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 G.I.S.M. (JAPAN)
Based on "Detestation", this is a raw, simplistic, but effective mix of early thrash/crossover and Celtic Frost (considering the time of release). The album offers a fairly brutal for its time sound, and can definitely be considered one of the more extreme early recordings; the music is not very fast, but keeps a good tempo throughout, and the vocals are really aggressive, being low, semi-death (yes, indeed!) ones, sounding like a more vicious Tom G. Warrior. The punk atmosphere is still present, but delivered in a much more brutal way. There are some classic heavy metal tunes thrown in, which reportedly increased on the band's second full-length release. While Loudness were pleasing the metal crowds with their radio-friendly hard'n heavy style, this band were laying the foundations for far more exreme sounds to come in the near future...
Detestation Full-length, 1984 Official Site G.O.D. (HONDURAS)
Honduras is not a very hot place for metal- that's why this band comes as a complete surprise. The guys have done a marvellous job; this is first class technical power/thrash obviously influenced by Helstar's "Nosferatu". The guitar work is stunning- great solos and twin-guitar melodies ala Iron Maiden, and stupendous technical riffs. The music is mostly up-tempo, never very fast and aggressive, and the fine dual lead guitar lines are all over the place, as well the galloping rhythm- all nicely displayed on the instrumental opener "Facing The Omnipotent". The compositions are in the 5-7min range, and are filled with various, sometimes a bit unexpected, but utterly compelling, time changes; at times the sound moves towards more intense speed/thrash ("Scavengers", "Driven By Hate"), at times it excels in technical riffage ("Skeptic's D.N.A."). "Metal Empire" is a masterpiece of technical/progressive thrash, the closer of this great album; a complex opus, which is a conglomerate of moods and brilliant guitar melodies: some- quite sharp and jumpy, others- with a great doze of melody. The singer is yet to catch up with the music: his mid-ranged, semi-clean tone lacks dramatism and emotion, which are mandatory for the style.
Incandescent full-length, 2002 Official Site GABISH (JAPAN)
This very little known, but very worthy band offer quite good energetic, but not very aggressive thrash, topped by vicious, hoarse vocals with a black-ish vibe. This is old school stuff, with some very nice bass work, and some really stylish leads (the riff-work is of the more standard type)- check out the great "Flash Back". Shades of the German wave could be heard ("Bottom Head", featuring some nice rolling riffs ala Destruction), as well as a really fine nod to early Celtic Frost ("Complently"), but otherwise this band don't sound like anyone else, mainly because the lead guitar, with a unique sound of its own, takes a considerable space from the album, making it a really engaging and original listen. The speed increases on the last 3 songs, showing the more intense side of this nice little gem.
The End Of The World Full-length, 1994 GACK (USA)
This band are virtually all Laaz Rockit members minus the drummer, who comes from Defiance. The old school veterans have obviously gotten tired with the scene, and the style here is firmly in the modern 90's thrash vein ala Pantera; shades of "Nothing Sacred" can still be heard, but they're not too many, and despite the aggressive sound on this album, Gack couldn't be classified any higher than just a pale shadow of Laaz Rockit.
Fix full-length, 1993 GAMA BOMB (UK)
The British thrash metal scene which has given some of the finest bands in the genre in the 80's and early 90's, has been stagnating fast since then, with only occasional sparkles here and there. With bands like Gama Bomb things might go back to the right track, finally. The music is speedy (but not very) thrash with some American power metal flavour recalling Helstar, Liege Lord, Attacker, the Canadians Anvil, Agent Steel's debut. The vocals still need some working on, because this Lemmy-like style doesn't really fit the sound. Reportedly, the band have had some hardcore influences on their demos similar to Nuclear Assault, but here they could hardly be heard. British thrash metal starts to pull itself together again.
Survival of the fastest full-length, 2005 Official Site GAMMACIDE (USA)
Awesome aggressive thrash which combines the fury of Slayer and Dark Angel with some more technical riffage; pretty much one of its kind in those days. This is a monolithic wall of aggression, which never breaks, and even hardens the course at times- the furious blast beats on "Shock Treatment" and "Gutter Rats". The 4-song demo could have been the rehearsal for another fine brutal slab of thrash, although the sound here more often smells death metal, and will probably remind you of the French Massacra as well. The technical riffs are more often present, and the overall guitar sound is heavier and faster, making this little gem a really intense listen. With the death/thrash mixtures being quite fashionable at that time, this band could have made quite an impression on the scene with their uncompromising, but also quite technical delivery.
Victims of science full-length, 1989 Official Site GANGRENA GASOSA (BRAZIL)
Based on the debut, this band play a more aggressive form of thrash/crossover, going well beyond the more restrained attempts in this genre made by their compatriots Ratos De Porao. This music is more varied featuring some rap and even samba moments, bringing the band's sound at times closer to Rage Against The Machine and Biohazard.
Welcome to terreiro full-length, 1993 Official Site GARDEN WALL (ITALY)
This unique progressive metal act, who have whole 6 full-length albums in their discography, have given their tribute to the more unusual side of thrash on this one. The guys indulge in long, sprawling songs, where a lot of things happen, but there is seldom a dull moment, except for a few overlong balladic sections. Here those sections are put to the minimum, and this album is a masterpiece of intricate, twisted thrash. "Lead" is a great progressive thrasher, with brilliant surreal riffs, and some aggressive, speedy moments, and, of course, the obligatory hallucinogenic slower passage in the middle. "Hatred" is slower and more melodic, relying on heavy, less intricate riffs and longer quiet sections. "Anniversary" follows the same formula, but "Bisturi" is wondeful, abstract progressive thrash at its balladic parts: twisted, swirling riffs, entwined with lyrical, balladic passages, mid-tempo to slow, but utterly compelling. With "Deinococcus Radiodurans" the more aggressive, faster thrashing returns, but the arrangements remain quite complex and eclectic. "Obsession" is a more immediate, again more energetic technical thrasher, with a surreal atmospheric middle break. "Christmas Eve" is the only more conventional track, with heavy, more straight riffs, but the next "Negation of Becoming" largely compensates for that, bringing the music back to the very technical level, although the approach on this one is slow, with more emphasis on abstract and more melodic melodies. The closing "Dreams Slayer" is not a very distant departure, and is an amalgam of straight thrashy riffs and some illogical music decisions, still quite intriguing and vortex-like. On their other works the band insert the odd more aggressive passage, but this is their only effort, which strictly belongs here.
Forget the Colours Full-length, 2002 Official Site GARGOYLE (JAPAN)
This is a very interesting band who play straight-forward thrash most of the time, but on every album there are a couple of very offbeat, eclectic tracks which one either learns to like, or learns to hate for their non-thrash, and sometimes even non-metal, nature. Let's take the debut "Misogi", for example: it begis with the smashing thrashing delight "Destroy", and if they had carried on in the same spirit, there would have been hardly a single band to dispute their leadership on the Japanese thrash scene; it lasts for nearly 7-min, and will leave you tired with headbanging. "Bala Åkån Vara" is close to hardcore/punk, alternating melodic with very fast sections. Then things get back to normal, woth a couple of intense thrashing numbers, until the completely non-metal, pointless "Certain Feel". After it whatever comes will not be as satisfying, although some tracks are crushing thrashers, not far behind the opener, but one should always watch out for the next melodic deviation (two more come later). Almost every subsequent album follows the same pattern, mixing contrasting styles, and perhaps this is the reason why this band are not mentioned right beside truer to thrash acts, like Outrage, Jurassic Jade, Ground Zero, Doom, etc.
Misogi full-length, 1989 Official Site GARGOYLE (USA)
This is a unique band simply because at that time very few bands managed to achieve the same level of intensity. It's beyond me how these guys never became big as they deserved to be, much more than 90% of those who did after them. Slayer's "Show No Mercy" played faster with a more aggressive attitude is what the band offer us, and it gets better and more brutal with each song. From the two demos "Violence Is Golden" arguably contains the better and faster material boasting also a clearer production. Very rare, but utterly essential!
Unleashed demo, 1985 GARLIC BOYS (JAPAN)
This not very known outside their homeland band have been one of the stalwarts on the punk/hardcore scene in Japan, but one day have decided to challenge their thrash metal colleagues, and have done a marvellous job on these two albums. Elements from their punk/hardcore career are present, of course, but only sparingly, and both efforts are commendable thrash works, energetic and up-tempo most of the time, with some stylish guitar work, reminiscent of Voivod (both their very early period, and their mid-one), mostly on "Psycho Thrash", but often the music takes a more playful attitude recalling Motorhead and Exciter. On the shortest songs (1-2min) the guys go straight into grind core, but fortunately these moments are not that many. "Smegmania" contains the faster and more aggressive material, and hardcore is more frequently present, bringing the sound close to early Prong and Suicidal Tendencies.
Psycho Thrash Full-Length GASCHAMBER (USA)
It shouldn't take so long for these guys to produce a follow-up, because from one of the promising American thrash metal bands of the new millennium, they might remain just a one-album wonder, and it would be a pity. Their debut is smashing thrash along the lines of Violence's "Eternal Nightmare" and Slayer's "Reign In Blood". Hopefully the band will wake up for another hit soon!
Gaschamber full-length, 2002 Official Site GEHENNAH (SWEDEN)
A black/thrash metal band heavily influenced by Venom. The music is heavier than the one of the Brits, but it has a very uplifting, cheerful quality typical for the works of another British band- yes, you guessed right: Motorhead. The band's music could very well serve for the background of some metal party.
Hardrocker full-length, 1995 My Space GEISHA GONER (POLAND)
A good technical thrash metal band. Their style is choppy with numerous tempo changes and at times the longer tracks start to lose coherence, but the stylish guitar work saves the day. “Hunting For The Human” increases the complexity considerably, introducing numerous elements outside the thrash metal field, but at the same time contains some really aggressive tracks: “Dreams” (the only one of its kind here), also with a cool technical edge. The music becomes too avantgarde at times, bringing to mind Voivod even, but never degenerates into the insipid post-thrash the Canadians started playing at some stage. Another reference point would be the mid-works of their compatriots Wolf Spider, but here the music is slower, and more choppy. The headbanging moments are few, but the elaborate song-structures will keep you on the alert all the time. The only downpoint is the hard’n heavy number “Good Bye, Goner, Good Bye” near the end (yeah, it would be indeed good-bye, and even farewell, if you keep on playing crap like that!). There is some nice funky bass work; the vocals on both albums are from the aggressive, semi-death type, seldom interrupted by more melodic, clean ones (on the second album).
Catching Broadness Full-Length, 1992 Fan Site GENESIS OF AGGRESSION (POLAND)
One would hardly trace the genesis of aggression (pun intended) with this one; this is laid-back, melodic thrash, which could be considered quite a phenomenon, having a distinctive groovy sound, which just a few years later would revolutionize the music scene big time. This is not the angry thrash of Exhorder and Pantera; this stuff was later further developed on the Metallica Black Album, the works of Flotsam & Jetsam and Anthrax in the 90's, 90's Chastain as well, and many others. "Empty Gestures" speeds up, bringing some more classic riffs, with a certain Metallica-vibe, resemblance also aggravated by the good James Hetfield-like vocals. The focus is clearly not on intensity: there are 3 ballads, one of which: "Weakness", has nice heavy riffs, and even the most aggressive tracks ("Under Age") come with a playful, optimistic attitude. This is the first real precursor to the 90's modern wave in thrash, and as such this band deserve to be much better known.
Disappointment Full-length, 1989 GENETIC WISDOM (HOLLAND)
This band are the continuation of the techno-thrashers Sacrosanct, but the music here is slighly modernized and probably less adventurous. The debut is the more ambitious one, with clear pretensions for the tag "progressive thrash", with long, complex songs where a lot of things happen, but the band never forget to insert the necessary amount of fast riffage; the music is closer to the works of late 80's Metallica, than to the last Sacrosanct offering, but is very effective and almost as good, even including one monstrous semi-ballad: the 9-min "Psycho Love", both a very dreamy and heavy number. The follow-up is more immediate with shorter songs, less technical approach, and the modern tendencies are more strongly hinted at.
The fear dimension full-length, 1993 GENETICA (ARGENTINA)
The band's style is a direct take on Machine Head's softer period (1999-2004); this is melodic, groovy thrash which occasionally moves towards stoner/doom: "Odio", or a more aggressive sound ala "Vulgar Display of Power": "LLegar". Oh, and there is one ballad at the end for the lovers: "Hermano Mio".
Golpe Maldito Full-Length, 2006 GENETICIDE (USA)
This band's line-up includes Doug- the drummer who later joined Fear of God. Although the songs on this demo are short, within the 2-2.5min range, the guys manage to come up with a mix of four styles: thrash, hardcore, death metal and even grindcore. This is quite a wild mixture, and might not be to everyone's taste.
Circle of Insult Demo, 1988 GENGHIS KHAN (USA)
Fairly good power/thrash, coming as a more thrashy Sanctuary, or Attacker, with a dark, haunting sound, created by the heavy, but very stylish guitar work. The tempo is mostly mid-paced, but "The Pillars of R'Leyh" is a nice galloping thrasher (remember Attacker's "Second Coming"). Like this wasn't enough, but then comes "Perish & Die" which will catch you absolutely unprepared with its uncompromising, aggressive sound- thrashing madness at its best! The guys are masters of the more lyrical side of metal as well, shown with the brilliant acoustic ballad "The Passage"- truly an achievement. The vocals are just great, being slightly hoarse, semi-clean, high-pitched, sometimes to the point of screech-iness, but very well suited to the music at play.
The Passage Demo, 1989 GENITAL DEFORMITIES (UK)
On their only album these guys mix the stomping rhythms of early Celtic Frost with thrash/crossover. The sinister death metal vocals do not suit the music very well; otherwise this is not too bad, with the Celtic Frost influenced sections working better.
Shag Nasty ! Full-length, 1989 GENOA (JAPAN)
This EP, which actually contains 11 whole songs (but more than half of them barely go over the 1-min range), is pure thrash/crossover happiness, quite intense and aggressive at times ("What a Wonderful Life! Ha!!", "Devil Thrasher"), even smelling grind-core ("Monthly's Guest") with harsh, vicious vocals which fit the sound quite well.
What A Wonderful Life!Ha!! EP, 1988 GENOCIDE (USA, Chicago)
A fine demo of American power/thrash along the lines of Helstar and Griffin. Nice clean, soaring vocals and cool melodic guitar lines are the highlight here. "Imminent Impact" shows the band well able to handle some more aggressive thrash ala Exodus and Dark Angel. The follower "Mercenary of Evil" is vintage Helstar which beats most of the tracks from that band's same year's "Remnants of War". "Bloody Mess" is a fine heavy, mid-paced smasher with a fine atmospheric, doomy ending.
Demo Demo, 1986 GENOCIDE (USA, Flint MI)
Raw, messy, noisy and quite brutal thrash from a band who would later write some important pages from metal history under the name of Repulsion. At least on these three demos these guys show no promise at all for better things to come with their very amateurish musicianship.
Toxic metal demo, 1984 GENOCÍDIO (BRAZIL)
A very good and long-running band on the Brazilian metal scene, Genocidio started like many other bands from the same country imitating early Sepultura. Then their raw approach developed into death metal with gothic influences in the mid 90's. Then the guys really messed it up with the very weak "One Of Them..."- uninspired and highly derivative modernized, industrial death metal with influences from where the hell. However, it was all forgiven after the godly "Rebellion", one of the finest thrash/death metal albums of the past ten years: a stellar album with tight, fast, technical play not heard in a long time. No more experiments from now on (hopefully!).
Genocídio ep, 1987 Official Site GENÖCIDE (USA)
Thrash/crossover, quite decent, but not of the sharp, hard-hitting type, somewhat reminiscent of D.R.I., but the music here is more melodic, and with a more open punk-ish attitude, and a certain Motorhead and Exciter shade in the guitar sound ("Sociopath"). The good thing is that there is a variety in the approach: it's not only speedy numbers which one can find here, but there are some slower ones, only that the little sharpness which the guitars have, in these songs it almost disappears.
Submit to Genöcide Full-length, 1987 Official Site GEORGE HARRISON (RUSSIA)
This band have nothing to do with The Beatles, neither music or member-wise, despite the name. Even if the guys are fascinated with the Beatles' member, at least their music doesn't show it anywhere; this is very fast, well-played hardcore-ish thrash reminiscent of Wehrmacht and Spazztic Blurr. The band offer several vocal styles, but rest assured that this is the same band all over. There's no room for quiet moments here, this is heads-down headbanging attack. This album is actually the band's complete discography, so you won't be missing a single track once you get ahold of it.
Fist Two Years Full-Length, 2005 GHORD (FRANCE)
Thrash/death of the modern variety, which is far from the high models from the same country, from the early 90's. The music is mostly mid-paced, and despite some more brutal moments ("Blasphemy", "Bloodsuckers"), it doesn't really pack a punch, often coming accompanied by gothic tunes and cool acoustic passages (the ending of "I'm Your Butcher"). The closer "Sublime Disasters" deserves to be mentioned, too, mixing aggressive and pounding riffs, reminding of the glorious heritage of the French thrash/death metal scene.
Underworld in Mourning Full-length, 2007 My Space GHOST STORY (USA)
Ghost Story were founded by Chris Baker- the man who was part of the great Atheist, and presently has another very good technical thrash/death project: Gnostic (see the review on the same page a few lines below). Based on the "Seeds of Destruction" demo, this band play quite good fast-paced thrash metal, bearing resemblances to the Angel Dust's debut, and Paradox. "Circle of Fear" takes a heavier, more aggressive approach, featuring nice technical riffs without losing the speed. Hopefully this was a warm-up for their later efforts.
Seeds of Destruction Demo, 1989 My Space GHOSTRIDER (ITALY)
Raw, mostly mid-paced black/thrash not far from the early efforts of Sodom and Bathory. There is some less serious, almost punk-ish attitude on some moments, especially on the vocals which are slightly reminiscent of Quorthon (R.I.P.), but more evil and less developed. The band later went onto much bigger fame under the name Necrodeath.
Rehearsal Demo, 1984 GHOUL (USA)
Started as a side project for two members of the death metallers Impaled, Ghoul quickly became a full-time band. The music has a death metal flavour, but is much more thrash with a nod to the German school as well as a certain doze of Carcass put inside. This is a really cool band who offer a nice deviation from the sea of modern death/thrash metal.
We came for the dead full-length, 2002 My Space GHOUL-CULT (NORWAY)
Classic thrash: a combination of early Celtic Frost and Sodom. The Celtic Frost-inspired sections work better, the culmination being the very cool atmospheric, experimental track "Trionfo Della Morte", which has a strong "Into the Pandemonium" spirit (could have been writen by the Swiss- kidding, of course!). Some more intense death metal passages could be heard here and there. The vocals are very fitting to the music, being a vicious blend of the two Tom's in thrash: G, Warrior and Angelripper (hey, I forgot Vetterli (Coroner); but he is Tommy).
Ghoul-Cult Full-length, 2004 GILOTYNA (POLAND)
A blend of classic and modern thrash (more modern) of the mid-tempo, heavy type with death-ish vocals and a nice 5-min "Instrumental", recalling Metallica's instrumental pieces of the 80's ("The Call of Khtullu", in particular).
Germinal Demo, 1996 My Space GIORNESTO (USA)
Excellent speed/thrash which on the fastest parts touches Forbidden's and Vio-lence's debuts quite a bit, but there are songs which are a bit slower, "decorated" with some original, maybe epic elements, which bring the sound close to the Swiss Drifter, for example. But even on the slower tracks the guys add some fast elements; there's no speed lost here. The vocals are quite high, but very suitable, and will remind you of all the high-pitched screamers on the field at the time: early Warrel Dane, John Cyriis, Mike Sanders, etc.
Virgin Eater Demo, 1987 GLACIAL FEAR (ITALY)
Based on "Atlasphere: the Burning Circle": the band's style is slow-ish, progressively tinged thrash/death metal with acoustic parts, keyboards, abstract female vocals, etc. The sound reminds of the French progressive death metal band Symbyosis at times; a very intriguing listen.
Secrets at the steam forest EP, 1993 My Space GLADIATOR (BRAZIL)
This album contains energetic, but pretty derivative 80's thrash recalling the Bay Area bands, mixed with some moshy riffs ala Anthrax. The leads are particularly stylish, somewhat not fitting to the otherwise ordinary nature of the music, and the bass work sometimes packs a punch, but the Brazilian metal scene, even at that time, had better works to offer.
Dreadful Dreams Full-length, 1992 GLADIATOR (SLOVAKIA)
The band's debut is pure Sepultura worship (think "Arise" and "Beneath the Remains"), quite well done. "Profitable Losses" is a good intense opener, with a slight death metal edge. "Bastard Death" walks the same line, introducing some slower, heavy riffs. The remaining tracks follow the pattern pretty closely, with slight "detours": "Morbid Murdering", which is slower, but is an almost pure death metal number, with nice, semi-technical riffs, and the closing "Useless Child", which for most of the time is heavy, pounding, in the tradition of late 80's Slayer, before the final fast-paced part.
Designation full-length, 1992
M.A.N. Full-length, 1987
Sonicrime Therapy Full-length, 2001
"Citizen Brain" is a smashing follow-up, showing the band in fine form to produce some great headbanging thrash again. These are 15 tracks of heads-down retro thrash; no shades of American power metal this time, just in-your-face thrash aggression, which could only be compared to Razor's "Shotgun Justice", or Vio-Lence's "Eternal Nightmare", or the Swedes F.K.U., of the more recent acts; a thrash masterpiece which will surely be in many top tens for 2008, and may also top quite a few of them up.
Citizen Brain Full-length, 2008
Demo Demo, 1991
Smells like a tenda spiríta full-length, 2000
6/6/6 EP, 2006
Furebumi full-length, 1990
Kaikoroku ep, 1992
Aratama full-length, 1992
Tenron full-length, 1993
Tsuki no toge full-length, 1994
Natural full-length, 1995
Gaia full-length, 1998
Junrein EP, 1998
Fuuin (~who in~) full-length, 2000
Future drug full-length, 2001
Wa full-length, 2002
Bushin battle gargoyle ep, 2002
Kemonoichi full-length, 2003
Ronpu full-length, 2005
Violence is golden demo, 1985
Smegmania Full-Length
King of the sidewalk full-length, 1996
Decibel rebel full-length, 1997
10 years of fucked up behaviour EP, 2003
Hunting For The Human Full-Length, 1994
Humanity on parole full-length, 1994
Violent death demo, 1985
The stench of burning death demo, 1986
Depression full-length, 1990
Hoctaedrom full-length, 1993
Posthumous full-length, 1996
One of them... Full-length, 1999
Rebellion full-length, 2002
Hiatus EP, 2007
The Image And Reality Demo, 1990
Ghost Story Demo, 2003
The Exorcist Demo, 1984
Mayhemic Destruction Demo, 1985
Maniaxe full-length, 2003
Splatterthrash full-length, 2006
Atlasphere: The Burning Circle EP, 1995
Frames full-length, 1997
3 Song Promo EP, 1999
Etish parade Full-Length, 2000
Illmatic EP, 2004
Filthy planet Full-Length, 2007
"Made Of Pain" is even better, simply because the band have moved away a bit from the Sepultura influence, but have only won in the process, as their style now has a more individual face, although it will still remind you of many heroes from the 80's: Slayer (above all), Devastation, Vio-Lence, etc. The music is not all-out speed and intensity anymore, and "Sound Of Deep Silence" is a cool mid-paced smasher. Their more aggressive side is the more attractive one, though, and furious pieces, like "Warsouls", "No Fate" and "Debtor Of Rest" will break your necks in no time. "My World" is a slightly awkward melodic, modern sounding track, not that illogical, considering the future direction the guys took very soon after this one, but the short ball of aggression "Your World" and the closer "For All Gods" will apologize big time for this one. The latter even brings back some of the death metal intensity from the debut, along with some fine technical moments. However, the 90's were calling for a change, ad the band, albeit staying true to the retro sound for a while, were tempted to try something more modern, and the very next tear they took a U-turn from thrash, having released 8 full-lengths so far of not really impressive modern heavy metal, spiced with big dozes of grunge and groove.
Made of pain full-length, 1993