proto-groovy, the bigger intensity mostly reflected in jumpy, hectic core-ish breaks. The vocals are also more subdued now, being of the semi-death metal, shouty type well suiting the cool cover of Pantera's "New Level" at the end.

Interuterine Dilemms EP, 2002
Killing Absorption Full-length, 2003
May God Strike Me Dead Full-length, 2006
Wake Up For Freedom EP, 2007
Wake Up for Freedom Full-length, 2008
Defiance To Evil Demo, 2011

FLOTSAM & JETSAM (USA)

A standout speed/power/thrash metal band who came out of the underground after their bassist Jason Newsted joined Metallica. Their debut was an instant speed/thrash metal classic despite the not very good sound quality. This raw spontaneous effort was a truly compelling listen with the seamless blend of some of the most cutting chainsaw-like riffs around and the beautiful soaring lead-driven melodies, the thundering bass bottom provided by Newsted, and above all the great characteristic very melodic high-pitched vocals of Eric "A.K." Knutson: one of the greatest voices in metal, who to the more hard-core fans may have come as too melodic back in those days, when his tone was more on the thinner screamy side, unlike the deeper lower one he acquired later in the 90's.
If the debut was more speed metal-based, in a way not too dissimilar to Agent Steel's "Sceptic's Apocalypse", "No Place for Disgrace" saw the band move onto full-throttle thrash, and remains their finest hour after all these years, despite the loss the guys suffered when Newsted left just before the recordings for the album began, to join Metallica, although his replacement was quite an able one, in the face of Troy Gregory (Prong). Once the title-track starts sawing and cutting with those unbearably sharp riffs, one has no choice but to prepare for the ensuing massacre. The thrashing madness encounters some stops on the way; the more appropriate one: the excellent semi-ballad "Escape From Within" with Knutson giving arguably the finest performance of his career, closely followed by one of the best mixtures of peaceful balladic parts and raging blitzkrieg thrash ones in metal history; and the less appropriate one: the Elton John cover of "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting", turned into a jolly thrash'n roll roller-coaster.
The late 80's were a time for re-adjustments and "updates", a tendency especially characteristic of the North American acts, and "When The Storm Comes Down" saw the guys adopting a much more melodic, proto-modern and a slightly more technical sound. The problem is that, unlike Forbidden, Megadeth and Anthrax that same year, among others, the band failed to bring the best of those new "implements". The sound quality, which so greatly boosted up the guitars on the previous album, was gone almost sliding down to the very basic one heard on the debut, bringing a dry dispassionate feeling with it. On top of that the drums are some of the most hollow-sounding one can hear in the late 80's/early 90's, completely stifling the other instruments more than now and then, even threatening to take the Knutson vocals down at times. Mentioning the vocals, they fall flat, too, often overtaking the whole space, especially on the higher notes where Knutson sounds simply laughable as though he is the only one in the studio with no other musicians involved in the recording. Still, one can not deny the visceral power of the crushing "Suffer the Masses", one of the best songs the band ever produced, although Knutson could have avoided this very screamy hysterical "Suffering!" in the 2nd half.
The guys have apparently learnt their lesson, and "Cuatro" was a much better offering, and along with Metallica's Black Album was the major influence on the less angry, as opposed to one initiated by Exhorder, Pantera, Machine Head and the likes, post-thrash metal sound which flourished later in the 90's and is still going strong. The album is a great, seldom matched, mixture of classic and modern thrash, with power and doom metal added at the most appropriate times. Needless to say, the music has very few ties to the band's 80's catalogue, not without the help of Knutson who here sounds a lot more restrained, but his newly acquired deeper lower-pitched delivery is just the perfect one for the less thrash-based music.
"Drift" "drifted" further away into non-thrash metal waters, but was far from a disappointment (compared to the similar step taken by Metallica on "Load" a year later), featuring interesting technical/progressive arrangements beside the increased presence of groove. It was too early, though, to cross the guys off the thrash metal list who on "High" brought back some of the good old retro fast-paced riffs, which combined with the less intense approach epitomized on "Drift", sounded a bit awkward at times; still no complaints for the merry thrash/crossover delight at the end "Fork Boy". Still, this album may have played its role in waking up the "sleeping" old school thrash metal "giant" which started showing signs of recovery from its heavy "slumber" soon after.
"Unnatural Selection" reduced the speed once again, and with the experimentalism of "Drift" left behind as well, concentrating on a heavy modern heavy/semi-thrash delivery, it simply had nothing to hold onto, and finally saw the Flotsams sounding close to their compatriots Metallica from the same time. The expectations for "My God" were not very high after this disappointing release, but the guys had pulled themselves together again, and this effort was the nicest companion piece to "Cuatro" from all their works of the 90's. The opening "Dig Me Up to Bury Me" promises a lot of headbanging retro thrash in a way close to even "No Place for Disgrace", but the guys had no intentions to bid farewell to their 90's sound, and later on the compositions were solid heavy slabs of forceful more modern power/thrash with the casual speedy "ornamentations", making this effort one of the better "bridges" between the 90's trends and the classic thrash metal "resurrection" movement which had already started a little earlier.
Contrary to the flood of 80's retro thrash metal veterans "rising from the ashes" during the first half of the decade, Flotsam surprisingly took a low profile which was actually not completely deprived of logic, having in mind that, ulike most of the old bands, they never split-up, releasing albums on a regular basis throughout the 90's. 4 years later their response to the retro thrash metal wave, which was in full swing at the time, was "Dreams of Death": a great slab of dark sinister old school thrash metal with several modern "remnants" still "roaming" around. Being the guys' most classically-sounding album since "No Place for Disgrace", it pulls no punches thrashing hard with speed and sharpness, adding a couple of intriguigng technical/progressive sections along the way without, of course, forgetting about their staple heavy pounding power/proto-thrash sound of more recent times. Quite well conformed with the fashion of the day, and way better than the quite a few disappointing comeback albums released that same year (remember Cancer's "Spirit in Flames", Assassin's The Club", Nuclear Assault's "Third Wolrd Genocide", etc.), this effort sadly remained their last offering, the band announcing their split soon after.
Reportedly they are back together, and had a Live DVD, titled "Once In A Deathtime", released in 2008 with rumours circling around of a new material to come out soon.
"Dreams of Death" looked like the very right approach in consideration with the growing competition, but "The Cold" will leave quite a few of the band's fans "out in the cold" again, I'm afraid, or at least those who left their hearts in the 80's/early 90's. Classic thrash metal is again a distant memory replaced by the dreamy semi-progressive "landscapes" of "Drift" and "Unnatural Selection" spiced with surprising more aggressive outbursts ala "High" ("Black Cloud", "K.Y.A.": this one is a brutal piece with classic leanings). "Blackened Eyes Staring" is another song worth mentioning being a cool technical take on the modern post-thrash, but the rest will hardly catch the ear a lot, except probably for the nice emotional ballad "Better Off Dead" in the middle. Although in terms of mucisianship this effort beats the aforementioned ones, and it's by no means bad, but coming after a superior offering, and after a lengthy 5-year hiatus, it simply can not hold water against the truer to the classic thrash metal idea albums which have been coming in draws in more recent times hitting the top both in terms of quantity and quality.

Doomsday for the Deceiver Full-length, 1986
No Place for Disgrace Full-length, 1988
When The Storm Comes Down Full-length, 1990
Never To Reveal EP, 1992
Cuatro Full-length, 1992
Drift Full-length, 1995
High Full-length, 1997
Unnatural Selection Full-length, 1999
My God Full-length, 2001
Dreams of Death Full-length, 2005
The Cold Full-length, 2010

FLUSH (SERBIA)

A decent mixture of the classic and modern sound which tries to convince us that "thrash is all around", like the song of the same title, the latter being a crunchy mid-pacer with heavy riffage, cancelled by the more dynamic "Air Force", and especially by the ripping galloper "Warhead" which thrashes hard for more than 6-min aslo featuring a pretty cool peaceful interlude with very good leads. Still, the dominant pace is mid with touches of The Black Album, and Metallica is "courted" by the singer whose powerful steady delivery is not too far from the one of James Hetfield.

Piece of Hell Full-length, 2006

FLY MACHINE (USA)

This cool band are the contination of the progressive doomsters Confessor. Here the music has fewer shades of doom, and is more dynamic and thrashy, although in terms of complexity it is by no means easier to swallow, and at least to these ears recalls mid-period Prong ("Beg to Differ", "Prove You Wrong") quite a bit in the 1st half, rather than Confessor. The sound is decidely modern, and the guitars twist and turn the whole time, which make the songs not very easy to follow, but their length seldom exceeds 5-min, so by the time you lose the plot of what you're listening, the next song will come to save you. Some tracks are "excursions" outside the progressive thrash spectre: the slower, doomy, and more conventional "Take You On", others are cool crushing doomy technical thrashers: "Mover", "Victimize"- fairly unique numbers, since the slow-ish tempo is created by heavy guitars, which suddenly come up with a more dynamic section with the drums staying in the slow field as though begging the guitars to return to the slower pattern, which happens a few seconds later, of course. Alas, the guys were just entertaining themselves while waiting for the right time for a new Confessor album (which came 8 long years later) with no intentions to give this band more life.

Fly Machine Full-Length, 1997

FM2000 (FINLAND)

Funky playful post-thrash with crossover overtones and more intense heavier passages; there is quite a bit of experimentation with the guys stretching their sound into alternative, epic metal, both furious and more controlled (read epic-tinged) death metal, and more; so one can ealisy draw similarities with their compatriots Waltari based on the larger-than-life, kind of scattered, approach.

Opium Grilli Full-Length, 2010

FOE (POLAND)

Decent modern thrash/death metal offering a capable blend of hard-hitting and melodic parts; the guys keep a respectable speed throughout adding the odd more technical implement recalling both Arch Enemy and Dark Tranquillity. The singer is a brutal growler, low-tuned, but intelligible seldom interrupted by a higher-shrieker.

Madness Full-length, 2010

FOETUR (FRANCE)

A cool thrash/death metal hybrid typical for the French metal scene during the late 80's/early 90's; the style is more technical at times recalling Massacra, with atmospheric passages ala Misanthrope thrown in as well at times. There are also nice female vocals involved as well as gothic elements.

Disfigured Inhuman Barbak Full-length, 1999

FOG OF WAR (USA)

Based on the EP, this band offers good energetic thrash along the lines of Tankard, early Whiplash and Hellbastard's "Natural Order". The vocals are in the hardcore camp, and will remind you of Tommy Victor from Prong.
The self-titled debut continues the line from the EP, also helped by all 4 tracks from there, the rest being highly energetic speed/thrash with great melodic leads. The approach on the unheard material is varied ranging from the more laid-back speed metal on "Enforcer" and the mid-paced proto-hardcore on "Kills on Contact", to the more intense thrash-laced assault on "Fog of War" and the closing "D.O.A.". The vocals remain in the hardcore camp this time also recalling M.S. "Scruff" Lewty (Hellbastard).
The "Confessions of a Thrashoholic" EP doesn't betray the jolly free approach of the preceding releases offering unpretentious speed/thrash metal now coming with a less serious crossover touch ("Nuclear Nightmare") and a thinner guitar sound. ZZ Top's biggest hit "Sharp Dressed Man" is "raped" big time turned into a humorous thrash/crossover piece, still pretty recognizable (if you follow the lyrics mostly), folowed by the more likely cover of Zombie Holocaust's "Boba Fett". As a whole the style here is even more stripped-down reminiscent of Lawnmower Death and Ludichrist.

Metal Will Fuck You In Hell Demo, 2005
M.C.T. E.P. EP, 2006
Fog Of War Full-length, 2009
Confessions of a Thrashoholic EP, 2010

FOMENTO (ITALY)

The line-up includes Fabrizio Damiani: the guitar player of the technical thrashers Rainspawn, but the music here is strictly for the modern 90's thrash lovers. It has dynamics, and the riffs crush with force most of the time; it's just that there's little which hasn't already been offered by Pantera and their numerous clones. Things start moving around a bit in the middle with "Kill FashionCore" whcih is a cool speed/thrasher, and "Welcome to the Brotherhood", which is a heavy 10-ton hammer, but later on the sound safely wraps around the aggro-trends again.

Either Caesar or Nothing Full-length, 2008

FOR HER ICON (FINLAND)

Prototypical modern thrash with hysterical hardcore vocals and very good melodic female vocals which this below average music simply doesn't deserve; it doesn't even have an edge or speed to keep you entertained. The other clean vocals, the male ones, are nothing special.

The Life Once Lost Demo, 2007

FOR YOUR SINS (UK)

Modern groovy post-thrash which surprisingly livens up with stylish guitar decisions ("Buried"), but the dominating sound is mid-paced with slightly monotonous not very hard riffage which remains edgeless even for the more up-tempo material ("Armed Aggression").

The Aftermath of the Massacre EP, 2007

FORBIDDEN (USA)

One of the finest representatives of the Bay Area fraternity; "Forbidden Evil" is a phenomenal debut, one of the highest achievements from the Bay-Area, full of compulsive speed/thrash metal classics. The band could have pulled out one more piece of the same, but new more stylish technical demands have come up on the "horizon", and the band's answer to them was "Twisted Into Form": a standout technical thrash effort standing proud beside similar US offerings from the same year, like Megadeth's "Rust in Piece" and Anthrax's "Persistence of Time". Whether this was the peak of the band's creative powers is debatable, but they have voted to join the growing modern thrash metal movement 4 years later, and "Distortion" can be considered one of the better achievements of the genre from the 90's, albeit having little to do with the band's past. "Green" moved further into modern post-thrash metal mixing the angry heaviness of Pantera and Machine Head with the brutal apocalyptic experimentalism of 90's Testament (think "Low" and "Demonic") losing whatever remnants were left there from their 80's period including the characteristic wailing vocals of Russ Anderson, here replaced by semi-shouty angry ones not miles away from Phil Anselmo, and could be viewed as the band's sole actual failure from the classic thrash metal fans.

It seems as though the Bay-Area brotherhood is in full attendance operating in the new millennium on full-throttle (with the sole exception of Vio-Lence perhaps, but one never knows when the latter would jump up "ready for battle"). Forbidden were missing up to this point, but here they are, and one must admit that the joy of this reunion is inevitably mixed with the fears of an eventual "Green" clone. The intro "Alpha Century" is already captivating enough, to these ears somewhat reminding of Judas Priest's "The Hellion" from "Screaming for Vengeance", its exiting cords transferred into "Forsaken at The Gates": a sure-handed dynamic Bay-Area thrasher in the best tradition of the band debut, with a slightly drier guitar sound. Russ Anderson has preserved his gruffer tember from the 90's, decorating it from time to time with his cleaner delivery from the more distant past. The proto-modern shred in the beginning of the next "Overthrow" may throw some into consternation, and although this composition remains well inferior to the smashing opener, it delivers in a more quiet pounding fashion. After it one has to either "adapt or die" having in mind the obvious modern/classic mixture, but "Adapt Or Die" will help him adapt to it, rather than the other way around; it offers vigorous retro speed/thrash with Anderson relying on his cleaner tone to give very good performance. The band's infatuation with the more progressive sound comes up on the diverse "Swine" which is a capable mix of slow, almost doomy, and fast headbanging passages topped by great leads. "Chatter" is indeed a "chatter" providing multiple voices on top of each other on an unobtrusive guitar background for about 2-min. "Dragging My Casket" is another progressive track which kind of misleads with its intense beginning, but later on the approach is milder semi-balladic. Up to this point one has probably noticed the similarity between this effort and last year's Heathen's "The Evolution of Chaos" with the very similar alternation of styles, but the reason why the album here will leave the lesser impression is that from this moment on the guys stick to repetitive patterns of mid-paced semi-progressive sections for a lengthy string of songs, clinging towards the ballad on quite a few times, almost completely forgetting about their early side. It eventually comes back for the brisk closer "Omega Wave", which is almost as compelling as the opener, lashing steel riffs from beginning to end, but the created contrast between its energy and the preceding less vigorous material is hardly to the band's advantage. Still, this album works well as a bridge between the band's early late-80's and mid-90's output, sounding like the missing link between "Twisted into Form" and "Distortion", but still serves its purpose despite having been released some 15-17 years later.
Russ Anderson is helped here by the guitar wizard Steve Smyth, who has graced with his presence another Bay-Area "hero(es)": Testament, as well as their side-project Dragonlord; and has also taken part in Nevermore, Vicious Rumours, and the promising Italian act Chaoswave. The Bay-Area drum legend Mark Hernandez is also here; the same one who has hit the drums in Vio-Lence and its two "branches" Torque and Technocracy, Heathen, Defiance, etc.

Forbidden Evil Full-length, 1988
Twisted Into Form Full-length, 1990
Distortion Full-length, 1994
Green Full-length, 1997
Omega Wave Full-length, 2010

FORBIDDEN TRUTH (BANGLADESH)

Melodic modern power/thrash metal with a dark, gothic atmosphere, sparce use of female vocals (the main ones are death metal-ish), mid-paced and slightly monotonous.

Demo Demo, 2004

FORCA MACABRA (FINLAND)

Don't get misled by the band name and the album title: these guys are from Finland, and have nothing to do with Spain or South America. This project involves several members of the retro thrashers Jumalation (also from Finland), who here enjoy themselves playing less serious, and not as good, thrashy crossover, not too far from the early works of the Brazilians Ratos de Porao; these guys vary things more, adding short, punk-ish, but also brutal grinding pieces, plus the odd heavy, slower, steam-rolling crusher ("Bitchfucker"). Still, this is not bad, and the sheer speed and energy behind the music will keep you headbanging the whole time.

Caveira Da Forca Full-Length, 2002

FORCE FED (USA)

Thrash/crossover of the jolly melodic variety; at times the music is pure hardcore, and the tempo is not very fast, quite clumsy and boring, as a matter of fact; on the other hand, on some songs the lead guitarist tries to shine producing a couple of cool solos. Both albums offfer the same stuff, with the 2nd one speeding up a bit, coming close to the early works of Suicidal Tendencies.

Claustrophobia Full-Length, 1989
Elounda Sleep Full-Length, 1991

FORCE FED HATE

Thrashy hardcore, heavy and mid-tempo, but not stale, with more playful moments added, as well as more aggressive thrashy ones. The complaint comes from the clumsy groovy sections, which can be heard on a couple of songs.

Send Them Back Full-Length, 2009

FORCE FEEDBACK (HUNGARY)

A 4-song demo of good mid-tempo modern/classic thrash metal reminiscent of 90's Megadeth and more recent Annihilator; the guitar work is melodic, but is quite interesting, finding the perfect balance between melodic and more aggressive riffage. The guys nicely mix slower heavy sections with more energetic ones making all the tracks sound quite similar to each other, but this is hardly a complaint, as the music is really good.

Wonderful World Demo, 2004

FORCE OF DARKNESS (CHILE)

The full-length debut: retro thrash in the vein of Sodom, Kreator, Destruction, touches of Slayer as well, with black metal thrown in for good measure. This is a live recording, so don't expect a very high sound quality. The problem is that often do the guys adhere to pure brutal bashing, which is not a very nice contrast to the more stylish moments, and is particularly striking on the longer compositions, where more complex sections are suddenly "broken" by a "flood" of aggressive discordant riffs. The last track is a cover of the Running Wild early hit "Soldiers of Hell" from their debut.
"Darkness Revelation" is a total black/thrash metal fury with frequent apocalyptic blasting passages which will make you break everything around. This goes well beyond the manic shred of early Impaled Nazarene, remaining surprisingly listenable for most of the time with intelligble guitars which even carry a slight technical edge here and there. The maddening speed may cause you a headache at some point, though, and it's mostly the black metal maniacs who will have a great time here, although the more faint-hearted will definitely find it hard to tolerate this constant ultra-extreme downpour till the end.

Force Of Darkness Full-length, 2006
Darkness Revelation Full-length, 2010

FORCED ENTRY (USA)

A little known, but a worthy addition to the thrash metal genre trio; their debut is unpolished, but inspired technical thrash metal with very good bass work, jumpy hectic guitars, and quite a few straight headbanging moments. The overall approach may remind you of early Megadeth on the more dynamic moments although the music here is way better than the one on "Killing is My Business, ...", but needs more to reach the brilliance of "Peace Sells, But...". The tempo is mid most of the time, and the riffs swirl often, being quite pounding at the same time. The technicality at times gets too complex, maybe to the point of showing-off ("Foreign Policy"), but the sharp riffage and the cool short technical leads are capable complements. Near the end the style wears off a bit, since the approach to the song-writing is samey: heavy punishing rhythms, technical swirling riffs, and the obligatory one or two direct thrash passages. Finally on the last track "Unrest They Find" the guys speed up nicely producing intense headbanging moments.

"As Above, So Below" is not radically different from its predecessor although the fast sections are more, but there is a lot of chugga-chugga riffage which takes away from the melody considerably (not that there has been a lot of it on the band's works, but still...). Some really complex thrash can be heard on "Macrocosm Microcosm" and "The Unextinguishable", again of the very heavy pounding type. There is space for sentimentality left, though, with the cool heavy ballad "Never A Know But The No", which is a really fine combination of melodic leads and crushing guitars. Again the headbanging is left for the end in the form of the short explosive "We're Dicks" and the softer, but quite energetic "Thunderhead", which precede the almost progressive thrash closer "When One Becomes Two" which crosses the staple heavy technicality with really nice quiet interludes accompanied by a more melodic vocal delivery. Although to some ears this might sound too one-dimensional and not really striking, not many were the acts in those times, and even nowadays, who could produce such a seismic heavy, and at the same time technical, sound.

Uncertain Future Full-length, 1989
As Above, So Below Full-length, 1991
The Shore EP, 1995

FORCED KILL (FINLAND)

This act shares musicians with other thrash metal bands: Pyrotoxic, Armageddal Age, Ravenous, etc. This one is perhaps the best of the lot pulling out really good classic speed/thrash metal mixing the German school with less controlled Slayer-esque aggression. The speed is really big here (check out the short explosion "Spectral Aggressor", as well as every other song), and the riffage is sharp and hard-hitting introducing a few heavier stomping breaks along the way ("Renegade (To The Death)"). The singer delivers with his comprehensive semi-declamatory voice seldom acquiring angrier quarrelsome qualities.
"Invasion of Steel" is 4 tracks of fast, uncompromising old school speed/thrash; "Armed For Attack" is a "fast as a shark" piece, with "Burning Mania" a very close second, both racing as to which one will break the speed of light first. "Towers Of Nothingless" introduces heavy crunchy riffs which last for 6-min, before the lightning fast "Divine Wind" sweeps you down with the last portion of no-bars-held blitzkrieg speed/thrash. The time looks right for the guys to spend more time in the studio, and hit us with a full-length "hurricane"...

Speeding Death Velocity Demo, 2009
Invasion of Steel Demo 2011

FORCES@WORK (GERMANY)

This is the new band of Andreas Lohse: the singer of the progressive thrash metal masters Lost Century. Based on the "Reverse Feng-Shui Audio Guide" demo, the name of the game is also progressive thrash, and also of a fairly high quality. The music is less aggressive, but the guitars are more technical and choppy, and the song-structures are more complex, vortex-like, and you might get lost on the longer ones, although you would hardly be bothered about that, as the great technical riffs will keep you entertained the whole time. This is not very abstract stuff: you will hear moments from early Psychotic Waltz, Mekong Delta, Spiral Architect, as well as riffs ala Jeff Waters. Near the end the guys drop the ball, though: with the groovy and slightly misplaced "Thrown Free on Impact", which has little to do with the technical style of the rest; and the poppy progressive metal number "Code of Secrets" which lacks any hard-hitting riffs, and obviously "courts" acts like late-period Sieges Even and Porcupine Tree, among others.
"Coldheart Canyon" is more power metal-based, still with a strong technical edge, but the music has very few ties to thrash. "Forcilized" clings between power and thrash metal, but contains at least one great smashing technical thrasher: "Husk of the Withered Moth".

Coldheart Canyon Demo, 2003
Forcilized Demo, 2004
Reverse Feng-Shui Audio Guide Demo, 2006

FORESHADOW (CANADA)

A less ordinary, original, semi-technical version of the 90's thrash metal idea spiced with a bit of funk, hardcore, progressive, and playful rockish tunes, including the interesting vivid cover of the famous "Hocus Pocus" theme of the Dutch band Focus, even beating the Helloween version in terms of experimentation and originality. The thrash metal fan will be by all means entertained on the more intense thrashy opener "Lie", and on the jumpy lively technicaller "Come Alive". "Do We Disturb?" may surprise pleasantly as well with the fine melodic Oriental hooks which go through the whole song creating dramatic escalating atmosphere rudely "broken" by the aggressive riffage at the end. "Mediocracy" is a cool hectic lasher recalling both Anthrax and the Mordred debut, and "One Flat Tire" is a light-hearted crossover joke. Then comes a string of unimpressive groovy fillers, a situation saved by the aforementioned "Hocus Pocus" and the wild speedy shredder "One Voice", a brutal piece of music bordering on proto-death. It should have been the closer, though, rather than the bad "electronic meets hardcore" joke "Joke Smoke I Love Rave" which ruins the final impression quite a bit from this otherwise mildly satisfying diverse effort.

Do We Disturb? Full-length, 1996

FORESKIN (PAKISTAN)

These guys pull out cool energetic (don't read very fast) old school thrash/crossover, with a few deviations: the depressive black-ish "Kill The Principal", and the short 40-sec bursting "excursion" into hardcore/punk "Raid The Stage". The riffs are simplsitic and to-the-point, and the singer is a suitable gruffer who becomes scarier on demand acquiring darker deathy/blacky overtones here and there. the guys also have another project: the much more aggressive death metal formation Multinational Corporations.

Just a Fucking Preview! Demo 2010
Bombs Away! Demo 2010
B.I.T.P. Demo 2011

FORGE OF CUSTOMS (RUSSIA)

Minimalistic post-thrash with a cool vocal "duel" between a scary death growler and less extreme, albeit still quite forceful, female ones, which develops on a dark stomping musical background, which is characterized by heavy, abrasive guitars and hammering doomy tempos. Not bad, maybe a bit one-dimensional with sparce sleepy tendencies, if it wasn't for the sudden vocal switches, and with a bit more refinement it may reach the heights of Fear of God's "Toxic Voodoo" some time in the future.

Zeitgeist EP, 2011

FORGERY (AUSTRALIA)

Old school speed/thrash mixing the German trends ("Hellbringer", the speed monster "The Rapture") with a more intense Slayer-esque approach ("The Banished" which exits the scene with slower Celtic Frost-like riffs). "The Hammer" at the end is the slower mid-paced deviation (it's a hammer, after all...). The singer has a gruff dark tember similar to Tom G. Warrior with a pinch of the other Tom: Angelripper.

Hellbringer EP, 2009

FORGERY (NORWAY)

Modern thrash with occasional stretches towards the classic scene; the guitars are dry and cold, but the tempos vary moving from heavy angry Pantera-sque sections to faster-paced ones in the vein of Dew-Sceneted and Terror 2000. The mixture works, also strengthened by the inclusion of a few slow doomy moments, and the forceful Phil Anselmo-sque vocals which at times come more brutal with a pinch of death.

Harbouring Hate Full-length, 2009

FORGOTTEN CHAOS (SWITZERLAND)

This is mostly modern black metal in the Darkthrone-vein spiced up with some thrash metal riffing and more quiet moments reminding of the viking/black metal style of Enslaved.

Victorious Among The Damned Full-length, 2006

FORGOTTEN HORROR (FINLAND)

The demo: cool speed/thrash metal with a black-ish edge reminiscent of Alastor from Portugal; the Finns' music is more aggressive with occasional blast-beats thrown in and more vicious harsher vocals.
"The Serpent Creation" is a furious offering, not having much to do with the more classic-sounding demo. This is more modern back/thrash with casual technical death metal elements, quite fast and energetic, with frequent brutal blast-beats scattered all over, but at the same time incorporating haunting, beautiful melodies in the spirit of later-period Emperor and Dimmu Borgir. Now the band sound like the "father" one: Deathchain, where all of the musicians involved here also take part, only not as technical, and with more brutal insertions.

Demo Demo, 2007
The Serpent Creation Full-length, 2011

FORKA (BRAZIL)

The debut: modern 90's thrash walking in Machine Head's shoes for most of the time managing to emit a forceful sound not too distant from "Burn My Eyes" which is the main target for worship. Sparce speedy passages ala Corporation 187 or Maze of Torment can be heard which give a nice boost to the predominating groove-laden aggro approach.
"Enough" says "enough!" to the modern trends, and most of the time the music is quite good classic thrash/proto-death metal, quite brutal and vicious at times, with the 90's leanings not completely abandoned mostly reflected in the slightly sterile mechanized sound of the guitars which brings allusions to Fear Factory ("The Human Race Is Dead"). The album overflows with energy not without the help of the short brutal, but frequent, death metal moments. "What Will Be?" is a nice attempt at a more technical play, and is a cool deviation from the hard-hitting model.

Feel Your Suicide Full-length, 2005
Enough Full-length, 2010

FORM (HOLLAND)

The debut is fabulous power/speed/thrash metal similar to 80's Flotsam & Jetsam (think "No Place For Disgrace") with a more technical edge. Some tracks will simply sweep you away with their furious riffs: "Example", "In Honour Of...". Some are slower, but very interesting pieces, with good tempo changes and technical guitars: "Several Ways". The sound is firmly classic with rare modern "updates": the heavy doomy "Beg". "Unwillingly" is a masterpiece of technical thrash metal also featuring great leads and a magnificent atmospheric acoustic break near the end (the acoustic guitar performance there is simply breathtaking). The bass work is really impressive, but not of the Jason Newsted-like omnipresent variety, but more along the lines of the "not very regular, but highly effective decorations" ala Steve Digiorgio. The singer is clearly a find with his very powerful clean voice not too far from Eric AK (Flotsam & Jetsam again). The band have decided to turn to modern post-thrash with their sophomore effort at the time when classic thrash metal was coming back with full force; a strange decision and... the wrong one.

I Choose My Own Full-length, 1995
Shock Corridor Full-length, 2000

FORMICIDE (USA)

A fine thrash metal band from the heydays of the genre who never managed it outside the underground circle which is a shame because their music was very competent, with great energetic riffs, calling to mind early Megadeth and Exodus.

Demo I Demo, 1987
Demo II Demo, 1988
Demo III Demo, 1989
Formicide Best of/Compilation, 2006

FORMIS (POLAND)

This young Polish act offers technical thrash/death metal which walks the path of Pestilence's "Testimony of the Ancients" and later-period Death, with a forceful vocal participation, not far from Martin Van Drunen (Pestilence, Asphyx, Bolt Thrower, etc.). The music is both melodic and technical, balancing between the two tendencies. The opening "Social Status" is a lyrical headbanger with atmospheric progressive breaks, and "The Priest Of Fake" follows the same speedy path, thrashing hard with great leads and complex virtuoso sections. "By Accident" is another vigorous piece with steel riffs galore, and a beautiful balldic break, also graced by nice female vocals. "R.I.P." is a "r.i.p."ping thrashterpiece, a fast no-compromiser, again honoured with a nice mid-passage, and the great lead guitar work. It's only the final "Leaders Of Flesh" which betrays the intense pattern, but just a bit, coming with heavy pounding rhythms, which seamlessly flow into the enchanting balladic outro "Sapphire". This is a good release which gives a nice, characteristic twist to the numerous Death-worshipping albums, by making an optimal use of both the melody and technicality, without overdoing it in either department. Some of the band members are also occupied with the melodic death metallers Iscariota.

Perfect Excuse Full-length 2010

FORNICATION (CANADA)

These guys' music is close to the one of their compatriots Megiddo, in other words we have old school black/thrash metal. This act also shares some of the dramatism of early Burzum and mix in a similar way speedy and slower passages, the former being more frequent to which the raspy raven-like vocals suit better. The sound quality is really bad giving an unnecessary boost to the hollow drums which stifle the guitars quite a bit.
The Compilation comprises brutal black metal in the beginning ("Sewer Dwellers"), later replaced by a more-laid back thrash/black mixture ("L.S.Demons"), before things become evil and misanthropic at the end with a cold Khold vibe ("Grave Shaking Hell Metal"). Some of the band members are also active with the death/thrash formation Savage Streets.

Hell Metal Demo, 2009
Sewer Dwellers Compilation, 2010

FORSAKEN (INDIA)

These Indians play dreamy, atmospheric post-thrash which seldom avoids the groovy "traps", and inevitably wears thin well before the end, with its repetitive, unimaginative mid-tempo patterns. The quiet inclusions, some of which come with pretty good keyboards, are a desirable deviation from the trite formula, and should have been more frequent. On top of that we have very brutal death metal vocals which bring nothing to the much milder musical landscapes, except annoyance.

Hemispheres Full-Length, 2011

FORT� (USA)

One of the true greats of thrash metal of the 90's; the debut is a marvellous piece of classic Bay Area speed/thrash metal with moments from the American power metal scene: a summary of what has been going on in the American metal world during the 80's. "Coming of the Storm" is a nice speed/thrasher reminding of the Metallica cover of Diamond Head's "The Prince" with its light-hearted, but pretty fast, riffs. Later the course hardens with aggressive thrashers like "Mein Madness" and "The Inner Circle". The leads remain of the more melodic type suiting the constantly fast-paced music quite well which only slows down on the closer "The Promise": a very cool heavy ballad. The vocals are good, high for most of the time, but never reach the intolerable glass-breaking notes.
"Division" comes with a more modern and aggressive sound. The guitars thrash really aggressively, no traces of speed or power metal here, and the pace is slower, which could be considered a stepdown from the debut; it's not until the 6th song when the first really faster riffs could be heard. The second half is the more varied, and the better one. There is a very cool bass instrumental, an excellent acoustic ballad, and a good cover version of one of the first speed/thrashers in music history: Accept's "Fast As A Shark". The new singer is much less impressive with an angrier more aggressive style not too far from Phil Anselmo.
"Destructive" opens with the awesome aggressive thrasher "Barcode"; later the aggression remains, but modern groovy elements show up ("Deviate", "Destructive"). As a result we have a hesitation between classic and modern thrash, but a considerable part of the speed from the debut has come back ("The Hard way", "Heal Me"), and this album still delivers the goods, despite the presence of two ballads.
"Rise Above" starts in the same way as the previous one, with a great speed/thrasher: "Man Against Machine", followed by another two in the same vein. It looked as though the guys have gotten rid of the groovy elements, but come "Ninety-Nine" and "Burn", which remind of the 90's once again, but only for a while. "Destructor" thrashes with full force, and just when you think that this time the band have forgotten to include the obligatory ballad, comes the last song: "Until The End of Time", a tender piece, another proof that there has hardly been a thrash metal act, before or after, who could come up better ballads than those guys (did someone out there say, "Testament"; or "Metallica"?).

Stranger Than Fiction Full-length, 1992
Division Full-length, 1994
Destructive Full-length, 1997
Rise Above Full-length, 1999

FORTRESS (AUSTRALIA)

Modern thrash/crossover with post-thrash elements thrown in; think a more updated Motorhead as well mixed with straight hard'n heavy moments at times, supported by cool forceful semi-clean vocals.

Victory Or Valhalla Full-Length, 1994

FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE (USA)

There are different vocal styles presented here; these are probably songs which had been recorded at different stages of the band's short career. The main ones are very close to Steve Souza from Exodus, some are annoying hardcore shouts, which also have the detrimental tendency to high-pitch scream at the most inappropriate time, and rough death-ish ones. The tracks are quite short, no longer than 2.5-min, but the music is solid thrash, with no shades of hardcore whatsoever. I know you think of Hirax almost at once, but the tempo here is slower, heavier, and these guys do a better job in the guitar department, without ignoring the speed completely (check out the smashing number "Reincarnation").

14:56 EP, 1987

FOUNDING NECROPOLISES (CHILE)

These Chileans offer retro thrash with more intense proto-death metal overtones; this is fast tight music with more intriguing insertions coming as a mix between Rigor Mortis and early Pestilence. The guitar work is very good with short melodic leads which should have been given more room. The singer is a scary forceful growler reminiscent of Francis M. Howard (Incubus, Opprobrium).

Demo Demo, 2009

FOUNDRE (USA)

Power/thrash metal of the less heavy type with playful rock-ish numbers included ("Black as Night") and a ballad (the album closer "Peace and Tranquillity", which very well deserves its title); there is also a semi-ballad a few tracks earlier: "Who's To Blame?". The sound hesitates between the classic and the modern one, but more often stays closer to the modern one, and very often recalls Skid Row's "Slave to the Grind". "Love, Lust, Rape" is almost doom/gothic metal and would even please fans of Type-O-Negative.

Dross Full-length, 2006

FOUR QUESTION MARKS (FRANCE)

Based on "Titan": dry mechanical, quite technical, modern thrash which sits somewhere on the road from Meshuggah to Fear Factory. The arrangements are somewhat chaotic, but still deliver the goods here and there: the frantic jumpy "Pain Algebra", the creepy industrial madness "Cyclopean Dementia", but dragging groovy compositions are also around to keep the balance: "Solid", "Tracheotomy".

Aleph Full-length, 2005
Titan Full-length, 2008

FOURTH REICH (SWITZERLAND)

Raw primitive black/thrash metal with horrifying vocals which mixes Hellhammer with early Messiah; high level of musicianship is totally out of the question. "Kill" is an early exercise in death metal, and is quite an achievement in itself. This is brutal chaotic music which at times has this genuine dark gothic shade which later found its full transformation on the band's future efforts under the name Alastis.

Fatidical Date Demo, 1989

FR8 (UK)

Modern thrash with all the typical gimmicks for the genre: angry hardcore basic vocals, occasional semi-clean ones, fast tempos and groovy sections. These guys manage to come up with cool headbanging riffs, and on those moments they come sounding quite close to Machine Head's "Burn My Eyes" ("Pill", "Twisted").

In Cold Blood EP, 2005

FRACTALLINE (USA)

Technical modern thrash metal with more intense death metal moments added for good measure; the music is competently chaotic and often quite fast recalling Altered Aeon and Biomechanical the main difference coming from the stylish melodic leads which could have been longer, often just slightly hinted at. The guitars have a nice mechanical edge which gets lost on the several groovy sections, but the complex shred clearly dominates reaching the top on the smashing technical riff-fest "Over The Gap", and the frantic Coroner-esque closer "Cloud Of Static". This is a nice little entry into the technical side of the genre, and could very well serve as the foundation for an impressive full-length. Some improvement in the vocal department may be desirable, though: those shouty semi-death metal vocals may be quite a detraction to some.

Infinite Entropy EP, 2010

FRACTURE (AUSTRALIA)

Quite cool dark progressive power/thrash metal with heavy crunchy guitars and very good clean emotional vocals; "Unidentified" is a great opener, both intense and technical, with razor-sharp riffage which is well translated on the following "Frame Of Mind" which is slightly milder and dreamy, but delivers all the same with its atmospheric, lightly keyboard-infused, passages. "Rearranged" is a progressive opus worthy of Nevermore and the Germans Psychotron seamlessly blending haunting balladic and brutally heavy sections. "The Grand Illusion" is a more ordinary take on the semi-ballad (a "grand illusion", indeed), but "Simple Chaos" hardens the course to almost headbanging proportions to a fairly positive effect. "Without End" is a more complex take on the doom metal idea with balladic stretches, and "A Common Thread" doesn't reach much further coming with the most peaceful passages on the album which fade at the end into an ambient/distorted guitar outro. The closer "The Wish" is finally the full-blooded ballad, although the listener has secretly hoped that this moment could be avoided provided that the ballad was already more than well covered on previous songs. Still, despite the obvious loss of speed and dynamics in the 2nd half, this effort is a valuable addition to the progressive metal scene also recalling another progressive metal act from Australia on the more quiet moments: Neue Regel, where the singer David Bellion had taken part previously.

Simple Chaos Full-length, 2010

FRAGILE NOVA (RUSSIA)

Modern death/thrash of the widely spread Swedish type; brisk, energetic, with some cool riffage, but overall nothing really impressive: for fans of mid-period In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Corporation 187, and the likes.

One Day Beyond Full-length, 2008

FRAKTAL (SPAIN)

Modern thrash of the more melodic type ruined by the brutal low-tuned vocals; the music is dynamic with frequent switches from mid-paced to more speedy passages. There is a nice technical undercurrent running throughout reaching its culmination on the excellent late-period Death worship "Stained Territory" at the end.

Blood Hunger Plague Demo, 2011

FRANGAR (ITALY)

Based on "Bulloni Granate Bastoni", this band pulls out an abrasive blend of black metal and modern thrash, which is both epic and aggressive, both sides not helped much by the muddy sound quality. The vocals are shouty semi-deathy ones, but suit the frenetic musical delivery which calms down at the end, on the closing 13-min epic "Sol Invictvs...", which is mid-paced at best, graced by fine melodies and a beautiful, albeit too long, acoustic passage.

Totalitarian War Full-length, 2007
1915 - Tutto per la patria EP, 2008
Bulloni Granate Bastoni Full-length, 2011

FRANK'S ENEMY (USA)

This act was started by just one man, Julio Rey, after his previous band The Lead split up. Based on the debut, recorded by him alone, this is classic thrash/death crossing the Floridian influences with the French school. The final result is a blend of quite fast brutal music and slower heavy almost doomy tracks which sound a bit modern-ish, and are clearly the downside, being also too long to be considered just breaks from the relentless bashing on the rest ("Reasons to Say No" alone is about 15-min, and is quite a messy composition with jazz, funk and more included). The closing "Coventry Carol" is mere industrial noise, too offbeat to be viewed as a nice final touch.

Frank's Enemy Full-length, 1994
Neoblasphemies Full-length, 1996
Illumination Full-length, 1998
Enraged EP, 2002

FRANKENBOK (AUSTRALIA)

Based on the "The Last Ditch Redemption" EP, this band offers alternative modern post-thrash which boldly ventures into stoner/doom ("The Last Ditch Redemption") to produce soulful pensive music often intercepted by atmospheric balladic interludes.
"The End of All You Know" is a heavier affair, also considerably faster in a merrier hardcore-ish way, the doomy tendencies well preserved on stomping pieces, like "Hypocrisy Democracy" and "The Downfall Of Detroit". "God Complex" is a nice more technical piece, placed in the 2nd half, which is slower and less demanding, the other more energetic moment provided by the crossover closer "Never Say Die", which is not a Black Sabbath cover.

Greetings and Salutations Full-length, 2000
The Loopholes & Great Excuses EP EP, 2001
Blood Oath Full-length, 2003
Murder of Songs Full-length, 2007
The Last Ditch Redemption EP, 2008
The End of All You Know Full-Length, 2011

FRANKENSHRED (USA)

Based on "Cauldron Of Evil", this act offers pretty cool classic power/speed/thrash metal which covers the three styles almost equally for which also helps the big number of songs (16) present. The album starts in an energetic speed/thrashy manner with the fast & furious "Dogs Of War" and "Psychosis Of The Mind", before moving onto heavy pounding power/thrash for a couple of tracks later, until it reaches the imposing bass instrumental "W.W.S." and the title track which is a nice quiet ballad. Then things jump on the doom/power metal side with "The Devil's Eye" and "I Feel Your Pain", before the "idyll" gets interrupted with the fast-paced "The Haunting", but the guys' dark doomy side comes up again on "Let The Punishment Fit The Crime" despite the raging proto-death section encountered in the middle. Speed metal is the order of the day on "Pray For Your Sins", and fast and slow melodies take turns till the end which comes in the form of the excellent speedster "Play To Win". This is a varied work with a wide appeal, a lot of energy and cool clean semi-high vocals which cover all ranges with dexterity.

Frankenshred Full-length, 1997
Evil Shred Full-length, 2000
Dr. Frankenshred Full-length, 2001
Cauldron Of Evil Full-length, 2009

FRANTGRESSOR (MEXICO)

A cool slab of prime headbanging retro speed/thrash metal in the spirit of Whiplash's "Power & Pain"; fast lashing music with a slightly irritating noisy background, the main annoyance, though, being the gruff semi-shouty death metal vocals. The approach easily borders on death metal (the maddening "Impaler") on the more intense moments the latter aptly relieved by stylish melodic leads (check "Catastrophic"). The other thing which may disturb a bit would be the hollow bashing drums which deafen the guitars at times the latter managing to carry quite a bit of melody again in the spirit of the aforementioned Americans.

Vice 'till Death Full-length 2009

FRANTIC (USA)

An album which combines the classic sound with a more modern one ala Flotsam & Jetsam's "Quatro"; this is feelgood light-hearted power/thrash on the more melodic side, with very good bass work, mostly mid-paced with numerous balladic passages. "Lockup" is a more intense galloping thrasher, but "Funk#49" is quick to "kill" the mood with awful funky elements added. "Fade Away" is a mix of the last two songs, so expect both good and bad moments. The singer has an emotional clean voice, quite close to Eric AK (Flotsam & Jetsam), and he really shines on the closing ballad.

Perennial Herbs or Shrubs Full-length, 1994

FRANTIC AMBER (SWEDEN)

These newcomers prefer to tread the well carved path of modern Swedish thrash/death metal the main diffrence coming from the fact that they don't bother to speed up too often settling for a melodic mid-paced approach which works all right for a 5-track demo, but more variety would be beneficial on the eventual full-length...

Wrath Of Judgement Demo, 2010

FRATRICIDE (CANADA)

Based on the 1986 split, this band offer fast aggressive thrash/crossover along the lines of Cryptic Slaughter and Beyond Possession.

Neuroot/Fratricide Split album, 1986
Fratricide/Mission Of Christ Split album, 1987
Fratricide Single, 1990

FREAK NEIL INC. (HOLLAND)

A side-project of the Sun Caged guys, this album shares the progressive inclinations of the main act, but its concentration is more on modern post-thrash with a strong avantgarde funky shade. The compositions are jumpy diverse experiences, at least half of them of the dreamy surreal type, the latter superior to the several groovy fillers. This is an engaging listen which will keep you guessing what comes next, especially on the multi-layered closer "Absence" which seldom repeats a theme or a riff during its 14-min. Among the guest musicians one will recognize Steve DiGiorgio and the guitarist Chris Godin (Death, Obituary, Testament, etc.).

Characters Full-length, 2005

FREAK SEED (USA)

The band's full-length debut introduces a pretty common for the time modern post-thrash metal reminiscent of Metallica's Black Album, 90's Flotsam & Jetsam and the Overkill works from around the same period. The music lacks a punch most of the time featuring semi-ballads ("Ragtime"), an awful alternative rock-ish piece ("Mummery Vagary"), and a lot of groove.

Grout Demo, 1996
Ignition Full-Length, 1998

FREDRIK THORDENDAL'S SPECIAL DEFECTS (SWEDEN)

As you have already guessed by the band name, this is a side project of the Meshuggah guitar player Fredrik Thordendal, assisted by his colleague Tomas Haake from the same band, as well as by guest musicians who play on a church organ, saxophone, yidaki (what's that!?), etc. This is very off-beat stuff which uses the mid-period Meshuggah (think "Chaosphere") style as a base, but there is so much more to hear, that I'll just stop here with the review to not get confused. This is mostly instrumental music with whispered declamatory voices included, as well as sinister black-ish vicious snarls quite close to O.L.D. There is a strong presence of industrial, too, and Thordendal delivers on all counts with his guitar exploits leading the pack. There is nothing aggressive here, this is mid-tempo stuff with numerous slower surreal sections where various instruments shake hands, and make things really interesting (or irritating for the more straight metal fans). There is a fair bit of thrash to be heard here, but the pure atmospheric or industrial tracks take at least one-third of the whole album. The compositions are quite short, most of them 1.5-2min long, and as separate pieces do not make much sense so the album works as one inseparable whole; an original unusual take on modern industrial thrash.

Sol Niger Within Full-length, 1997

FREEVIL (SWEDEN)

The allusions to the Judas Priest's great speedy hymn made with the album-title, are well-grounded. Freevil were formed after another Swedish band, Denata, split-up. The guys are doing a better job here; they preserve the more straight approach of the previous band, but enrich their music with genuine technical moments and cool lead guitar, and as a result some of the songs are much longer than the 2-3min ones on the Denata albums. The style is still more modern-sounding, and the vocals are more vicious, clinging to the black metal side, but the smart use of keyboards, the variation of the pace, and the excellent guitar work make this album a commendable debut.

Freevil Burning Full-length, 2007

FREIGHTER (USA)

This is a curiosity: very eclectic progressive/technical modern thrash with plenty of dissonant rhythms and illogical tempo-changes reaching a Dillinger Escape Plan chaos on the less controlled moments. "Someone Set Your Voicemail" opens the album in a fairly hectic manner with a wild jumpy rhythm section which gets under control, but just a bit, on the mechanical shredder "Forevertron" which turns into a formidable lashing thrasher near the end. "Give Me Back My Peanut Butter Sandwich" is abstract discordant thrash at its best with a pinch of groove, and "Mutant League Football" is a jazzy/funky interpretation of the modern sound with "Blinkytown" following this path very closely inevitable exiting the thrash metal arena, only to re-enter it on the dreamy sleeper "Davey vs. Casey". The last two songs are wild amalgams of moods and influences, a bit underwhelming, switching from one ppattern to another to mixed impressions losing the coherence in the process sounding like scattered sketches of a bigger work of art. The cold shouty vocals are hardly a valuable addition, but music of such a varied appeal definitely has its potential although at this stage the guys need to refine their approach a bit on future works.

Freighter Full-length 2008

FRIGHTMARE (USA)

This is another project of Maniac Neil: a famous figure in the death/grind circles who is responsible for some of the most brutal and uncompromising acts on the metal scene (Maniac Killer, Lord Gore, Blood Freak). With Frightmare he apparently shows willingness to "court" other metal styles with emphasis on thrash. Although some of the fans might be pulled back by the brutal low death-growls of the singer and the several blast-beats, they would be definitely won in the long run, because this is enjoyable thrash metal spiced up with classic heavy, death metal, and even punk moments; thrash/gore-fest, to sum it up.

Midnight Murder Mania Full-length, 2003
Bringing Back the Bloodshed Full-length, 2006

FROM BEYOND (BELGIUM)

The EP offers first-class thrash metal. The influences vary quite a bit: early Sadus, Necrodeath, Kreator; very fast, and occasionally technical music; 4 songs (the 5th one is a short acoustic epilogue) of explosive old school thrash.
"All Thrash Breaks Loose" finally saw the light of day, although 4 years are too big a "luxury" to be afforded by a not very well established on the metal map band. Never mind that, since the album simply crushes, as expected, fulfilling all the promises, and even more. "Cyber Eater" has a slightly unnerving title, but this is not modern industrial stuff: this is great headbanging retro thrash with a technical twist. "The Chaos Spheres" is a blistering blend of aggressive proto-death blasts and technical riffs; no ties to Meshuggah despite the allusions made by the song-title. The band's infatuation with speed carries on unabated on "Metal Commando", which again adheres to some blasts, but in a very cool way. "My Own World" is a mighty fast-paced thrasher, again with a nice technical edge, followed by the even more aggressive and faster "The Need To Kill". The short 1.5-min instrumental "Doom" delivers exactly what the title suggests: slow atmospheric doom. "The Wrath Of The Predator" is another stylish mix of aggression and technicality, this time concentrating on the leads, and virtually closes the album, which is full of short acoustic peaceful outros/intros/epilogues/interludes; not bad, but their number is perhaps too big. Actually there are 8 actual songs here which still are more than enough to satisfy even the most pretentious thrash metal fans.

Thrashin' Machine EP, 2003
All Thrash Breaks Loose Full-length, 2007

FROM NOWHERE (SPAIN)

Based on the full-length, this band offers pretty stylish technical/progressive thrash/death metal which is also quite melodic, staying mostly in mid to up-tempo, the good music slightly impeded by the rough low-tuned deathy vocals. At least half of the compositions are in the progressive melodic death metal camp, but watch out for unexpected conversions to technical thrash, mostly in teh 2nd half: the hectic lasher "Factory Of Hate"; the sweeping speed/thrasher "Right To Die", a tour de force with some of the greatest riffs around; the creepy nod to Coroner "REM", which is the last original song on the album, followed by two covers: Cancer's "Hung, Drawn And Quartered" from the Brits� sophomore effort �Death Shall Rise�, done by-the-book, pretty staright-forward; and Death's "Sacred Serenity� from �Symbolic�, a virtuous rendition of this great song, translating both the melody and technicality with passion. Spain has been producing talented technical acts for the past few years (Unreal Overflows, Continuo Renacer, Kill�em, Achokarlos (and its sister act Dying Clarity), etc.) threatening to take over other scenes (the Canadian, the German ones) as the leading one in this sub-genre, and this new band fits nicely along those names by developing their own individual approach to the style, which has a lot of potential for bigger future exploits.

Kingdom of Fools EP 2006
Agony Full-Length, 2011

FRONT (RUSSIA)

This is the band who put thrash metal on the Russian music map way back in 1986. The demo is a raw, heavy mixture of early speed/thrash (not much) and classic heavy metal riffs; the final result is not bad at all, although the thrashiness is not that much, with only one full-blooded , but excellent, speed/thrasher: "Heavy Metal" (it goes well beyond what the title suggests), and partially the up-tempo "Metalizacia". Later on the albums the band moved towards a brutal proto-death metal sound.

Metallizacija Demo, 1986
Der Wasser Der Koln Full-length, 1990
Mortal Surgery Full-length, 1992

FRONT BEAST (GERMANY)

Classic black-ish thrash mixed with more conventional heavy metal tunes reminiscent of Venom, Bathory and the Japanese acts Abigail and Sabbat; the vocals are quite similar to Burzum, but the music is firmly in the thrash metal camp; simple, but entertaining.

Ars Satanic ex Tempus EP, 2005
Black Spells of the Damned Full-length, 2006
Cursed Lake EP, 2007

FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY (USA)

Some of you may be surprised to find this band on the pages of this website, but those who are familar with the band, know that these techno-industrial pioneers had a short spell with metal on this album, and have done a great job, playing very intense thrash, of course populated with industrial elements, but much fewer than on their other efforts. Like with every industrial metal work, there is no speed involved; this is mid to up-tempo music with mighty razor sharp riffs which will cut you like a knife. There is a very good attempt at the "rap meets thrash" variety: "Victim of a Criminal", which is even better than the Anthrax/Public Enemy collaboration "Bring The Noise". Those who like industrial metal might want to check out the follow-up to this album: "Hard Wired" (1995), which has no many ties to thrash metal, but quite a few hard-hitting riffs can still be heard as well as some of the most haunting atmospheric orchestral passages of the 90's, which are truly one-of-a-kind.

Millennium Full-Length, 1993

FRONTLINES (FINLAND)

3 songs of typical modern post-thrash in a predictable mid-pace and angry deathy vocals. The guys don't bother to deviate from the norm too much, if we exclude the several more stylish leads, which are kind of surreal to the pedestrian background.

Unleash The Beast EP, 2011

FRONTSIDE (POLAND)

These Poles offer pedestrian modern thrash which comes with both groove and energy, the latter acquiring more aggressive deathy overtones at times. The pace doesn't go up a lot, though, and the overall tone is kind of sleepy, sharing some of the brooding mood of the gothic scene ("1902"). Expect also industrial "outrages" (the noisy hardcorer "Kulminacja"), and sprawling doomy ("Linia Lycia") closers.

Nasze Jest Kr�lestwo Potega I Chwala Na Wieki Full-Length, 2001

FROZEN DOBERMAN (AUSTRALIA)

Based on "Bonsai", the style is a mixed bag: the best moments include hard-hitting thrash in the Anthrax-mould, but there are more melodic post-thrash tracks, again reminding of Anthrax, but their 90's, much less impressive period. The overall effect is probably on the dull side.

Dying Phase EP, 1991
Bonsai Full-length, 1994

FROZEN GLARE (GREECE)

Based on the "Bewitched Lost Souls" 3-song demo, these guys pull out an intriguing mix of black, thrash and death metal recalling early Rotting Christ, but the music on offer here is more varied with numerous quiet orchestral/acoustic passages, and gothic tunes, but when the band decide to thrash, they show no mercy, like on the direct "Bewitched Lost Souls", which again comes with a cool orchestral outro.

In Limitless Hate Demo, 2002
In Death We Trust Demo, 2002
A Life of Inanimation Demo, 2003
Shrine of Failure Demo, 2004
Bewitched Lost Souls Demo, 2005
Shining Comes Benighted EP, 2006
And The Six Wolves Ate Mankind Split, 2007

FROZEN ROCK (RUSSIA)

Based on the 2nd demo, these Russians play vicious black/thrash metal reminiscent of more recent Absu, and early Impaled Nazarene when the guys lose it completely. There are also shades of viking/epic metal not far from mid-period Bathory ("Valhalla Across The Bay", which title is more than a reference to the Bathory magnum opus "One Rode to Asa Bay" from "Hammerheart").

Freezing Fire Of Northland Demo, 2007
Metalheading Northwards: Icy Depths Of Burning Hell Demo, 2008

FRUSTHATRED (HOLLAND)

Based on "Full Head-On Damage", this is groovy thrash which was quite typical for the 90's mostly; the style is not too far from Machine Head or Pantera. Nothing surprising here, even the vocals take turns between the traditional for this style angrier, and clean ones.

Undertone Full-length, 1998
Full Head-on Damage Full-length, 2004

FUCK OFF (SPAIN)

This band, along with Legion and Muro, started the speed/thrash metal movement in Spain. Although the band name might pull back the more pretentious (and it definitely doesn't serve the band right) part of the metal fanbase, the music makes up many times for it. The band's debut is rawer, with early Slayer being an obvious influence. It starts in a more controlled, but energetic speed metal manner ala Exciter, before switching onto full-blooded thrash with "Maniac" and "The Last Flight". "Awaiting your Death" is a light-hearted crossover joke, which influences the following thrash/crossover piece "Blood in the Night"; there's no way you won't start singing the infectious chorus on this one. The more aggressive thrashy patterns return on "Another Sacrifice", but the sound lets loose towards softer heavy metal waters with "Sue�o Maldito". "Born to Die" is exemplary speed/thrash metal paving the way for the coming of the Slayer cover of "Black Magic", quite well done, furious and merciless, with only the vocals failing to produce the vicious screams of Tom Araya.
"Hell On Earth" thrashes with no mercy from the get-go, with "Witch (Hell Below the Belly)", and later on it only gets more aggressive as well as more technical. Some crossover motives can still be caught, but here they are way more aggressive: "Midnight Confession". "Whom You Never to Say His Name" is an unforgettable small thrashing bomb, not least because of the catchy memorable vocal delivery. No such catchiness on the next fierce thrasher "Don't You Have Fear", but it comes aplenty on the more speed metal-based "Hell on Earth", an obvious influence on the future speed/power metal wave of the 90's. Finally something slower: the heavy mid-paced "In Your Grave", which serves as a break for the guys to recapture their energy for the great final 10-min instrumental "Cyclone" which, apart from the furious speed/thrashing sections comes with quiet ones as well, very strong bass performance, stomping heavy riffage, and melodic semi-lead deviations ala Iron Maiden. Arguably the finest Spanish thrash metal act from the early days, this band left a big trace on the scene with these two strong efforts which wide appeal had made them favourites to many fans, and not only in their homeland.

Another Sacrifice Full-length, 1988
Hell On Earth Full-length, 1990

Vibrations of Doom

FUCK OFF AND DIE! (LITHUANIA)

Ths is wild brutal thrashcore with open death metal elements; an intense affair which, when slowing down, manages to sound acceptably thrashy ("Homo Homini Lvpvs", the industrialized "Cult Of Intoxication"). Sadly, those moments are not many at all, and most of the time what one will experience would be ultimate bashing boldly venturing into grindcore.

No Peace. No Love. No Whores. No God. Full-length, 2005
Anti All Full-length, 2008
The Pulse of [Self]Destruction Full-Length, 2010

FUCK YOU ALL (CANADA)

This Canadian trio "fucks you all" offering thrash of the retro type with a very bad sound quality, with the ugliest most brutal death metal vocals around which are never heard clearly. Otherwise the music is not very hard-hitting, albeit trying to stay within the up-tempo parametres, having also elements of crossover/hardcore all this compiled in simplistic 2-min song structures.

Fuck You All Demo, 2005

FUELBLOODED (HOLLAND)

The debut: your average modern thrash/death metal band; the music is energetic and brisk, but is too ordinary, and has been heard so many times before and after, that there's almost nothing more to add; maybe the duel between the gruff death-ish vocals and the mid-ranged clean ones, which was not quite common on the scene at the time.
"Off The Face Of The Earth" shows the guys in a better light, offering longer more varied compositions although the pace is still up, and the leads are quite cool, melodic, sometimes forming a nice "duel" with the rhythm guitar ("When Passion Dies").

Inflict The Inevitable Full-length, 2006
Off The Face Of The Earth Full-length, 2009

FUELED (USA)

Veterans from the 80's US thrash metal scene (Possessed, Sacrilege BC, etc.) have gotten together for the recording of this pedestrian dragging take on the new post-thrashy trends with a pinch of industrial, which sounds more appealing when it slows down (ha ha- are you kidding?!), like on the cool industrialized ballad "Fueled", an atmospheric hallucinogenic piece in the best tradition of Front Line Assembly; or the abstract alternative spacer "Savior". No more "saviors" later, unfortunately, if we don't count the dry sterile closer "Bleached", which is a cool nod to Godflesh with hypnotic beats and distorted guitars.

Fueled Full-length, 1997

FUELED BY FIRE (USA)

Excellent speed/thrash metal which sounds similar to several contemporary Brazilian acts like Executer, Bywar and Blasthrash; in other words, Germanic thrash of the new millennium. The first song says it all: "Thrash Is Back": a great speedy thrasher, followed by a couple of similarly styled songs, until "Betrayal", which is mid-paced, and "betrays" the basic much more aggressive sound, with a certain power metal flavour, graced by good melodic guitars. If this track has shaken your confidence in the band's thrashy skills, here comes "Massive Execution": 3-min of pure thrash aggression in the vein of early Destruction, and the excellent, but more melodic instrumental "Metal Forever". "Command Of The Beast" closes this fine debut combining the predominant speedy patterns with stomping heavy riffs.
"Plunging Into Darkness" sees the guys "plunging" on the scene again, and this effort doesn't disappoint offering the same heads-down vigorous approach. After the initial more formal and laid-back instrumental opener "The Arrival" comes the thrashing fury "Rising From Beneath" to claim your souls. "Within The Abyss" is a mid-paced delight, but "Unidentified Remains" is a pure Slayer madness: brutal, short and to the point. "Plunging Into Darkness" returns to the more speedy German models followed by another more intense proto-death laced piece ("Eye Of The Demon"). "Evoke", which is an intro placed in the middle (this is probably the new regulation about intros, but I haven't heard about it), is a quiet balladic instrumental, obviously a leftover from the next (a reference made with the title) "Evoke The Curse" which is another brisk speed/thrasher. There is no mercy shown till the end, the guys moshing out in a smashing Sayer-esque manner on the remaining 3 tracks. The band keep on raising the classic thrash metal flag sky-high by expanding their delivery to cover a wider gamut of influences ending up with a more aggressive sound.

Spread The Fire!!! Full-length, 2006
Plunging Into Darkness Full-length, 2010

FUELED BY HATE (USA)

Old school death mixed with old school thrash metal; works fine all the time with heavy crushing riffs and mid-paced to slow tracks, and I guess that's the reason why on quite a few times the music reminds of bands from the death/doom metal sector: Beyond Belief, to name one, or Six Feet Under's "Haunted", with a thrashy edge. Still, when the guys pick up speed, they can make quite a few heads bang with full force: "Killing Spree", "Fueled by Hate". Clever semi-technical riffs can also be heard: "Valkyria", but sparingly. This is diverse stuff, worth tracking down.

Filled with Rage Full-length, 2002

FULCRUM CREAK (FINLAND)

Based on the split with Incriminited, these guys play choppy heavy thrash/death metal with a lot of groove and an interesting, and not annoying, mixture of clean and brutal vocals. The music is nothing much to write about: mid-paced repetitive stuff with no highlights whatsoever. "Flabbergasting Eggbeater" is the odd chaotic energetic number, and "Manual Churnkneader" is a cool alternative semi-ballad.

Conquer Me/Sight Of Aggression Single, 1996
Incriminated/Fulcrum Creak Split, 1998

FULL CIRCLE (USA, Kentucky)

90's groovy post-thrash with a playful attitude, not bad, recalling Prong's "Cleansing" with heavy sharp riffs, quite memorable, despite its not very original nature. "Coal Black Eyes" is a very cool semi-ballad where the hardcore vocals melt to really impressive clean ones. The tempo is mostly mid, and doesn't develop beyond this border. "Why Can't You" is a stunning progressive modern thrasher, lasting for more than 10-min, featuring very heavy doomy sections which, despite their one-dimensional nature, are quite appealing combined with the more energetic passages.

Negative Full-length, 1995

FULL CIRCLE (USA, Texas)

Phil Anselmo has moved to a classic thrash metal act; ha ha ha, not exactly, but the singer follows very closely Phil's singing style which contrasts well to the hard-hitting retro thrash these guys offer. This is heavy mid to up-tempo stuff which comes as a mix of the Exhorder debut and Evildead's "The Underworld", but offers better lead guitar work than both. After the two straight intense headbangers, the band tries to show their more ambitious side with longer more complex songs, and admirably succeed to produce some high-octane technical thrash: the chaotic in the beginning "Cancer", the multi-layered "If I Had One Neck To Break", which ends with a nice instrumental energetic technical section.

Suck up to My Neck EP, 2002

FULLTRAP (JAPAN)

Based on the debut, this is modern thrash with shades of groove, which at times is surprisingly impressive (the fine instrumental opener "Triple Mosh Point"), and occasionally the speed is quite high ("All As It's"), and the guitar work brings forth nice melodic hooks, both in the lead and the riff department, but the derivative and generic moments are also here... Actually, the overall style is not too far from Anthrax's "We've Come For You All", but this effort here is a more thrashy, and overall better, effort.

Fulltrap Full-length, 2002
Heartbeating Full-length, 2003

FUNEBRIA (VENEZUELA)

Based on the demo, this is mostly black metal played in a fast furious tempo with hyper blasts and all with the occasional less intense thrashy break jumping here and there, in the vein of later period Immortal.
"In Dominus Blasfemical Est... Ad Noctum Sathania" is a sure-handed take on the black metal idea, but the fast thrashy sections are not completely lost, and this aggressive blend now comes pretty close to more recent Impaled Nazarene if we exclude the cool epic breaks ("Sadomasochrist") ala Immortal and early Enslaved. Death metal steps in for a bit on the short brutal piece "Tormento", and hyper-blasting black metal reigns supreme on "In Dominus Blasfemical Est... Ad noctum Sathania", and in the 2nd half the guys make no compromise sticking to brutal ultra-fast black metal for most of the time.

Manifiesto al Esclavo Demo, 2005
Holocausto Imp�o en el Desierto de Golgota EP, 2006
In Dominus Blasfemical Est... Ad Noctum Sathania Full-length, 2009

FUNERAL (MEXICO)

Based on "Bendiciones De Muerte", these guys serve fast aggressive thrash of the old school, with a strong hardcore edge. This is fast one-dimensional music with rough death metal vocals. The bass-bottom is pretty strong stifling the thin guitars at times. Expect a thundering cover of their compatriots' Brujeria's "Brujerizmo" at the end.

Muerte A La Bestia Full-length 2005
Bendiciones De Muerte Full-length 2010

FUNERAL BITCH (USA)

This is one of the first bands founded by the omnipresent Paul Speckmann, this time with the help of the Znowhite guitar player Alex Olvera. Based on the two 1987 demos, this band have played a major role in the formation of the death metal genre; their style is brutal, fast death/thrash with short 1.5-2 min tracks, and Speckman's vocals being higher-pitched, sinister snarls, different from the ones he later used on his other projects. Later he changed the band's name into Master where the transition into full-fledged death metal was complete.

Demo 1 Demo, 1985
Demo 2 Demo, 1987
Funeral Bitch Demo, 1987
Nuke'em Demo, 1988

FUNERAL MARCH (SLOVENIA)

Good thrash/death metal recalling the French Massacra; there is nice technical guitar work present here, and the band definitely have a taste for good melodies (check out "Chernobil": the Russian fanbase will surely recognize the theme there), but they don't forget to be quite brutal, too ("Brutal Madness"). These guys also have the knack of putting quite a few riffs into short 2-min tracks making them an intense, but satisfying, listen. Even the harsh vocals ala Janne "Demonos" Sova (Barathrum) fit quite nicely. This album is another reminder that there is much to look for in places which are not a very hot place for metal.

Invite To Die!? Full-length, 1992

FUNERAL NATION (USA)

Excellent death/thrash metal influenced by Slayer and Rigor Mortis; "After The Battle" is a good debut with simplistic, but effective guitar work, a unique dark edge, and cool Tom G. Warrior-like vocals. Despite the intense fast tempo, the music is long on atmosphere helped by the nice melodic hooks and the short, but meaningful, leads. The songs flow nicely sometimes sounding closer to death metal ("The Dark"), sometimes surprisingly melodic with a crossover flair (the instrumental "Reign of Death"), sometimes first-rate thrashing pieces ("In Silence"), and occasionally even technical ("Eternal Promises").

"The Benediction" is full-blooded thrash most of the time with more ordinary guitar work, softer, even offering cool attempts at a more balladic song-writing: "Encased in Glass", as well as more ambitious longer compositions ("The Apocalypse"). The pace is still quite energetic with the aggressive closer "Maniac" smelling death metal on the most intense parts.

Reign of Death EP, 1991
After the Battle Full-length, 1991
The Benediction Demo, 1992

FUNERAL PARTY (PORTUGAL)

An obscure underground entry from the Portuguese thrash metal scene, this band presents us with heavy mid-paced 90's thrash balancing between the mellower sound of The Black Album and the angrier groovier one of Pantera, the vocals strictly belonging to the Phil Anselmo-camp. The guys tried some death metal with Necris Dome under which name they released a solitary demo some time in the early/mid 90's, and had a similar formation around the same time: Bloodshed, with which they again released one demo of classic death metal.

Promo Demo, 1994

FUNERARY PIT (AUSTRALIA)

Like with most of the extreme contemporary metal acts from Australia, there are always members of Destroyer 666 involved, two of them in this case; and not surprisingly, the style is a mixture of black, death and thrash metal, not miles away from the early Destroyer 666 efforts; maybe on this EP the music is faster and more brutal, and more black metal-tinged.

Winds of Hell EP, 2006

FUNEROT (USA)

BBased on the debut: crossover/thrash with short direct tracks and an overall style close to mid-period Cryptic Slaughter or Ludichrist; the downpoint is that the sound is on the melodic softer side without the intensity which used to go with this style in the 80's.
"And Then You Fucking Die Man" is a much more melodic affair, a total tribute to early Motorhead, in other words what you will hear here is jolly very unpretentious one-dimensional proto-thrash/speed with simplistic mellow guitars and drunken hoarse vocals.

Invasion from the Death Dimension Full-length, 2006
Nova II EP, 2007
Stranded in Time EP, 2008
Babeboobs EP, 2010
And Then You Fucking Die Man Full-length, 2010

FURIA (ECUADOR)

This new act specializes in energetic classic thrash/death with sharp, vivid riffs and slightly rough, lower-pitched death metal vocals. The guys play fast and tight, dropping the up-tempo in the 2nd half for the sake of a string of cool mid-paced shredders "Cementerio De Los Vivos", "Victimarios", etc. The aggression comes back for the closing "Cenit del Genocidio", which is a raging death/thrasher with a sophisticated, both melodic and semi-technical, edge.

Forajidos Full-Length, 2010

FURIOUS BARKING (ITALY)

Punk/hardcore with two great technical thrashers at the end (based on the EP); it's definitely a mixed bag, making you ask yourself what these thrashers are doing in an otherwise completely non-thrash album. "Theory of Diversity", recorded in the distant 1992, and released just recently, is excellent aggressive old school thrash, quite close to Torture's "Storm Alert", both music and vocal-wise. The opener "Decompression State" is direct intense thrash, but "Always From Inside" slows down, bringing cool technical riffs to the fore. Later on there is not much technicality present, but the pace is energetic spiced by good heavy slower sections. "Every Indetermination Is Complete" shows the more technical riffage again, and is actually a very good technical thrasher of the stomping variety, switching onto all-out speed near the end, a tendency gracefully continued on the furious follower "Homo Superior", which also comes technically decorated. Just a year after the not very convincing EP, these guys managed to release a good album of uncompromising old school thrash.

De Industrialized EP, 1991
Theory of Diversity Full-length, 1992 (but released in 2008)

FURIOUS TRAUMA (DENMARK)

Based on "Eclipse", the style is a combination of modern thrash, classic thrash and even a bit of death metal. The classic songs work best, but the rest is not bad either, if we exclude the angry vocals which are slightly irritating. The debut is a cool slab of headbanging old school thrash, moshing somewhere between Slayer and Exodus. Some nods to the modern tendencies are inevitable ("Adult Lust", the Black Album-influenced "In Your Dreams"), but they are done with taste. Insertions like the merry crossover smashing instrumental "Ridin' With Sioux" only make things more attractive, contrasting nicely to the more aggressive material.
"Strange Ways" is truly a revelation coming after the slightly modernized "Eclipse", and serves 6 tracks of heads-down retro 80's thrash which apart from the straight headbangers ("Chaos Within", "Born Of The Flag") contains a very cool ballad ("My Dying Time") with a Metallica-shade, heavy mid-paced stompers ("Way To Perfection"), and one excellent longer more technical composition ("The Challenge") in the best tradition of late-80's Metallica.

Primal Touch Full-length, 1993
Eclipse Full-length, 1995
Strange Ways EP, 1996
Roll The Dice Full-length, 1999

FURTHER DIMENSION (FRANCE)

Very good progressive metal with a thick modern sound of the aggressive thrashy type; "Greed" is an intense Nevermore-sque opener with very heavy brutal riffs, but "Doomed" is already a more light-hearted technical headbanger with crunchy jumpy guitars (not much doom here), before "A Certain Idea Of Human Kind" smashes your skull with some of the heaviest riffs around; this one remains fairly up-tempo adhering to more laid-back progressive balladic breaks and a couple of swirling complex ones. "Further Dimension" is an ambitious semi-balladic opus which balances between peaceful and intense thrashy passages. "The Evil Power Of Their Souls" is the ultimate modern technical thrasher with a super-heavy rhythm section with successful attempts at more classic galloping power/thrash. The album loses steam in the middle: "Stare Of Sunken Eye" is a modern groovy lead-driven instrumental filler with a short speedy part at the end, followed by the other interlude: the cool ballad "Is This The World We Created". "Middle Age" is a progressive modern track with a few interesting vortex-like leads which are too technical on the more conventional background. Things liven up at the end with the trilogy "The Monolith Effect", which all 3 parts introduce energetic complex thrash of the technical mid-paced variety, until the short blasting death metal sections on the last part which also mark a change in vocals: the cool clean mid-levelled ones are replaced by brutal death metal grunts. This is an engaging serious listen which gives a nice progressive twist to the modern sound. Some of the band members also take part in the power metallers Inner Visions, and the heavy/thrash metal act Insomny.

The Monolith Effect Full-length, 2010

FURY (AUSTRALIA)

Based on "Slavekind", this is good, fast thrash of the Bay Area school with two different vocal styles: one of the angry modern type and the other one clean. There is a certain doze of death metal, too, which adds up to the aggressive character of this album.

Fury Full-length, 1997
Stigmatized EP, 2000
Slavekind Full-length, 2001
Forbidden Art Full-length, 2005
Blood, Sweat and Iron EP, 2005

FURY (USA)

This excellent act specializes in hard-hitting progressive power/thrash which has enough edge and heaviness to fill in 10 other albums. The opening riff-monster "Anarchy For All" introduces ultra-sharp guitars, high-strung Halford-esque vocals, and great bass support. "Repentance" is vintage Sanctuary, a powerful dark composition, the good emotional vocals now resembling Warrel Dane as well, with a touch of Trouble's Eric Wagner on the wailing notes. "Land Of The Living" is a crushing mixture of doom and thrash, but the initial energy is quickly captured right after with the mid-paced steam-roller "Downward Spiral". "Picture To Wonder" is a more laid-back progressive piece with echoes of Fates Warning and Lethal. "Deceiver" will bring you back straight to the very roots of US power metal, as forged by acts like Jag Panzer and early Attacker. The sound then acquires slower progressive dimensions for two longer songs, where the singer adds subdued lower tembers to a fairly good effect, until the arival of the much more immediate speedster "Gutwrench". The closing "Minds Of The Living/Battle Of Truth" is another sprawling progressive opus, more thrashy than the previous similar pieces, with a consistent mid-tempo rhythm, which doesn't change much throughout, but guarantees a solid listening experience, coupled with the clever meandering riffs. This was a good beginning for this act, but their quick disappearance very soon after the album's release, is probaly an indication that this collaboration was just for this effort, without any more concrete future plans.

From Beyond The Horizon Full-length 1997

FUTURELESS (GREECE)

3 songs of dark gothic thrash with Nightfall overtones; atmospheric music which doesn't miss out a lot in the fast department as well offering sharp dynamic riffs which take the music towards late-period Death ("Futureless") on occasion. The singer is suitable with his rough death metal tember, and the leads are cool, of the shorter melodic type.

In Whitechapel Demo, 2000

F�HRER (USA)

A 4-track demo of cool energetic thrash owing much to Slayer's "Hell Awaits" and the Dark Angel debut with slightly indifferent declamatory vocals and impromptu Kerry King-like solos. "Kill Me if You Can" is a nice aggressive thrasher, whereas "Berserker Fury" is a fabulous speed metal number which could fit fine even on the Angel Dust debut, or early Helloween.

Demo Demo, 1986

F�LDRENG�S (HUNGARY)

Based on the debut, this band plays cool retro power/thrash metal mixing heavy pounding tracks with brisk speedy ones. Some balladic passages ("Celtalanul") are well embedded into the overall picture although the alternative clean pitch of the vocalist is not well adjusted to them.

Pokolj�rat Full-length, 1995
Eml�k EP, 2000
K�r Full-length, 2008

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