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

H.H.H. (SPAIN)

Fast, brutal thrash/crossover sounding like a mix between Wehrmacht's "Shark Attack" and Slayer's "Reign in Blood"; the songs are very short, most of them in the 1-1.5min range. Of all the 13 tracks there is only one which is mid-tempo ("Entrapas de la Patria"), and the album closer is a cool version of the old country classic "Country Roads" ("Cami Ral" is the name) sung in Spanish; the rest is aggressive and intense.

Homus Homini Lupus Full-Length, 1991

H.O.S.T.I.L.E. (UK)

A three song-demo of heavy, modern, slightly industrialized thrash with a few good technical moments, but also with some not very convincing decisions: there is a long acoustic intermission on "Mocking The Afflicted" which takes a huge part of the song. I personally see it as a dress rehearsal for something bigger to come very soon.

Hard 'N' Fast In A Minor EP, 2005

H2SO4 (SPAIN)

Despite the band's name, the music is not as acid; this is thrash/crossover done by the book, quite fast at times, but also forgettable.

Reality Show Full-length, 1994

HACHA (SPAIN)

Your average groovy heavy thrash, with one surprising raging thrashing closer: "Toma Ajo", which disappoints at the end, with the next groovy section.

Cortante EP, 2004

HADES (USA)

A standout technical speed/thrash metal band who released two very strong albums in the 80's before disappearing. Both efforts are long, with 12-15 tracks, so expect some fillers of the heavy/power metal type, but for the most part these tracks are blistering speed/thrash metal pieces, with very good guitar performance (the lead section is particularly good), and cool, albeit a bit undeveloped, vocals (mostly in the screaming department, which the guy adheres to too often). The band are not strangers to some slower, heavier songs ("Nightstalker" from "Resisting Success"), but these are the lesser ones, which don't hold water against the much more appealing faster material, some of which is simply striking: the awesome aggressive opener on "If at First You Don't Succeed...": "Opinionate", among others . "Masque Of The Red Death" is worth mentioning from the debut: a very good take on more elaborate, progressive song-writing, and although thrash is sparcely present, this song works fine as one of the early examples of more thought-out song-writing; "Aftermath Of Betrayal" from "If at First You Don't Succeed..." tries to follow the same pattern, but at least half of the time it spends in a slow, doomy tempo in the vein of early Black Sabbath, before it finds some time to thrash intensely near the end.
In the mid 90's they reminded of themselves with a compilation of old and unreleased tracks, which brought back the sound from their early efforts, albeit again with some less appealing fillers. Still, some songs are even better than the older stuff: the technical, stomping steam-roller "Rape Of Persephone", the short speed/thrash piece "The Other", graced by short, but very cool lead guitars.
However, it was 4 more years before their next full length album was released. "Saviorself" is a good return to form, with the band carrying on from where their last work has left off; the speed has actually been reduced, and most of the songs are in the mid-paced range, but filled with hard-hitting, sharp riffs and some intriguing sections: Oriental tunes, some technical breaks, etc. The next two are more disappointing, being even slower and less technical, with quite a few quiet, balladic moments, and a generally more mainstream approach, even borrowing heavily from modern thrash ("Pay the Price"), which starkly contrast on some pure hard rock numbers ala Warrant (USA) and Quiet Riot: "Hail to the Thief", with the occasional blast from the past: the aggressive opener "Bloast" on "Damnation".

Resisting Success Full-length, 1987
If at First You Don't Succeed... Full-length, 1988
Exist to Resist Full-length, 1995
$avior$elf Full-length, 1999
The Downside Full-length, 2000
DamNation Full-length, 2001

HADES ARCHER (CHILE)

Expect raw brutal black/thrash/death, which goes well over the Impaled Nazarene aesthetics, blasting with full force through the short 1-2min tracks, only occasionally slowing down for the heavy crushing break in the Bathory ("Blood, Fire, Death") spirit. This is very aggressive, uncompromising stuff: not for everyone.

Penis Metal EP, 2008

HADEZ (PERU)

Those of you who were not happy with the raw, amateurish sound of the early Brazilian thrash metal bands (Sarcofago, Sextrash, Vulcano, even early Sepultura), here is a band for you whose debut album brings you this sound with a much better musicianship and production. However, at the time when it was released, death metal was reigning supreme, and the music presented is a mixture of death, thrash and even black metal. The final result is very vicious and brutal, and if we add the twisted, ala Morbid Angel technical riffs, throw in some chaotic solos in the Kerry King-vein starting out of nowhere, and things really become too hard to imagine. If you think that Hellwitch are the masters of the aggression-meets-technicality-type cocktails, after listening to this "wonder" here, you might want to give it a second thought.
Despite the seven year-gap, "Even If You Die a Thousand Times" is not miles away sound-wise from its predecessor. The aggression and speed are here, but there is a fair number of slower, doom-laden songs, too; the technical guitar work is put on an even higher level, making the comparisons with Morbid Angel even more obvious. There are also some new techniques inserted: the black/epic thrasher "The Sin Made Flesh", and a second intro placed in the middle of the album.

Aquelarre Full-length, 1993
Even If You Die a Thousand Times Full-length, 2000

HAGGATH (CANADA)

Quite aggressive thrash for the time of release; if the sound quality was a bit better, it would have been a really cool slab of intense, fast-paced thrash, which sounds well more brutal than the Slayer and Hallows Eve works from the same year. The quitar sound is a bit hollow, and the singer has the tendency to scream like a banshee, which doesn't really suit the fairly aggressive music. "Eternal Bullshit" is probably the most melodic track, sounding more like speed metal. The last song: "I Bought Remington", is a bit than more-than-a-minute brutal thrashcore outburst. Although utterly obscure, this release had for quite awhile remained the most vicious and aggressive one to come out of Canada.

Evil Transitions Demo, 1985

HAILSTORM (POLAND)

Intense, occasionally brutal mix of thrash and death, quite close sound-wise to early Benediction, if we exclude some unnecessary groovy breaks. The best song is the one which shifts from the pattern, and offers some cool atmospheric mid-paced thrash, with a gothic edge, and some weird abstract (think Coroner's "Grin") riffage.

Greyness Full-length, 2009

HAJI'S KITCHEN (USA)

Very interesting, but not very heavy, modern thrash somewhat similar to late period Machine Head, with a couple of intriguing progressive and alternative passages.

Haji's Kitchen Full-Length,1995
Sucker Punch Full-Length,2001

HALLOWS EVE (USA)

A band who have won a cult status among thrash fans with their raw mixture of American power metal and some very vicious, aggressive thrash. The band have the tendency to mix a few styles on their albums which is not a bad thing at all, but in their case the final results are not always on the positive side. Their debut is arguably their best work, fairly good, albeit a bit uneven power/speed/thrash metal affair, with a slightly raw sound, but with intense and direct guitar work. It starts with the cool intense thrasher "Plunging Into Megadeath", before it moves onto a more friendly, but equally fast speed/power metal ala Exciter, on "Outer Limits" and "Horrorshow". Later on some thrash returns, but not strongly enough to make this album one of the better achievements of the genre at that time.
"Death & Insanity" starts with the typical American power metal anthem, carrying the album title. "Goblet of Gore" speeds up, but has little to do with thrash, staying closer to speed metal. "Lethal Tendencies" begins as a mid-paced power metal track, but finally some more aggressive thrash riffage can be heard in the second half. "Plea of the Aged" is the first full-blooded speed/thrasher, followed by the furious 1-min hard-core explosion "Suicide". "D. I. E. (Death in Effect)" treads in the mid-tempo sector again, but not much happens during its 7-min, and the final result is quite clumsy and tedious. The instrumental "Attack of the Iguana" is a nice reminder of the more energetic nature of the debut, with the finest display of musicianship. "Nefarious" is a slightly uneven combination of laid-back power metal and fierce headbanging thrash, but is way better than the heavy/power metal closer "Nobody Lives Forever". Overall this effort is inferior to the debut, seeing the band straying from the thrash path quite a bit.
"Monument" opens promisingly, with the intense "Speed Freak", which richly deserves its title, thrashing with power. "Sheer Heart Attack" is a big pullback, having nothing to do with the previous track, being some not very impressive crossover. "Rot Gut" is an average mid-tempo heavy power/thrasher, with "Monument (To Nothing)" closely folowing the same path, after which the listener may lose hope that he would hear some intense thrash again. But the intense thrash is just around the corner, and here comes "Pain Killer": heads-down speedy thrash, a great number, which may have influenced Judas Priest for the making of their masterpiece (kidding, of course). "The Mighty Decibel" is the next soft crossover joke (and fortunately the last), but "The Righteous Ones" picks more energy, albeit in a more restrained manner, also adding some slower, heavier riffs. "No Sanctuary" is the full-fledged vicious thrashing closer, even beating the opener, and in the end we have those two surpassing by far the content between them.
"The Never-Ending Sleep" is the next comeback release made by old 80's veterans, and in this case the music bears no surprises, offering the same uneven mix of intense thrashers and laid-back heavy power metal numbers. The album starts promisingly with two blistering thrashing songs, but on "Army of One" it loses inertia, settling down for mid-paced power/thrash ala more recent Venom, with only "72 Virgins" introducing a few more aggressive passages. "Doors Of Misery" near the end thrashes nicely for a while, with more melodic riffs, but the next two tracks cancel the good impression made by it, with their boring monotonous delivery. Not completely bad, but it seems as though this time the guys will again fail to reach the front rows of the genre, regardless of how big, or small, the competition is.

Tales of Terror Full-length, 1985
Death & Insanity Full-length, 1986
Monument Full-length, 1988
Evil Never Dies Full-length, 2005
The Never-Ending Sleep Full-Length, 2008

HAMMER (ARGENTINA)

Modern 90's thrash: groove, mid-paced heavy riffage, some more up-tempo sections ("Ypur Sad Way", "Gospel Truth": cool intense thrashers), angry vocals, one good ballad ("No More Lies")... and that's basically all.

A New Damage Full-length, 1995

HAMMER OF WITCHES

Badly produced, noisy amalgam of thrash, death, industrial and something, which is not very easy to describe; at their most inspired moments the guys manage to sound like an updated modernized version of early Celtic Frost ("Lost In Haze Of Bermuda Triangle"), but these awful synthesized unintelligible vocals ruin almost everything. "Unknown Prophecy Of Nostradamus" is a cool orchestral, ambient, but also quite metallic instrumental, which comes close to mid-period Burzum ("Filosofem"). The band is definitely trying to impress the world with eclectic, non-standard music, but they have a long way to go before they start making heads turn.

Ghosts Among Us Demo, 2008

HAMMERED (CANADA)

Good energetic thrash of the mid-paced variety, at times smelling modern trends, recalling the Metallica Black Album ("Devil's Handshake"; watch out for the short fast outbreak in the middle). The semi-ballad "Bleeding Tears" is quite good, although the gruff delivery of the singer ruins it a bit. "Feeding The End" is a more ambitious move to progressive song-writing, but is a bit uneven, relying on stomping, sprawling riffs, and the good technical riffs scattered around don't have the necessary impact. The closing "Hammerhead" (after all the guys are called Hammered) is heads-down intense thrash of the old school, something which the guys should have provided more here.

Thrashing Metal, Screaming Loud EP, 2006

HAMMERED (USA)

A 3-track demo of blistering Germanic thrash: great fast tempo, sharp riffs, and some really impressive lead work ("Into the Ground"); the vocals are a bit of a letdown, being gruff, semi-death metalish.

Into The Ground Demo, 2006

HAMMERHAWK (HOLLAND)

The band's full-length is very good speed/thrash metal with some great melodies and fast, catchy riffs. At the end you can even find yourself humming some of the tunes- it's that good. The intro starts with a great harmonica melody, which I can't recall where it comes from, which later evolves into a heavy, smashing thrasher. The music from then on is faster and softer, but is very enjoyable and catchy. "Blow Up Doll" brings back the heaviness, and combined with the faster pace and some clever, semi-technical riffs, stands for the best song on the album. "Marked for Life" is a lesson in sheer speed and intensity, seldom matched by even more celebrated acts, topped by some mighty guitar melodies and good bass. The guys throw one hardcore-ish joke near the end: the 20-sec long "Aids II".

Break Loose EP, 1984
Welcome Home, We Expected You Full-length, 1991

HAMMERHEAD (BRAZIL)

An obscure release, containing classic Bay-Area thrash which on its most inspired, technical moments touches early Testament. The music is energetic, with some stylish insertions from the guitar department: jumpy, technical riffs on "Warning", a cool rock-ish short instrumental in the middle: "I Wish", followed by another great up-tempo, technical instrumental: "Within", etc. The songs lose the technicality towards the end, but start thrashing more aggressively: the nice headbanging closer "Nazi Hunter", which will also remind you of the Angel Dust's immortal hit "I'll Come Back".

Shadow Of A Time To Be Full-length, 1992

HAMMERLORD (USA)

Power/thrash, with nods to the early American scene when sounding more classic, if we exclude the strained shouted vocals. The music is not bad, mixing both slow and fast rhythms on almost every track, adding the odd technical riff, as well as modern influences, both well displayed on the nice "Sick Like Our Crimes". "Lordess" further elaborates the picture, with some Gothenburg death metal hooks, and "Dweller On The Threshold" has a haunting gothic break with good clean vocals in the middle, but the majority of the songs are full-blooded retro thrashers, with the excellent lead guitar work clearly being the highlight all over.

Hammerlord Full-length, 2008

HAMMERWHORE (USA)

Cool thrash, which most of the time is pure Sodom (think "Persecution Mania") and Whiplash-worship, but there are touches of hardcore here and there; diverse and enjoyable. The songs are short (except for the excellent speed/thrash number "Onward to Oblivion"), explosive bursts of speed and intensity, topped by vicious mean vocals with a black-ish vibe. "Heavy Metal Destroyers" is a slower, softer, metal hymn, followed by the hardcore madness "Possessed By The Mosh", which is a really aggressive track, "decorated" with a short, grind-core passage. The second half is the more varied, with "Mercy To None", where the guys take another break, this time even bigger, playing some melodic crossover, and "Scream Bloody Rock'n Roll", which is a nice take on the good old rock'n roll.

Hammerwhore Full-length, 2005

HAMMERWITCH (USA)

The band's EP is good power/thrash metal, quite typical for the time sound in the States, with galloping horses aplenty ("Burned at the Stake") inside, riffy stomping thrashers ("Brainchild"), and one more technical piece: "Return to Salem". 3 years later the story is completely different: this is actually one of the first bands who picked on the new modern thrash sound initiated by Exhorder and Pantera, and have done a very good job.

Return to Salem EP, 1988
Legacy of Pain Demo, 1991

HANGMAN (ISRAEL)

Based on the "Sinners Of Sodom" demo, this new band pull out some good classic 80's thrash metal which at its best moments picks a fair amount of aggression recalling Slayer and Vio-lence. The sound quality is a bit muddy, and the singer is a bit dodgy with his hoarse, slightly undeveloped voice, but this can all be corrected.

Sinners Of Sodom Demo, 2003
Thrash From The Dead Demo, 2005
Thrash Metal Blitzkrieg Vol II

HANG�VER (POLAND)

Based on the "Terrorbeer" EP, this is old school black-ish thrash which stretches from energetic headbangers in the Witchery vein ("Beer & Sodomy") to more relaxed, playful numbers (Swing of the Crowbar") ala Venom.

Terrorbeer EP, 2000
Terrorbeer Demo, 2002
Hang�ver/GMC split CD Split album, 2002
Thrash Metal Blitzkrieg Split, 2005
Under the Shitfluence EP, 2006

HARD-BOILED (SPAIN)

Heavy crunchy industrial thrash, with distorted guitars which mix with noises, synthesizers, drum patterns, gothic gimmicks, and more. There are some stylish elements from the electronic department involved ("The Execution Line"), but they would hardly make the thrash fan's day. Don't expect any headbanging moments: this is dark, hypnotic music, with a wide gamut of influences present.

Mantis EP, 1997

HARDNESS (PORTUGAL)

Based on the "Thrashin' Up..." demo, this band mix thrash and speed metal reminiscent of early Whiplash, Destructor and Rigor Mortis. The tempo is energetic most of the time, and the guys seem to feel better when they play faster (check out the great headbanger "Unbelievable War"); the guitar work is quite good, albeit too thin, and jolly crossover numbers like "Bailinho Da Madeira" make things even better.

Thrashing Up... Demo, 1990
Promo 1992 Demo, 1992

HARGOS (BRAZIL)

Modern, somewhat progressive thrash with a touch of gothic; this is mostly mid-paced, heavy music, spiced with keyboards, and some awful, hysterical hardcore shouts, as opposed to the basic semi-clean vocals. There are numerous atmospheric, orchestral moments, slower, doomy sections, and, of course, some cool more up-tempo thrashers ("Carnage", "In Metal Town"), but the latter is clearly not on what the band wanted to concentrate.

Shadows of Violence Full-length, 2007

HARM (NORWAY)

The Norwegian thrash metal scene is growing fast these days, and Harm is another addition to it. The problem is that the band's style is quite derivative, and there's nothing one hasn't heard before: modern, fast, intense thrash metal in The Haunted-mould, and perhaps a shade of Testament's "The Gathering".

Unleashed Full-length, 2004
Devil Full-length, 2006

HARPOON (ARGENTINA)

Based on "Grito De Rabia", this is power/thrash metal not too far from other Argentinian bands like Horcas and Hermetica.

Grito de Rabia Full-length, 1998
Batalla Eterna Full-length, 2006

HARTER ATTACK (USA)

With all the Nuclear Assault members invited as guest musicians, one wouldn't be surprised to hear some hardcore influenced thrash, and this is exactly the case. The sound offers very little outside that, but is energetic and catchy. The music resembles the D.B.C. debut and the D.R.I. more thrashy period, rather than Nuclear Assault, and offers very cool energetic thrashers ("Human Hell", "Culture Decay", which even manages to sound technical for a moment, the aggressive thrashing madness "Message from God"), as well as slower, stomping numbers ("Last Temptation", "Slaves of Conformity"). "Thugs Against Drugs" is the other track where the guys try something more interesting, with jumpy, more stylish guitars. The guitar work is actually quite good, more proficient than the one of the regular thrash/crossover band, and the leads are a nice addition to the intense delivery, along with the shouty, but effective hardcore vocals.

Human Hell Full-length, 1989

HARTWIG (SWEDEN)

Modern thrash metal, sounding like many other bands nowadays.

Mind corruption Demo, 2003
Banished from life Demo, 2004

HATCHERY (GERMANY)

The first demo: a blend of modern and classic thrash with death metal vocals, of the more melodic variety, with some gothic elements; second demo: the music becomes more edgy, more technical, faster and more classic-oriented; the death metal vocals here are supported by some vicious snarls and although neither of the styles fits the music, the heavy thrashy riffs make this demo a very enjoyable listen.

Night Time Greys Demo, 2004
Distorted Society Demo, 2005

HATCHET (USA)

Based on the demo, these guys represent very well the area they come from: very competently executed energetic Bay-Area thrash in the tradition of Vio-Lence and Forbidden, maybe with a shade of Slayer, and with a certain technical edge in the guitar department.
"Awaiting Evil" is a strong full-length debut, fullfilling all the promises given with the demo: heads-down classic thrash, mixing Bay-Area riffs with more aggressive Slayer-esque ones. "Frozen Hell" doesn't fit this descritpion, being more melodic, speed metal-based, but is also quite cool. The rest is uncompromising thrash, with some really fine hits: the fast-paced headbangers "Morlocks Tomb", "Storm The Gates", and the excellent closer "Awaiting Evil".

Frailty of the Flesh Demo, 2006
Hatchet E.P. EP, 2007
Awaiting Evil Full-length, 2008

HATE (BOLIVIA)

Hate are obviously influenced by their Argentinian colleagues: Lethal and Horcas, with a pinch of Sepultura and the Bay Area scene. In other words, these guys play classic thrash metal, quite aggressive at times, and have managed to preserve their sound until present times, unlike those who influenced them.

Heart Beat Machine Full-length, 1998
Anagramas Full-length, 2001
Republica de Odio Full-length, 2003
Angel Oscuro EP, 2004
Odio Vivo Full-length, 2006

HATE BEYOND (JAPAN)

Excellent old school thrash which has more in common with the German wave, although some elements from the other side of the Atlantic could also be found. The guys never adhere to all-out aggression, but keep the speed at a respectable rate with some great crushing, galloping rhythms involved, too, and some interesting, semi-technical guitar work. The style is surprisingly close to the mighty Ritual Carnage (their last two albums), although the two bands do not share musicians, but for the great guitar work on the album the responsibility goes to the great Hiroshi Yamashita from Narcotic Greed. If Ritual Carnage are no more, with Damian Montgomery reportedly going back to the States, these guys are very close to becoming the new leaders of Japanese thrash metal. The only pull back might be the death metal vocals which do not quite suit the music too well.

Perpetual Pain Full-length, 2003

HATE OVER GROWN (PORTUGAL)

Modern groovy, slightly industrialized thrash mixed with hardcore; will appeal to fans of Pantera, Misery Loves Co., Grope, even Biohazard. There are quite a few offbeat, non-standard moments (samples, funky, even doomy sections, rap-styled vocals, etc.), but at that stage the industrial metal scene has shown all its hidden "weapons", so expect no pleasant surprises.

Seed Full-length, 1995

HATE SQUAD (GERMANY)

This band's debut would have been a good rival to Machine Head's "Burn My Eyes" back in 1994; typical modern thrash, quite well done. "I.Q." carries on in the same vein, offering more varied tempos, often quite energetic, abandoning the groovy patterns, but only partially; the head-banging potential is much better felt than, for example, on the very heavy and depressing "The More Things Change,..." (Machine Head).
"Degueello Wartunes" is a step down from the aggressive, abrasive sound of the band's early works. The music is stronger industrialized, and less intense; the faster tracks ("Rise Up", "Killing Spree") are "served" with a softer, crossover-vibe. There is some annoying participation of clean, melodic vocals, and the overall style is quite similar to the later works of the Swedish industrial act Misery Loves Co. "Hannover H8core", despite its promising title, is nothing more than an industrial heavy metal hymn, and is the weakest song here.

Theater Of Hate Full-length, 1994
I.Q. Zero Full-length, 1995
Sub Zero - The Remixes EP, 1996
Pzyco! EP, 1997
Pzyco! Full-length, 1997
H8 For The Masses Full-length, 2004
Degueello Wartunes Full-Length, 2008

HATE YOUR FATE (BRAZIL)

These are the same guys who play in the thrash act Alcoholic Mosh (not reviewed here). The music here is lighter thrash/crossover of the softer type, not far from Excel or Uncle Slam (and, of course, the mid-period Suicidals). Here the possession is not with skating (remember the Suicidals" "Possessed to Skate"), but with stage diving: "Stade Dive Possession". "Face Your Rage" is a surprising turn to furious thrash, lasting for 1.5-min. The singer is obviously influenced by the inimitable Mike Muir, maybe lower-pitched.

Laughing In Despair EP, 2007

HATEDRIVE (GERMANY)

Another modern thrash/death hybrid in the tradition of The Haunted, Dew-Scented and the likes.

Population: 0 Demo, 2004

HATEFORM (FINLAND)

Modern thrash/death with a gothic edge, quite good, not very fast, with very cool guitar melodies and solos, which distinguish them from their Swedish colleagues. There is a certain technical edge here, which brings the sound close to Opeth sometimes, but the songs are shorter, and have no progressive decorations, at least not intentionally ("Bled", with its nice acoustic/lead break in the middle). The riffs are heavy, but are not given much space, compared to the melodic guitar lines. You can still bang your head here: "Sky Cries Blood" and "Chains" are good more up-tempo thrashers, again ornated by nice melodic lines.

Dominance Full-length, 2008

HATEFRAME (FINLAND)

At the time when Slayer were straying from their 80's roots, some bands were rediscovering them with full force. Hateframe are one such a band, and they do a very good job bringing us back to those days. The band are more influenced by late 80's Slayer, mixing fast thrashers with some heavier, moody pieces; vintage Slayer- this is what everyone will get here.

Sign Of Demise Full-length, 2005

HATEFUL AGGRESSION (CANADA)

Direct fast-paced thrash with no gimmicks whatsoever, very well done; the tracks are short and explosive, not too far from the ones on the Swedes F.K.U.'s albums, or the Swedes Cranium. There is certain Slayer-esque aggression involved as well: the crushing "Gripped", and even some death metal-laced numbers are included: the blasting "Pile O Flesh". The middle is occupied by a couple of longer, but equally as relentless explorations of the genre: the non-stop headbanging fest "Torment", the speed metal delight "Blood Reich", the Destruction worship "Inevitable Obliteration", which influences the rest of the songs, and until the end we have all-out Germanic thrash, reaching the top with the exemplary "Your Time Has Come".

Hateful Aggression Full-Length, 2007

HATEFUL AGONY (GERMANY)

All three albums are fine examples of classic 80's speed/thrash metal, obviously influenced by the Holy Three of German thrash- Destruction, Kreator and Sodom (a pinch of Slayer on the more intense sections as well). This is fast and very well executed music which at times picks up more aggression acquiring some death metal qualities, similar to Sodom's "Tapping the Vein". If I have to recommend the best release of all three, I would probably go for "Black Hole", which is a fine representative of the band's potent style, and probably contains the best guitar work, as well as a cool cover of Whiplash's "Spit on Your Grave". "Obey" contains the most aggressive material, with nods to death metal, and some very fast riffage; "Soldier of Fortune" from this album, is not a Deep Purple cover.
"Existence Is Punishment", the band's debut, is not far behind, and although it begins in an openly aggressive, Slayer-esque manner with "Psycho KIller", later it reduces the speed a bit, adding some more melodic guitar hooks, which work quite well, and move the sound in an early Kreator and the Exumer's debut direction: the excellent speedy killers "Off With Their Heads" and "Violent Domination". The end is preserved for a very good, very fast cover version of Dark Angel's "Merciless Death".
"In the Name of God" is along the lines the band's previous works, but is a really good nod to the classic thrash heritage, maybe with a more melodic, subtle edge: "Prophets of the Hollow", the great speed/thrasher "Richard Took Their Breath Away", although on the other hand some tracks blast through the speakers in the best tradition of Slayer and Infernal Majesty: "In The Name Of God", the proto-death metal bomb "Fear Of The Unknown". The speed never stops, expanding to pure speed metal delights, like the Angel Dust-like "Ashes Will Rain". "For The Love Of The Profit" includes a marvellous intense mid-paced passage ala Infernal Majesty again, among the hammering riffage. This is a really impressive dedication to the old school sound, which will make you headbang till you drop.

Existence Is Punishment Full-length, 2000
Black Hole Full-length, 2003
Obey Full-length, 2006
In the Name of God Full-length, 2008

HATESPHERE (DENMARK)

One of the better modern death/thrash metal bands nowadays; the style is not too far from The Haunted or Dew-Scented, but the vocals are more in the hardcore camp. The guys rely on speed and energy for most of the time, seldom slowing down for the occasional mid-tempo break. There is no big variety music-wise from one album to another, but the brisk, generally short thrashers are always fun to headbang to.

Hatesphere Full-length, 2001
Bloodred Hatred Full-length, 2002
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Black EP, 2003
Ballet of the Brute Full-length, 2004
The Killing EP EP, 2005
The Sickness Within Full-length, 2005
Serpent Smiles and Killer Eyes Full-length, 2007
To the Nines Full-length, 2009

HATESTREAM (FINLAND)

Modern thrash/death metal with an obvious influence from the Gothenburg school; the style is mild, more melodic than the one performed by The Haunted-clones swarming the scene, with slower, gothic passages and some occasional nods to 80's thrash metal.

Total Delusion Demo, 2004
Hate Squared Demo, 2006

HATEWORK (ITALY)

Another nod to the German school; this is a fine band who play very good, fast-paced thrash along the lines of Tankard, but this is not relentless attack on the senses; the guys add some moments from classic heavy/power metal, too ("Heavens on Fire", which is not a Kiss cover, and "Devil Eye" from "Thrash'n Roll", and "Total War" from "Madbent for Disaster"). Perhaps the album title describes it best: thrash'n roll...

Thrasher's Attack EP, 2000
Total War EP, 2001
Madbent for Disaster Full-length, 2002
Thrash 'n Roll Full-length, 2004

HATRED (GERMANY)

Cool thrash with some technical licks and good clean 90's power metal vocals in the more laid back passages (the ballad "Lie To Me" from the full length), as opposed to the less impressive, rough mid-ranged ones. The debut starts in a slightly heavy-handed and modern way ("Two-Faced"), but soon "Betrayal" corrects the impression, speeding up in the old school fashion. "Soulless" increases the intensity with some death metal blast-beats, but later on the modern sound comes forward, mixing with the classic one, occasionally sounding quite compelling: "Fractured By": an awesome speedy technical thrasher in the early Coroner mould, with great melodic guitar work, and some quite good clean vocals- the highlight on the album. "Metal Massacre", the closer, is the lightest track here (if we exclude the ballad, of course), but is a decent power/speed metal hymn.
"Madhouse Symphonies" is another commendable release, with the band thrashing their souls out when they feel like it ("Caught In The Pit", the semi-technical mosher "Resurrection"), although this time they prefer to power/thrash in mid to up-tempo, like on the cool, progressive "Explosions", or on the heavy semi-balladic "Gates Of Hell". "Madhouse Symphonies" is another exemplary heads-down thrashing madness, but until the end there is only one more track of the same intensity: "Surrender", as the end is preserved for the crossover happiness "(We Are The) Mosh Crew".

Fractured Demo, 2002
Soulless Full-length, 2004
Madhouse Symphonies Full-length, 2008

HATRED (ITALY)

Pretty good intense classic thrash, fast and energetic, crossing Slayer with the German speed/thrash scene; the Canadians Sacrifice are another very close soundalike ("Soldiers of Misfortune", in particular). All tracks are very solid thrashers, with consistently dark heavy riffage, and raspy death metal vocals. The "idyll" is broken on "Fist Of Death", which jumps the death metal wagon, adding brutal blast-beating atmosphere to the demo. The closing track will ring a bell: a fairly cool cover of Possessed's "Death Metal".

Fist of Death Demo, 2007

HATRED (SWEDEN)

Very good power/thrash metal which borrows both from the European and American school- Attacker, Omen, Helstar, etc. The "Winds of Doom" demo: at their best the guys deliver some awesome speed/thrash, not too far from Liege Lord and Attacker ("Daydream", "Antichrist"), spiced with slower breaks, and more melodic, not as sharp riffs. The other side is preserved for more laid-back, but quite worthy power/speed metal tracks ("Troops of Metal", "Annihilation").
"Welcome to Reality" comes splashing on the underground scene, with fabulous sharp thrash, with a certain technical edge, again courting the American acts, but this time the target is the more technical ones: Ulysses Siren, Have Mercy. "Tempted by Violence" is awesome intense technical thrash, followed by the heavy power/thrasher "Quest for Liberty", which recalls the debut demo. "State Eclipse" returns to the more aggressive and technical formula, also providing some stomping, meaty riffs. "The Reinforcement" is very good crushing mid-paced power/thrash, with genuine, doomy ending in the best tradition of their compatriots Candlemass.

Winds of Doom Demo, 1987
Welcome to Reality Demo, 1988
Hatred Demo, 1989
The Forthcoming Fall Demo, 1990

HATRED (USA)

It's amazing how many bands were practicing the brutal, proto-death metal sound in the mid 80's. It's a real pity that only Possessed are mentioned when it comes to the death metal pioneers. On the "Drowning In The Afterbirth" demo, these guys unleash hell three-four times as vicious as the one on "Seven Churches", or "Pleasure to Kill". I would probably go as far as calling this demo the first full-fledged death metal recording, if it wasn't for the thrashy nature of the guitars. In other words, expect merciless, brutal, fast assault on all senses, mostly coming in the form of 2-2.5min songs from these initiators of the death metal genre.

Demo Demo, 1985
Drowning In The Afterbirth Demo, 1986

HATRIX (USA)

A very good, but short-lived crossover/thrash metal band; their music is effective, more aggressive than the one of the average band from this sub-genre, and the riffs are quite sharp and heavy, recalling 80's Anthrax quite a bit, as well as the early works of the Brits Acid Reign. Both albums are very strong, with the debut containing the more varied, and faster material, where some tracks will blow you away with their uncompromising delivery, and at the same time very cool melodic leads: "Bad Religion", "Sick of Myself", "Dick's Night Out".
"Collisioncoursewithnoplace", which contains some tracks from the debut (which are almost unchanged), sounds even close to classic Anthrax, but the songs flow in the same pattern: heavy, "chugga-chugga" riffs, mostly mid-paced, with a more aggressive attitude. Some songs betray the classic sound, with their groovy rhythm and synthesized vocals: "Deprivation". Still the leads are on a very high level, and the semi-ballad "No One" is quite good, the singer there using his clean, and a very good, tember. The band disappeared after this one, apparently not willing to succumb to the modern trends.

Hatrix Full-length, 1993
Collisioncoursewithnoplace Full-length, 1994

HATROSS (CROATIA)

Based on the "A Look at Tomorrow" Best of/Compilation, this band play thrash/crossover, fast and energetic, but descends sometimes to some punk-ish numbers ("A Look at Tomorrow") in the Dead Kennedys vein. All of a sudden this idyll is broken by the furious death metal piece "Pain", followed by the industrialized doom song "Self Destruction", which is a clear nod to Killing Joke. As any best of compilation, this album contains tracks from all stages of the band's career, so it shouldn't be a surprise the diverse nature of this recording.

A Look at Tomorrow Demo, 1992
A Look at Tomorrow Best of/Compilation, 1993
Untitled Demo Demo, 1996

HAUNTED GARAGE (USA)

Thrash/crossover meets the eclectic, avantgarde style of mid-period Voivod ("Dimension Hatross", "Nothingface"). The music is not hard hitting, but is cheerful, with a certain punk-ish attitude.

Possession Park Full-length, 1991

HAUNTED SHORES (USA)

Good modern thrash/death with a certain doze of technicality; the tempos suddenly change from furious to slower and vice versa. The guitar work has its melodic edge, when needed, showing an influence by the Gothenburg school, and the overall style could pass for a more technical version of Dark Tranquillity.

Maelstrom EP, 2007

HAUNTZ (USA)

Power/thrash metal of the mid-paced variety, with good Rob Halford-influenced vocals, except for the annoying tendency which this singer has: to scream like a banshee. "Speed Kills" breaks the monotonous feeling, and goes straight into speed/thrash metal territory- a nice short number. "Archery" goes into the other extreme, sounding almost epic and doomy, if we exclude the faster middle part.

Hauntz Demo, 1987

HAVE MERCY (USA)

Have Mercy showed a lot of promise with this EP of excellent technical thrash which was actually one of the earliest technical works on the American metal scene. Their music is quite intense without being super fast; the awesome riffs lash you from all sides leaving you breathless and begging for more (there are only 5 songs on it), accompanied by good high-pitched vocals not miles away from John Cyriis. The style here is close to "Unstoppable Force", and the works of the other early great technical metal act from the States: Ulysses Siren. This extraordinary EP is by far one of the most impressive efforts on the whole American metal scene. Echoes of it could be found on many future great works: Agent Steel's "Unstoppable Force", Helstar's "Nosferatu", Bezerker's "Lost", Liege Lord's "Master's Control", Forbidden's "Twisted into Form", Wargasm's "Why Play Around", etc. Unfortunately, this band never left the underground in spite of teasing the metal audience's ears with other, maybe not that high quality demos and splits; another good example of the metal world's injustices.

Armageddon Descends EP, 1986

HAVOC (USA)

Havoc offer us some enjoyable melodic thrash with two vocal styles- one clean (and slightly annoying), the other death metal-ish. You might find this awkward as neither of the two styles has anything to do with thrash, but the final result is not bad at all. In the "Symbol Of Chaos" demo there is a song called "Christopher Walken" and a hidden one called "Christopher Reeve"- this is how some people pay tribute to their favourite film stars (or their favourite name).

Heavy Artillery EP, 2000
Unleashed at Chain Reaction Live album, 2001
Ground Zero Demo, 2003
Symbol of Chaos Demo, 2003

HAVOC MASS (USA)

This album is like a big fresh breath of air for the dying thrash genre in the 90's: excellent dark technical classic thrash which sounds even more compelling considering the time of release. The style kind of resembles Nasty Savage, and more particularly "Penetration Point" (that same band's drummer-Curtis Beeson, actually plays in Havoc Mass), but is a tad more straight-forward, and more aggressive. The singer tries to stay close to Nasty Ronnie's tember, and succeeds at times, but his voice is lower, and more one-dimensional. The guitar work is stylish, and the guys prefer to stay within the mid-paced range, which helps their music create the same steam roller-like impression, similar to Nasty Savage. One of the finest one-album wonders produced by the American metal scene in the 90's.

Killing the Future Full-length, 1993

HAVOCHATE (USA)

The band offer a fairly good mixture of modern and classic thrash. From the modern side we have the last two Exodus albums as soundalikes, or recent Overkill; on the classic side we have Testament (their first two albums). Add some more balladic songs and a unique singer who can sing in several vocal styles ranging from death growls to Rob Halford-like screeches, plus some Pantera-like riffs from time to time, and the picture is close to being complete. The future of many walks of American metal looks safe with acts like this around.

This Violent Earth Full-length, 2003
Cycle of Pain Full-length, 2005

HAVOK (USA)

A nice little EP of heads-down speed/thrash in the spirit of early Metallica (the EP title is an obvious reference to the Metallica debut album): straight, headbanging energetic riffs, with a good sense of melody, very well mixed on the excellent "Havok". The guys seldom try something slower, more mid-paced ("To Hell"), which works almost as good. "Root of Evil" introduces some furious thrashing at the end, combining Razor-like intensity (think "Shotgun Justice") with punishing, stomping riffage ala Nasty Savage (think "Indulgence").
The full-length opens with the best track from the EP "The Root of Evil", but the fast tempo is replaced on "Path to Nowhere" with some galloping rhythms, but watch out for "Morbid Symmetry", which is quite fast Bay-Area thrash, followed by another song from the EP: "Identity Theft". The tempo only goes up from then on, reaching the climax on the excellent "Scabs of Trust". Near the end the fans will recognize another "remnant" from the EP: the more laid-back "To Hell", but all of you wil melt (pun intended) on the speed/thrash killer "Melting The Mountain", which follows suit, and the closing Forbidden-worship "Afterburner": aggressive fast thrash at its best. The sleeping lions, young and old, in the Bay-Area are about to wake up...

Pwn 'Em All EP, 2007
Burn Full-Length, 2009

HAWAII (USA)

This band's debut album did a lot to push forward the spawning speed/thrash metal movement. They were previously known as Vixen, then a name change occurred to Aloha, before the band settled on Hawaii. One of the early signings of Mike Varney's Shrapnel label, it also boasted the presence of the guitar hero Marty Friedman, and the drum maestro Deen Castronovo (also Malice, Dr. Mastermind, Wild Dogs), a close friend of Friedman's, who accompanied him in the collaboration with another guitar virtuoso, Jason Becker, Cacophony, after this band's split up, and also took part in his solo works, and has been frequently invited by famous metal stars (Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer, Tony Macalpine, James Murphy, etc.) to hit the drums for them. Way more aggressive and intense than the same years' works of Anthrax, Exciter, Anvil and Venom, "One Nation Underground" stands right beside "Kill'Em All" and "Show No Mercy" as the three major efforts which established the speed/thrash metal genre as a vital force on the music scene. "Living In Sin" is a furious opener, elaborating on the speedy approach already heard on Raven's previous year's "Wiped Out", by adding more aggressive riffage. It sets the tone for what follows later, with the majority of the songs being edgy compulsive exercises on early speed/thrash, spiced with some slower mid-paced, but very heavy smashing pieces ("Silent Nightmare", "Secret of the Stars"). The only drawback is the soft heavy metal track "Escape The Night", which the band found necessary (why!?) to re-record later on with another singer. The shouter here is called Gary St. Pierre, and his high-pitched antics fit the aggressive music quite well, and are not too far from the ones of Mark Soliz on the Watchtower debut; he later joined Vicious Rumours. Friedman on this one is still looking to find his most fitting style, but his sharp shreds and screaming leads already promise a lot, with numerous guitar variations on waltz, tango and other themes. The only full space he is given, is on the closing "Overture Volcanica": a classically-oriented instrumental which is mostly leads, with a nice thrashy break in the middle. Check also the intro to "Nitro Power": a virtuous guitar solo, quite one-of-a-kind back in those early days.
"Loud, Wild and Heavy" is a slightly uneven effort, containing 4 tracks, two of which are mild heavy metal anthems, the one being a re-recorded version of the aforementioned "Escape the Night", the other a hard'n heavy hymn witht cheesy title "Bad Boys of Metal"; the other two, however, will make any speed/thrasher's day with their uncompromising delivery: "Loud Wild and Heavy" is frantic speed/thrash at its early best, with an overlong show-off "duel" between the lead guitar and the drums at the end; and "Rhapsody in Black" is the first masterpiece of instrumental speed/thrash, along with same year's Metallica's "The Call of Chtullu": 7-min of constant shred and proficient soloing, an impeccable riff-fest, overshadowing almost everything from Yngwie Malmsteen's same year's debut.
"The Natives are Restless" would be a big diappointment to the band's fans: instead of moving onto full-blooded speed/thrash and become a potent force on the scene which they helped establish, they have decided to soften the course, and the result is a very ordinary sounding, derivative hard'n heavy affair with nothing inside to recall the previous output. Friedman simply has no place here, with the music being much less flashy and less impressive, and his guitar pyrotechnics sound awkward and unnecessary. After the band's logical demise he joined forces with another guitar hero: Jason Becker, for the release of two capable guitar-oriented albums under the name Cacophony.

One Nation Underground Full-length, 1983
Loud, Wild and Heavy EP, 1984
The Natives are Restless Full-length, 1985

HAYAINO DAISUKI (USA)

Three wild girls are responsible for this 4-song EP of intense aggressive modern death/thrash, quite similar to the Chinese Resurrection, but without blast-beats; the music is constantly fast, and the guitar work is really good, with some cool melodic licks. The downpoint is the vocals, which are hysterical shouts with a black-ish vibe.

Headbanger's Karaoke Club Dangerous Fire EP, 2008

HAYWIRE (USA)

Based on "Private Hell", this is thrash/crossover, on the melodic side, similar to Lawnmower deth, but not as appealing.

Painless Steel EP, 1989
Private Hell Full-length, 1989
Abominations Full-length, 1990

HEAD CRUSHER (COLOMBIA)

Based on the "Your Blood On My Hands..." EP, this is modern groovy thrash with brutal death metal vocals and some more intense sections which also smell death metal ("What's Right For Me"); some parts are pure Biohazard worship ("Weak"); nothing really worth checking out.

Your Blood On My Hands... EP, 2003
Re-Evolve EP, 2005
I Felt This Before Full-length, 2007

HEAD HUNG LOW (UK)

Heavy modern thrash metal with some refreshing death metal outbursts; unfortunately, they are not too many here, and the rest is pretty pedestrian and generic.

Within the Limits of her Being EP, 2002
Audio Killing Spree Full-length, 2004

HEAD ON COLLISION (USA)

A main pretender for the "Best Thrash Metal Debut for 2008" award, this young band pull out awesome intense thrash, combining the best from old heroes like Slayer, above all, Torture and Atomica. The aggressive riffage on the opening instrumental "Arise From The Wreckage" promises a lot, and the rest of the material fulfills it all. The guys never pause for a break, and thrash aggressively until the end; "Retaliate" is the only track, which offers a more laid-back galloping rhythm, and cool melodic leanings. "The Flames Of Aggression" is a very good varied composition, which changes the tempos all the time, and offers fine lead guitar work as well: the highlight on this strong debut.

Ritual Sacrifice Full-length, 2008

HEADCRASHER (ITALY)

Based on "Nothing Will Remain", this is first class speed/thrash in the vein of Angel Dust and Paradox. These guys are the finest representatives of this genre from Italy back in those days, and even now I can hardly think of anyone surpassing them. The only place where these guys slow down, is the nice ballad "Good Morning, Amazzonia!". The rest is merciless attack at its smashing best.

Nothing Will Remain Full-length, 1989
Introspection Full-length, 1991

HEADHAUNTER (HOLLAND)

This album starts with an imposing, over 5-min intro, which is actually a full-blooded heavy thrashing instrumental, and it pretty much sets the tone of what follows; the band's sound hesitates between shorter, direct headbangers (which are the better side of the band's style: "Encured Soul"- speed/thrashing madness), and some longer ones, where the intensity of the former is mixed with some heavier, almost doomy riffs and sections where the lead guitar takes the upper hand, without being too striking . Those longer tracks (two out of six) have their moments, but the lack of more interesting play make them sound quite monotonous. The music is closer to the old school, with some modern "insertions" here and there.

Visions of Paranoia Full-Length, 2004

HEADHUNTER (GERMANY)

This band was formed by Marcel Schmier after his exit from the thrash legends Destruction. The first effort carries the trade mark razor sharp Destruction-like riffs, and is quite a good beginning; it thrashes with full force and conviction on most of the tracks (check out the speed killer "Parody of Life", the awesome riff-fest "Kick Over Your Traces", the jumpy intense "Curse"- a marvellous song, or the other speed metal delight "Crack Brained"- a nod to the Destruction album of the same name?; well, if so, quite a good nod), raising the hopes high of those, who were not too happy with the more technical direction Destruction took with "Cracked Brain", and a sure pick for the top ten of 1990.

However, Schmier was not satisfied with merely copying his old band, and later the music took a more melodic, and even progressive direction; "A Bizarre Gardening Accident" is more than a worthy follow-up, although the unbridled aggression of the debut can seldom be heard. "Signs Of Insanity" sounds like a leftover from the previous album, with its cool up-tempo thrashing approach, and the next "Hit Machine" is no less intense, but the guitars are not as sharp, with a certain technical edge. After the peaceful, heavy metal break "Born in the Woods", the thrashing goes on with "Two-Faced Promises", followed by the humorous joke rock'n roll piece "Ramalama". This might pull you back a bit, but "Boozer" will bring you back in the game, with its galloping, sharp riffage. "Pangs of Remorse" is a cool, heavy ballad, followed by a couple of more laid-back power/thrash mixtures, before the closer "Deadly Instinct" speeds up again, being a fine energetic thrasher.
"Rebirth" starts in a hevy, semi-modern manner, with the stomping "Adrenalin"; the modern sound remains, but it is more appealing on the faster tracks ("Army of the Blind", "Scars"). "Don�t Bogart..." is another joke-song, but it has no many aggressive tracks to contrast on, and is hardly necessary; the same goes for the semi-balladic "Too Late For A Change". "Struck" and "Warhead" offer something new: heavy, slower songs, with stomping, but technical, choppy riffs, which sounded quite classic and interesting; a tendency which remained unfinished, because after this one the band split up, and five years later Schmier rejoined his old love Destruction.
Wow, Schmier hasn't forgotten about this formation, busy with Destruction, and here he strikes again, but with mixed results; "Parasite Of Society" is a good, albeit a flawed comeback album. "Parasite Of Society" opens it in an awesome headbanging fashion, thrashing in a way last heard on the debut. "Silverskull" sounds a bit disappointing, with its melodic, power metal approach, and a catchy chorus, and when another similar number follows (the longer, and even more melodic "Remission"), one might start re-adjusting his initial high opinion, but before doing that, he should give at least one more track a listen, and this is "Doomsday For The Prayer": an intense up-tempo thrasher. Well, but "18 And Life", which is a Skid Row cover, will confuse him even more, simply because thrash disappears once again, only to return for the excellent, softer, but entertaining speedy "Read My Lips". "Egomaniac" is a nice energetic thrashing piece, which overshadows the following two songs, which are slower, one of them a semi-ballad ("The Calling"), before the closing Judas Priest cover of "Rapid Fire" restores the faith in the band once more. This is a hit-and-miss affair, as though Schmier was not certain whether to make this album sounding more appealing to more metal fans, or to leave it within the confines of thrash metal; as a whole it will make quite a few heads shake in doubt, but taken as separate fine moments, it delivers the goods.

Parody of Life Full-length, 1990
A Bizarre Gardening Accident Full-length, 1992
Rebirth Full-length, 1994
Parasite Of Society Full-length, 2008

HEADLESS CROSS (UK)

Based on "Burning Sanctuary", this is a very cool fusion of traditional metal and thrash recalling the Americans Midevil and Steel Reign. There is not much variety in the tempo which is mostly mid-paced, but the good, heavy riffs will make your day. "Burning Sorrow" is a nice acoustic ballad.

Burning Sanctuary EP, 2005
In Cold Blood EP, 2006

HEADLOCK (USA)

Thrash/crossover with some rap and funk-ish overtones, recalling Mordred's "Fool's Game", and 90's Flotsam & Jetsam, in the heavier parts.

It Found Me Full-length, 1994

HEADSHOT (GERMANY)

Based on "Diseased", the band walk the fine line between classic and modern thrash, and do a very good job as such. Their music has a certain technical edge, and reminds of Repent's debut at times, or Kreator of the new millennium. The beginning is melodic and modern ("Cancer"), with a great Oriental guitar hook inserted, but afterwards the music takes a nice headbanging turn ("No Justice Till' Death", "Infiltrator"). Some cool heavier, stomping thrashers are thrown in as well ("Souls At Zero", "DNA Distortion"), but their faster side is the more attractive one, and aggressive, Slayer-esque smashers, like "Eraser", are the highlight here. "Plague" is a brilliant heavy, technical instrumental- a nice finishing touch to this fairly good album.
"Emotional Overload" is another cool effort, if we exclude the strained, unpleasant, hardcore vocals. The music is heavier and more modern sounding, with a considerable amount of groove, but with enough more energetic thrashers to pull it through: the 2-min explosive Slayer-esque "Sudden Death", the heavy, mid-paced piece "Silent Cry", again recalling Slayer, but their late 80's period. The closing track: "Shades of Grey", is almost 20-min long, and is seemingly a combination of two separate pieces: one, a typical groovy modern one, the other quite energetic, with some nice melodic guitar work, sung in German.
"As Above, So Below" arrives after a long, 5-year hiatus, and sees the band in fine form, ready to provide some high quality thrash once again. "Isolation" starts thrashing intensely from the very beginning, and things get even more aggressive, with the following short Slayer-esque "Which Means War". "Old Patterns" deviates into heavier, more technical direction, recalling Nevermore, adding nice Oriental hooks to the proceedings. But "Bound To Fail" (which is not an Accept cover) restores the aggressive thrashing, with smashing lashing riffs; a tendency marvellously sustained by the next furious "Second To None". "Quest For The Sun" is the most melodic track, a power/thrash fusion, which boasts the best lead guitar work. More surprises come later on: "As Above, So Below"- a great dark progressive thrasher, again bringing Nevermore, and Communic, to mind; the guitar performance is stupendous, with some more brilliant Oriental tunes added, excellent leads again, and some complex crunchy riffage. This more elaborate approach remains for the blistering technical instrumental "The Swarm": a rare display of technical brilliance, which some of you might listen over and over. The closing "We Disintegrate" preserves some of the technicality, but is a more direct headbanger, quite close to the works of recent Kreator, for an upteenth time inserting some fine Oriental melodies, which are the light-motive of this very strong effort, by far the band's finest hour, and one of the most impressive entries from the thrash metal field for 2008.

Brain at Risk Full-length, 1995
Emotional Overload Full-length, 1998
Diseased Full-Length, 2003
As Above, So Below Full-length, 2008

HEARING IMPAIRED (USA)

Thrash/crossover in the vein of S.O.D. and early Suicidal Tendencies; there is one speedy number: "Cattle Prod", one jolly, punk-ish one: "Reebok" (could be a tribute to the British sports shoes brand), and the last one is a very disrespectful "tribute" to Frank Sinatra: "Frankie", starting as a dialogue between two people, than moving onto someone imitating Sinatra, before it becomes a full-blooded thrashy hardcore fury.

Demo Demo, 1988

HEATHEN (USA)

This very cool Bay Area thrash metal band started greatly with "Breaking The Silence"- a fine speed/thrash album with catchy and memorable numbers, boasting some of the finest speed/thrash hymns of the whole 80's American scene: "Save the Skull", "Death by Hanging", as well as the Sweet cover of "Set Me Free". A lengthy pause followed between the first and second album, but it was really worth the wait: "Victims Of Deception" is a colossal album featuring heavy, technical riffs, with longer and more complex songs, not too far from late 80's Metallica; one can not help, but admire technical/progressive thrash masterpieces, like "Heathen's Song", "Opiate of the Masses", among others. The only downpoint is perhaps the not very necessary inclusion of the Rainbow cover "Kill the King". This album, along with Dark Angel's "Time Does Not Heal", gave a new, very interesting shape to the American thrash metal scene in the early 90's, but both acts disappeared. 13 long years later, apparently encouraged by the thrash metal revival of the new millennium, the band released a compilation of old, remastered tracks and cover versions in 2004 (Thin Lizzy, Queen, etc.) which, followed by a great 3-track demo a year later, which sounded like the perfect continuation of the great "Victims Of Deception", with a pinch of the early carefree speed/thrash approach, is hopefully a sign for a third album in the makings.

Set me free EP, 1987
Breaking The Silence Full-length, 1987
Victims Of Deception Full-length, 1991
Recovered Best of/Compilation, 2004 Demo Demo, 2005

HEATHENDOM (GREECE)

This is a really pleasant surprise: an expertly crafted concoction of progressive, doom, power and thrash, resurrecting the extinct Swedish sound from the late 90's: the last Hexenhaus album, their continuation Fifth Reason, Pathos, Memento Mori. "Nescience" is the best possible opener, bringing forward the technical and thrashy side of the mixture. Then doom and power metal come forth, with "Burn", but thrash remains to create some of the most smashing hammering riffs around. "The Doll House" is one level up the doom metal scale, but "Mirror Of Memories" hits the top: exemplary progressive doom metal. With "Scenes Of Old" the power/thrashy patterns are back, but only for a while, since "I Bleed" is pure epic doom, as good as it could possibly get. "Hell Within" is the obligatory sprawling long doom composition, after which the closer "War & Pain" offers a similar to the opener mix of technical and thrashy riffs, to put an end to what could possibly be the most impressive debut of 2008.

Nescience Full-length, 2008

HEAVY CROSS (GEORGIA)

These Georgians play modern groovy, slightly technical thrash, which could have benefitted from some faster play. Now this one-dimensional, even stoner/doom-sounding material would hardly hold water for long with the hard-boiled thrashers. There is a lot of heaviness in the riff section, but apart from the intense more edgy "Life Is More Than A Game", the rest is nothing more than a more complex (which doesn't mean better here) version of Tourniquet's "Vanishing Lessons" and Flotsam & Jetsam's "Drift".

Fan X Full-length, 2007

HEBOSAGIL (FINLAND)

Finland keeps churning out thrash metal bands, most of them really worth checking out. Hebosagil are one of those who deserve your attention; the band's style is consistent throughout the demos (and an EP), being high-speed thrash of the classic variety with a few nods to death metal resembling Recipients Of Death, Hypnosia and the Japanese Fastkill (especially on the "November Reign" demo where the "Early Destruction Played Faster"-description fits perfectly). Hopefully these guys will be picked by some label soon...

Demo II: Hebosagil Sell Out Demo, 2004
The Doomchild Demo, 2004
November Reign Demo, 2005
Studio Live Demo, 2005
Hard as They Come Demo, 2006
Cosmic EP, 2007

HECTIC (HOLLAND)

Based on the "It Bites" demo, these guys pull out a simplistic and not very impressive blend of Motorhead, early Razor, and Destructor. The music is not very sharp most of the time, except on a few occasions where it sounds more aggressive and chaotic, introducing some hardcore in the proceedings. The band added two 9's to their name, and with this came the change of sound into a more friendly heavy/power metal-based one.

It bites Demo, 1987
Expose your hate Demo, 1988

HECTOR (CZECH)

Based on The "Open Hell" demo, the band's style is very cool thrash which recalls Accuser's debut or the Swiss Poltergeist (their first album as well). The music is good with the obligatory fast tracks, some slower, semi-technical ones and even some balladic touches.

Open Hell Demo, 1991
Nine Two Nine Three Demo, 1993

HECTORITE (SWEDEN)

Based on the "Subliminal Torment" demo, this is modern thrash death similar to Terror 2000 and Corporation 187 in the faster sections, mixed with some dry mechanical guitar work ala Meshuggah. Surprisingly, this blend works well, sounding like a more interesting and vivid Meshuggah.

Insano Technimetal Demo, 2001
Nocturnal Metempsychosis Demo, 2002
Subliminal Torment Demo, 2003

HELGRIND (UK)

Based on the "Fallen Prophet" EP, Helgrind play very cool classic up-tempo power/thrash metal which slightly recalls early Xentrix (the first two albums) and the Americans Midevil. "Religious Persecution" is full-blooded thrash, much more aggressive than the EP, this time taking a shape of its own, with meaty heavy riffs, in predominantly fast tempos, boasting some fine numbers: the excellent opener "Death Squad", the raging 3-min wonder "Mass Graves", the speed/thrash monster "Religious Persecution". "Cry For The Angels" is a brilliant interlude, in the form of a short acoustic instrumental. "Violation" retains the melody, coming as a heavy semi-ballad, but you'll be blown away by the amazing aggressive "Forbidden Lust" and the first-rate death/thrash explosion "Altar Of Hate". "Suicide Pact" nicely blends slower and faster moments, and "Heretic" surrenders to the slower side again, although remains quite entertaining, and very heavy. "Witchery" thrashes its soul, whereas the closing "Baptised In Hate" prefers to sum things up, offering another amalgam of moods and tempos, putting an end to this really strong effort.

Denial Full-length, 2005
Fallen Prophet EP, 2007
Religious Persecution Full-Length, 2008

HELL'S KITCHEN (USA)

Based on the debut, this band offers simplistic brisk thrash/crossover, recalling The Accuser and early Broken Bones. Apart from the predominant short speedy numbers there are some longer and slower ("Hell�s Kitchen"), which are not bad, being doomy with more musical skills involved; others of the same kind cling towards the balladic side ("Mind Melt"), but again deliver ina jollier, uplifting way. "Tonight I�m Gonna Rock You Tonight" doesn't betray its title, and is a merry rock'n roll track. This is the band from where the drum master Chris Kontos (Testament, Machine Head, Exodus, Konkhra, etc.) started his career. Later he, along with the singer Dave Chavez formed the more aggressive thrash metal act Verbal Abuse.

If You Can't Take The Heat... Full-length, 1989
Fistful Of Chicken Full-length, 1990

HELL: ON

A 3-song demo of uneventful heavy groovy thrash, with slight shades of melo-death ("To Become Alive"). "Re-Born" elaborates on the sound heard on the EP, but adds some intense thrashy riffage, which gives the songs the desirable hard edge, but on the other hand some metalcore breaks have found their way into the sound as well which, combined with the grooves, would hardly be the average thrash fan's headbanging paradise.

Beyond the Fake EP, 2008
Re-Born Full-Length, 2009

HELL INSIDE (CHILE)

Based on "Sed Viciosa Mental": this band play cool retro thrash- fast and energetic, but served with a muddy sound quality, and hoarse, death metal-ish vocals. The music packs a punch, though, staying close to the German masters Destruction and Kreator, with occasional, more aggressive proto-death parts ("Death My Finger").

Tribute to Sepultura Demo, 2005
Sed Viciosa Mental Demo, 2007

HELL PROMISE (USA)

A really good debut of slightly groovy thrash with some touches of hardcore (mainly in the vocal department), not too far from Pro-Pain, or probably early Machine Head. The songs are all in the same energetic, but not very fast pace, and are very catchy; fans of the 90's groove-based scene will enjoy this a lot.

Aim For Hell Full-length, 2006

HELLACAUST (CANADA)

Black/thrash metal becomes quite popular in Canada threatening to overtake the technical metal field with which this country has been proud for so many years. Joking, of course... But, seriously, this band pull out some very fast and aggressive black/thrash which would make even Necrodeath proud. The music also recalls Hellwitch, but is not as technical. This is a full-fronted aural assault, done professionally, which will make you headbanging for days.

Dark Age Descending Full-length, 2002
Inevitable Dementia Full-length, 2006

HELLBASTARD (UK)

Hellbastard hail from the vast punk/hardcore scene which was particularly strong in the UK, and their roots have remained there despite some serious attempts at thrash metal made later in their career. Their best album from this thrashy period is by all means "Natural Order" which is pure thrash metal attack, with their hardcore past only slightly hinted at. This album actually offers very good music, with some great leads, and a fast, energetic tempo, providing some really great headbanging moments ("I Beg In Blood", "Natural Order"). Some slower, but still hard-hitting songs come up towards the middle ("There Is No God,...", "Neon Storms"), and a melodic, rosk-ish number ("Live as Mortals"). The vocals remain in the hardcore camp, but they kind of take a secondary role here, as more room has been given to the very good music.

Heading For Internal Darkness Full-length, 1988
They Brought Death EP, 1989
Natural Order Full-length, 1990
Blood, Fire And Hate Full-length, 1999
The Good Go First...Hate Militia Full-length, 2000

HELLBOX (FRANCE)

Based on "Infernothing": this is a pretty decent black/thrash metal band which will bring you back to the days of Venom, Celtic Frost and Bulldozer. It even puts all these acts to shame, with the opening "Infernothing", which is a blasting aggressive black/thrash at its best, but remains the only one of its kind. The situation, however, comes quickly under control, with the sinister mid-paced "Coin Under Tongue", another great, hypnotic track. Then the band lose it for a while, with the hardcore-ish short "Liar Liar", but waste no time to come back on track, with the equally as short, but much better Slayer-esque "Vulture". "Helldriver" is probably the other not very convincing moment: jolly playful rock-ish thrash. After it the guys fail to capture the earlier aggression, and the remaining songs are more melodic, acquiring a certain hardcore shade, staying quite close to early Venom, with one cool deviation: the heavy, Celtic Frost-like "Eviction from the Grave", followed by the closing "Christmas Suicide", which is excellent speed/thrash with nice melodic hooks.

Sadisticlaw Full-length, 2003
Infernothing Full-length, 2006

HELLBREATH (GERMANY)

Decent power/thrash metal with some cool technical riffs, mostly mid-paced with some slow, progressively-laced passages. Despite the not very good sound quality, it's clear that these guys were aiming high with their unconventional approach to song writing, but they wouldn't have made an impact with this very bad singer whose semi-death growls are so unsuitable to the music that are very close to ruining everything.

Slave Of God Full-length, 1988

HELLBUTCHER (ECUADOR)

Good intense retro thrash along the lines of the Germans Nocturnal and early Destruction; the music is fast, with direct riffs and some cool short leads. The vocals are vicious black metal, and at the end there are 3 covers: Hellhammer's "Massacra", Motorhead's... wow, you guessed right again: "Ace of Spades", and Sodom's "Agent Orange". Those covers, along with the preceding two original songs, are with an awgul sound quality, and are a very unpleasant contrast to the first much better, both mucis and sound-wise, half.

Blasphemy, Metal, War and Destruction Full-length, 2008

HELLER (SERBIA)

Very good classic Bay Area-influenced thrash metal from Serbia; there are some other styles which could be heard on this album like classic heavy, doom metal and even grind on the very short, 11-sec long track "Adam I Eva".

Heller Full-length, 1989

HELLFIRE (CHILE)

Based on the "Decapitation" EP, this band play excellent classic fast and aggressive thrash akin to Slayer's "Reign in Blood" and Vio-lence's "Eternal Nightmare" with a more technically-inclined guitar work. "Sicario" is an awesome heavy technical thrasher which slows down, recalling Metallica's late 80's period, also featuring some stylish technical hooks ala Death and Pestilence.
The self-titled debut is a cool slab of classic thrash, which this time also looks towards the German scene, mixing it with the aforementioned influences. The guys thrash fast and hard, adding some nice technical licks on the longer songs ("Trust Went Hell"), and provide very nice headbanging atmosphere the whole time. "Sicario" is more lyrical and slower, "courting" the speed metal heroes from the 90's at some point, but is completely cancelled by the explosive "Veritas - Aequitas": super fast thrash. After such bombastic number a long dragging much slower and softer closer like "Tear Of The Sand" is hardly the most fitting continuation, although some melodic Oriental hooks are quite catchy, and the overall approach on this one quite resembles the british masters of the late 80's Deathwish; still it's not enough to spoil the final positive impression from this capable rendition of the old school sound.

Rehearsal Demo, 1993
Rehearsal Demo, 2005
Trust Went Hell Single, 2006
Hellfire Full-length, 2007
Decapitation Single, 2007

HELLFIRE (POLAND)

One of the brightest hopes of Polish thrash metal; the band's style is a mix of speed, thrash and power with touches of progressive metal. The music bears resemblances to 80's Agent Steel and Paradox; at times it is fast, at times heavier, and at times quite technical, with some great solos. "Recoffination" is a sure-handed debut, providing the listener with a solid doze of first rate speed/thrash, with some really impressive pieces ("Invisible Death", "Sin"), boasting some great choruses and superb guitar performance. The band show their more epic side with more ambitious numbers ("Grave Story"), which still thrash respectably. "Hellfire" is a worthy closer to this album, fast and brisk, with a touch of the 90's power/speed metal scene.
If the debut was a strong beginning, "Requiem For My Bride" is more than a worthy follow-up. It has a more aggressive, more thrashy sound, and the guitars are much more technical, easily winning the tag "technical speed/thrash" for this album at quite a few moments. The fast pace has been preserved all over, but the speed/power metal atmosphere of the 90's is not so strongly felt this time. Some songs are really superb takes on technical, expertly made metal: "Defection", "The Answer". The singer is suitable to the style, with his melodic, high-pitched voice, but might be irritable to those who prefer to hear more aggressive vocals with this kind of music.

Recoffination Full-length, 2003
Requiem For My Bride Full-length, 2005

HELLHOUND (JAPAN)

This band is similar to another Japanese band: Sex Machineguns. Like them they like to mix numerous styles like classic heavy metal, thrash, power, speed metal and even some hard rock with a strong 80's flavour. It definitely has its moments, but the thrashy numbers are not that many to make it a really enjoyable listen for all thrash fans.

Welcome To Metal Zone EP, 2004
Tokyo Flying V Massacre Full-length, 2006

HELLHOUND (USA)

Power/thrash metal which varies from Exodus' "Bonded By Blood" to Attacker, to some quite impressive technical riffs on the last demo. This last demo is actually a nice example of fast-paced, technically-minded power/thrash not too far from Helstar's "Nosferatu".

Rehearsal Demo Demo, 1984
Submit Or Die Demo, 1985
From The Ruins Of Yesterday Demo, 1987
Ice Age Best of/Compilation, 1998

HELLIAS (POLAND)

One of the true greats of Polish thrash metal; the music has similarities to Destruction and Sacrifice, but there are quite a few slower, atmospheric and technical tracks not too typical for the aforementioned bands. A great and original band, except on their last release-"Fakty..." where the music is typical, unimaginative modern thrash.

Noc Potepienia EP, 1988
Blind Destiny Full-length, 1993
Fakty... Full-length, 1996

HELLION (UKRAINE)

This is modern thrash/death, heavy and mostly mid-paced with rough, hardcore-ish vocals. There are some attempts at more technical play ("Creatures of My Mind"), but the guys quickly give it up. Some more energy added on future works would not be a bad idea; now all tracks seem to merge into one another, being in the same tempo, with repetitive riffs.

Strong Enough Full-length, 2006

HELLISH CROSSFIRE (GERMANY)

The base for this debut is classic speed/thrash, although this is not an exact take on the Iron Angel style, which debut is the "godfather" of this act, but there are influences from death and black metal, albeit not too many; aggressive and very good stuff. The music doesn't stray from the winning formula of early Destruction and Sodom's "Persecution Mania"; Rigor Morits' debut could be another good reference point. The songs here are longer, and the guys nicely alternate between fast-paced and slower sections all the time. The singer has a gruff, but suitable voice, not miles away from Bruce Corbitt (Rigor Mortis).

Slaves Of The Burning Pentagram Full-length, 2006

HELLIXXIR (FRANCE)

Based on "War Within", this is very good power/thrash metal with some balladic, doomy moments. The style recalls slightly the Canadian one-album wonder Zions Abyss, but the Frenchmen are more thrash-oriented (check out the excellent "Mr. Hyde"-the highlight of the album). This band are really worth checking out, as their music will find its way into the hearts of both thrash and doom metal fans.

The Cypress Forest Full-length, 2003
War Within Full-Length, 2007

HELLKOMMANDER (BRAZIL)

This band is a side-project of Poisonhell: the Farscape frontman, who here gives way to his infatuation with the vintage old black metal (Celtic Frost and Venom) sound. The music will also remind you of Motorhead, as well as the singer who tries his best to impersonate Lemmy, but in a harsher, more aggressive manner. "The Cursed" is a high-octane sinister doom number, worthy of old veterans like Saint Vitus and Pentagram. "Nuclear Graves" is a sudden switch onto brutal, fast-paced death/thrash, lasting for a bit more than 2-min.

Death to My Enelies Full-Length, 2007

HELLKRUSHER (UK)

Based on "Buildings for the Rich": this steadfast British act offer energetic, but one-dimensional mix of thrash/crossover, punk and some rock-ish attitude ala Motorhead. The result comes as a more laid-back, and less serious version of D.R.I. and early Prong.

Dying For Who EP, 1992
Buildings for the Rich Full-length, 1993
Why Must We Die? Split album, 1994
Fields of Blood EP, 1994
Doomsday Hour Full-length, 1996
Wasteland Full-length, 1998
Victims of Hate EP, 2000

HELLMASTERS (USA)

Thrash metal with a rock'n roll spirit; references to Motorhead are inevitable as well as to Gehennah and Bewitched from Sweden. This is a very enjoyable unpretentious "party" stuff.

I Would Kill For Rock�N�Roll Full-length, 2002

HELLNIGHT (NORWAY)

Based on the "Piracy and Horror" demo, Hellnight play an enjoyable blend of thrash and some rock'n roll rhythms which will remind you of Hellmasters (see the review above), or a lighter version of Entombed's mid-90's period ("Wolverine Blues", etc.).
"Murder Entertainment" is quite diverse: it contains some brutal black metal insertions not too far from Darkthrone ("Compannions"), but compensates with the merry rock-ish thrasher "Fellowship of Gore". "Entertainment" is another happy number, but slower, with a heavier rhythm and some groove involved.

Piracy and Horror Demo, 2006
Murder Entertainment Demo, 2007

HELLPREACHER (USA)

This is the band where the Rotting Corpse guitarist Roger Gallardo started his career. An excellent 3-song demo of speedy thrash metal with great piercing riffs and a really intense and fast delivery which can only be compared to Angel Dust's "Into the Dark Past", but this one is more aggressive. With three songs only, these guys put easily to shame the more speedy efforts from the American metal scene at the same time of Blessed Death and Destructor, and even Whiplash. Gallardo would have done great if he had stuck with this band for longer.

Resurrection Demo, 1986

HELLRAISER (RUSSIA)

One of the bunch of Russian thrash metal bands who appeared in the early 90's. Unlike Koma or Aspid, Hellraiser's music is of a more conventional nature similar to early Zhelezny Potok. "We'll Bury You!" sticks to the Bay Area patterns, offering some longer, but slightly one-dimensional tracks, which hit the top with the monotonous, 9-min long "Dark Side of You". Those of you who have lost their patience after this one, and have truned off their players, have missed out, because after this one the songs become shorter, with more catchy riffs, and a more aggressive attitude; check out the very cool headbanger "Snakes In The Kitchen". "No Brain No Pain" offers a more technical, and heavier guitar sound, aiming at Metallica late 80's period. The music is still deeply rooted in the 80's, but the songs are longer, and some plodding, pointless numbers like the doomy "Witch" lessen the impact of the better material.

We'll Bury You! Full-length, 1990
No Brain No Pain Full-length, 1994
03 Full-length, 1997

HELLRAPER (FRANCE)

80's black/thrash obviously influenced by Venom with elements of speed and even power metal, but the production is so bad that it sounds more like a rehearsal which the band must have done half-drunk (or completely) with no any serious intentions whatsoever.

Feed Bitches With Satan's Seed Demo, 2003

HELLRAZOR (USA)

An ordinary mix of power and thrash, but uneventful, mostly mid-paced, reminding of an edgier more recent Iced Earth. By all means the moments where the guys speed up are the better ones, like on the galloping "Possession", or the cool speed/thrash number "Stacked Up". The final "3am" is a surprisingly brisk speed/thrasher as well, and hopefully the band will pay more attention to this side of their music for the future. The singer is not a total waste, singing in a levelled, John Schaffer-like tone, and his high screams ala Halford could have been more.

In the Wild Full-length, 2008

HELLSTORM (NORWAY)

A hellish trio, playing vicious brutal black/thrash, blasting through the speakers in no time, adding also elements of doom and death metal along the way; there is a fair bit of thrashing here, but the hyper-blasts are too many for a thrash fan to fully like this stuff.

Fucking Bleed Full-length, 1999

HELLTHRASHER (CANADA)

A brutal, ugly mix of thrash and grind-core, with short, ultra-fast songs, and various vocal styles; not for the squeamish.

Demo Demo, 2004

HELLWITCH (USA)

A legendary band whose very aggressive, but at the same time very technical blend of thrash and death metal has made them really stand out of the pack. Their style has been a very big influence on the technical death metal movement which flourished in the mid-late 90's. Even nowadays few are the bands who can mix those two sides of metal as well as them. "Syzygial Miscreancy" is an explosive debut, sweeping the listener away from the very first moment, with the opening chaotic technical and very fast riffs of "Nosferatu": a brutal ball of fury, seldom surpassed before or after. The later material is even more impressive, excelling both in the technical and aggressive department: "Viral Exogence"- a masterpiece of brutal technicality, the death metal killer "Sentient Transmography" (the riffs here will stun you), followed immediately by the slightly more conventional thrashers "Pyrophoric Seizure" and "Purveyor Of Fear". The first genuine technical thrash/death metal album, this great work remained the band's only full-length release.
"Terraasymmetry" sounded like a good "testing of the soil" before another album: "Terraasymmetry" is an awesome twisted technical piece, which boasts superb guitar work, and sudden blasting sections, coming out of nowhere, only to be replaced by another portion of swirling, jumpy riffage. "Satan's Wrath" is surprisingly more ordinary, a pretty straight thrasher, which starts like early Celtic Frost, in a heavy, stomping manner, before speeding up later, with a slight technical edge. "Dawn of Apostasy" is a brutal technical death metal piece, with a nice thrashy slower break in the middle.
The band called it quits, just when the technical side of death metal had started to take a more certain shape. They missed the golden age of the genre, to re-appear in 2005, with another EP. If we exclude the hysterical screechy vocals, which might get on your nerves quite a bit, the rest is pretty much in the vein of the band's older material. The music is technical, but not as flamboyant, and the sound stays closer to thrash, with the few exceptions of scattered blast-beats. Brilliant technical numbers, like "Mythologicalies" and "Epitome Of Disgrace" reach the level of the previous achievements, showing the guys in a very inspired form, but another inexplicable disappearance followed suit. Apparently one full-length seems to be enough, and for the future it would be no surprise if another EP arrives from their camp.

Syzygial Miscreancy Full-length, 1990
Terraasymmetry EP, 1992
The Epitome of Disgrace EP, 2005

HELSTAR (USA)

One of the greatest American metal bands; the band's beginnings are firmly in American power metal, one of the finest achievements of the genre. On "Distant Thunder" the band entered the thrash metal arena in a very impressive manner, paying tribute to the first genuine speed/thrasher: Scorpions' "He's a Woman, She's a Man" . "Nosferatu", which came a year later, is one of the definitive technical power/thrash metal releases of all times. Having reached the summit of their career, the band split up.
James Rivera refused to put the Helstar spirit to rest, and with his new band Vigilante continued in the same vein, with this band's demo being vintage later period Helstar with some magnificent progressive thrash pieces present (it's featured in the band discography under the title "The James Rivera Legacy", along with the "Demolition" demo). How the rest of the band gave their agreement for the Rivera new band to impersonate Helstar, is still a big mystery: "Multiples Of Black" included only two songs from the very strong demo, and they were the weakest ones; as a result we have a failed attempt at very complex, modern sounding progressive thrash metal. There is little to remind of old Hesltar here, and even the excellent cover of Judas Priest's "Beyond The Realms Of Death" could not save the sinking ship. James Rivera never tried to record again under the Helstar name, and he has been seen in different bands around including several of his own new projects.
Having been teasing the fanbase with the release of several Best of Compilations, and one live album, the band are finally back in action. I'm sure that quite a few of you have been on the edge of their toes to hear what this work would sound like, after the flop which "Multiples Of Black" was, but the guys gave a hint at the musical direction, including two of the songs on this one, at the end of the 2007 Best of Compilation.
The female gothic voice in the beginning of the opening "The King Of Hell" may literally scare you, that those two tracks were just a trick, but once the blasting guitars overwhelm you, you will go back straight to the glorious 80's, accompanied by smashing riffs and the apocalyptic vocals of Rivera, who reaches Rob Halford-like heights with ease and confidence; no kidding, this song is classic thrash at its best, seldom heard in the new millennium. It doesn't mislead, as the rest follows close, with "The Plague Called Man" offering some more technical decorations ala "Nosferatu", but this is as far as this album goes to reach the brilliance of the band's magnum opus. The technical flamboyance of the latter is clearly left aside, and this album sounds like a direct continuation to "Distant Thunder", which to some may be the better option. "When Empires Fall" slows down, bringing 10-ton hammers to do the damage, which in their own turn call some groove for help. "Wicked Disposition" is the other song which could possibly pass the test for "Nosferatu", and could be considered the highlight, mixing smashing straight riffage with more stylish play. "Pain" scores high in the headbanging department: short merciless thrasher, something new, and totally welcome, in the band's sound. "In My Darkness" is the obligatory heavy, semi-balladic track, whcih the guys have mastered so well on previous recordings, followed by the most ambitious composition: "Garden Of Temptation", which definitely has its complex, progressive parts, but there are quite a few mighty sharp riffs to be appreciated as well, during its 9-min. "Tormentor" and "Caress of the Dead" are already familiar to the fans, from the compilation, both being solid galloping heavy pieces, thrashing hard with force, making this effort one of the best comebacks ever attempted by 80's veterans, and a sure top ten pick for many metal fans for 2008, who could sigh with relief that one of the big legends of the 80's are alive and well, with no signs of "betrayal".

Burning Star Full-length, 1984
Remnants Of War Full-length, 1986
A Distant Thunder Full-length, 1988
Nosferatu Full-length, 1989
Multiples Of Black Full-length, 1995
The King of Hell Full-Length, 2008

HEMATOMA (PORTUGAL)

A great piece of classic 80's thrash metal; the songs are mostly in the mid-tempo with a slight hint of groove, but also featuring some cool semi-technical riffs and nice head-bangers: "Sleep" despite the sleepy title, is a very good example of the latter. Hopefully the full-length will hit us soon...

For Yours We Wait EP, 2005

HEMLOCK (USA)

Heavy death/thrash metal of the modern, 90's type with horrible hardcore vocals; the music is not as groovy as you might think, but is quite energetic; the sound is somewhat mechanical and dry, recalling Meshuggah, but the guitar work is much more ordinary, more along the lines of Puncture or No Return's "Seasons of Soul".

Moonmaniac Demo, 1996

HEMLOCK (USA, Las Vegas, NA)

Based on "No Time For Sorrow", this band play typical modern thrash, sometimes descending to hardcore-ish heavy/thrash ("Backstabber"), sometimes jumping on the melodic death metal wagon ("Beautality"). There is a big doze of groove involved, which suits well the gruff, death metal vocals, which are accompanied by a few other styles as well. The straight intense thrashers ("The Reason") are not too many, and the predominant tempo is mid-paced, with numerous melodic leanings.

Shut Down Full-length, 1999
Pigeon Holed Full-length, 2001
Bleed The Dream Full-length, 2004
No Time For Sorrow Full-length, 2008

HEMORAGY (FRANCE)

Based on the EP, which is whole 9 songs long, and could easily pass for a full-length, these guys offer melodic power/thrash with a classic vibe. The music is enjoyable, with some cool lead guitar work, but not very hard-hitting in the first half; it will probably remind you of Meliah Rage's early period, or Laaz Rockit's "Know Your Enemy". With "Ghost Riders" things become really interesting: a mighty thrasher which raises the level admirably, and what follows is by no means worse: the stomping crusher "Jump into the Bestial Pit" which even has a Celtic Frost-shade, followed by another fast-paced track: "The Final Horseriding". "Guitar Killer" is a pure riff-fest, richly deserving its pompous title, which would make you listen to the first half of the EP again, just to check if you haven't slept through it the first time. Although a bit uneven, this effort is quite a promising start, and with a bit more focus next time, these guys could be one of the new stars of French thrash metal.

Demo Demo, 2003
First Blood Demo, 2004
Jesus King Of Wine EP, 2007

HERESY OF THIEVES (UK)

Modern thrash/death which clings between Dark Tranquility and Terror 2000; the guitar work is quite good, and the pace is mostly fast, with some use of blast-beats. The singer's shouts are too high sometimes, and could be annoying to some; there are also some low death metal growls involved.
The full-length is a better, more complex affair, with a load of technical, jumpy riffs, packed in songs no longer than 3-min at the most. This is an intense listen, but the guys stay within the confines of the hectic, mid-tempo patterns, so don't look for any faster sections, the exception being the wild chaotic death/thrasher "As The Dust Settles", the best track here. This is the reason why at some stage the more level-headed fans might want to take a break from it, and this is why they will miss the excellent technical closer "Riddled With Inconsistency", which boasts briliant melodic guitar performance, which in its turn will raise the question: where the hell were those guitars before?!

The Code EP, 2006
The Montana Complex Full-length, 2008

HERETIC (UK)

The "Saltergate" EP contains two tracks, one of which ("Slatergate") is aggressive death metal with a hardcore attitude, but it's the other one ("Isle of Dogs") which will delight the thrash fans, with its clever technical riffs ala Kreator's "Coma of Souls" and the somewhat abstract atmosphere.

In Extremis Demo, 2005
Heretic Demo, 2006
Saltergate EP, 2007

HERETIC (USA)

This is the band from where Mike Howe (ex-Metal Church) started his career in metal (he sings on the full-length debut). He is clearly the star of the show, with his great vocals pretty much along the lines of the ones he later used in Metal Church. That's why comparisons between these two bands are inevitable; the band's style is not as aggressive as the first two Church albums, but is definitely more thrashy than the period with Mike Howe. The EP is pure power metal, with some timid touches of thrash. The old singer Julian Mendez does a cool job, although his voice is not as impressive, staying in the higher registers most of the time, recalling Jeff Martin from Racer X.
The full length jumps on the thrash wagon keeping the power metal elements, by adding some speedy ones as well. "Heretic" starts the album in a energetic speedy manner, in the vein of Savage Grace and Tension, but its fast tempo is only matched once: by the speed metal killer "Let 'em Bleed"; the rest of the material comes as a mix between power and thrash of the softer variety, typical for early Overkill. There is also one very nice acoustic instrumental thrown in the middle: "Pale Shelter". The guys were meant to make an impact on the scene if it wasn't for Howe's untimely exit to revitalize the Metal Church's career. The co-operation between the two bands continued throughout the 90's as well, with two other members joining the next David Wayne (R.I.P.) act Reverend.

Torture Knows No Boundary EP, 1986
Breaking Point Full-length, 1988

HERITAGE (GERMANY)

This band featured two members of the death/thrashers Protector. The style has very few resemblances to Protector, but is quite good speedy thrash along the lines of Necrodeath and Kreator, with some slight shades of death metal, and good, Mille Petrozza-like vocals.

Patient Zero Demo, 1988

HERMETICA (ARGENTINA)

One of the leaders of the Argentinian metal scene along with Lethal and Horcas; Hermetica are the most melodic of the trio combining thrash, speed and power metal. Their first two works contain the harder, more aggresive material, and are the band's most popular works. Later their music partially lost its edge, and the more modern releases have introduced some more melodic, classic heavy metal elements.

Herm�tica Full-length, 1989
Int�rpretes EP, 1990
�cido Argentino Full-length, 1991
Victimas Del Vaciamiento Full-length, 1994

HERRATIK (AUSTRALIA)

A very good debut which features a good mix of thrash and death metal, not too far from the first two Six Feet Under albums, but with some Gothenburg-style guitar work at times, and a more thrashy attitude, including a nice acoustic instrumental: "New Era".

Wrath-Divine Full-length, 2006

HERRUMBRE (URUGUAY)

Based on "Perros Cimarrones", this is power/thrash metal similar to Horcas and Hermetica (it seems as though the Argentinian and Brazilian bands have established the standards for the rest of the continent to follow). When the guy sings in Spanish, things are not too bad, but on the last song which is a cover of Judas Priest- "Metal Gods", the singer's pronunciation is simply laughable.

Tiempo arriba y sangre adentro Full-length, 1999
-Perros Cimarrones Full-length, 2003

HEVEIN (FINLAND)

A very promising band from the always full of surprises Finnish metal scene, who play somewhat progressive thrash with classic heavy metal parts, and a strong use of violins which immediately calls to mind the Dutch Blind Justice. Hevein are more melodic than this other band, with some calm acoustic parts, as well as female vocals in addition to the clean and more thrashy ones used on the album.

Sound Over Matter Full-length, 2005

HEXEN (USA)

A cool power/speed/thrash metal album, quite intense at times, but containing quite a few nice melodic passages as well. It's opened by the nice speedy piece "Seditions In Peacetime", which is full of catchy melodies and nice melodic leads. The next "The Serpent" begins in a nice melodic pagan/epic fashion, but the speedy guitars start later, although the epic feeling remains, and is even aggravated by some really cool melodic hooks. "Redemption" is a short, softer, power/speed metal number, and "Mutiny And Betrayal" slows down in the first half, producing some cool epic power metal ala Falconer; the second half speeds up, but again in a more melodic manner. "Bedlam Walls" brings back the more thrashy patterns from the beginning, but "As The Future Awaits" is softer and more laid-back, looking back at the epic power metal heritage, where half of this album belongs. "Desolate Horizons" is a serious pull-back: a peaceful, "leads vs. acoustic" instrumental, with no shades of speed/thrash at all. The closer "Heal A Million... Kill A Million" well deservedly carries the album-title, being a nice energetic thrasher, still graced by a couple of nice melodic leads. As a whole, this is an encompassing stuff, which will be of interest to a wide gamut of metal fans.
"State of Insurgency" is a much better effort, a lot more thrash-oriented, having in mind the original compositions, starting with the heavy mid-paced piece "Blast Radius", which boasts great leads and strong bass-bottom, and a fine speedy section near the end. The real madness, however, begins with the raging thrash delight "Gas Chamber", which sounds as though directly taken from the Angel Dust debut. "Past Life" thrashes with no mercy as well, cooled down by a slower lead section in the middle. "Knee Deep In The Dead" opens with slower, pounding riffs, but the guys don't want to lose the inertia, and less than a min later the guitars speed up again. "Chaos Aggressor" has a beautiful, acoustic intro, but the mighty galloping rhythms take it over, although this track remains the most melodic one. "Bedlam Walls" is the same aggressive thrasher, also heard on the debut, but served with a sharper edge and a more technical approach. "The Serpent" is another, slightly reworked version of a song from the previous album- a really worthy speed metal killer. "No More Color" is not a Coroner cover, but is a great speed/thrash number with a nice melodic edge. Three more remastered versions of old songs follow, which come almost unchanged, before the explosive closer, carrying the album-title, shoots all mercilessly: exemplary aggressive thrash, with lashing guitars and a great lead performance, accompanying the nice atmospheric, slower break in the middle; watch out for the super-fast finishing moments on this one! The original material is really standout, but who needed those remastered versions?! With the effort put into making these old songs just a bit more "updated", the band could have pulled out another couple of mighty headbangers; now this work could only serve as a reminder of the guys' yet unrealised potential.

Heal a Million...Kill a Million Full-length, 2005
State of Insurgency Full-length, 2008

HEXENHAMMER (USA)

Black, power and thrash metal shake hands on these two demos; the songs are longer: 6-7 min, but the music is not technical, but by no means boring; it has this slightly black-ish quality typical for some later bands like the Finns Barathrum, or the Swedes Bewitched. The tempo is mostly mid-paced to slow, almost doomy, but the thrashy guitars are always there to keep the listener on his toes. "I'm Alive" speeds up, and despite its monotonous character, has an almost hypnotic effect with its repetitive, but impressive main riff. This is an unconventional, interesting take on thrash which proved influential on some future acts.

Hexenhammer Demo, 1989
Underground Demo, 1990

HEXENHAUS (SWEDEN)

The finest thrash metal band that the Swedish metal scene ever produced; the band's style is state-of-the-art technical thrash of the mid-paced variety, with complex song writing and fabulous guitar work courtesy of Mike Wead- arguably the finest Swedish guitar musician after Yngwie Malmsteen. Their first three albums are a must have, representing the technical thrash sub-genre at its absolute best. The band disappeared in the early 90's with Mike Wead taking part in other Swedish bands (Abstrakt Algebra, Memento Mori, etc.). Hexenhaus got together again in 1997 for the recording of their last album "Dejavoodoo" which sounds a lot more like the bands with whom Wead has been involved during the long break; this is progressive power/doom with few hints of thrash seeing the band taking a new direction, co-ordinated with the modern tastes. After that Mike Wead joined the King Diamond team and the rest formed Fifth Reason: a very good progressive power metal band who continued the style of "Dejavoodoo" with more nods to the old Hexenhaus sound.

A Tribute to Insanity Full-length, 1988
The Edge of Eternity Full-length, 1990
Awakening Full-length, 1991
Dejavoodoo Full-length, 1997

HEXLUST (USA)

Old school thrash, quite well done, with fast intense riffage, reminiscent of early Kreator, with some crossover moments on "Toxic High", and two covers: Sodom's "Sodomy and Lust" and Sepultura's "Troops of Doom".

Rehearsal Demo, 2008

HEXX (USA)

Hexx began as a classic heavy/power metal band, but quickly adapted their style to the more fashionable speed/thrash metal sound on their second album. Their initiation into thrash begins with "Under The Spell", which mixes power, speed and thrash in a way not too different from Laaz Rockit's "Know Your Enemy". The music is not too hard-hitting yet, but energetic pieces, like "Out Of Control" and "The Hexx", stir the mood well.
The band discovered completely their potential on "Quest For Sanity"- a masterpiece of technical thrash, recalling even the mighty Coroner at times. This is full-blooded thrash now, no shades of power metal anymore. The guys play intensely on the first 3 songs, which are great crushing thrashers, the last of which: "Mirror Of The Past", features some nice technical hooks, to suggest at what would come very soon. "Racial Slaughter" preserves the aggression, even goes one level up, but the guitars are simply brilliant, providing a mighty riff-fest all the way. "Sardonicus" follows in the same vein, by increasing the technicality. The "Bonus Jam" at the end is, of course, a joke piece.
"Morbid Reality" elaborates on the technical aspect, but the sound has become much more aggressive, at times being all-out death metal. Some songs are really fine exercises on fast, technical death/thrash: "Birds Of Prey", but the shorter, more accessible and more thrash-based tracks seem to work better: "Blood Hunter". The guys are not for speed only, and some songs are slower, but still quite complex experiences: "Fire Mushrooms", but the other extreme is also covered, with the ultra-brutal, grinding "Morbid Reality", which combined with the swirling technical riffs, could cause you a headache. Another joke song, this time longer and better, is included: "Spider Jam" (the guys like those jams), this time placed in the middle. With all these stretches into all directions, despite its undisputable fine moments, this album is not such a satisfying listen. The band could have definitely improved on later releases, but this remained their last leagcy to the metal world.

No Escape Full-length, 1984
Under The Spell Full-length, 1986
Quest for sanity EP, 1988
Watery Graves EP, 1990
Morbid Reality Full-length, 1991

HEXXED (UK)

Based on the "Transgression" demo, these guys from Belfast play excellent technical/progressive thrash/death metal. If you can imagine a more vicious and heavier version of Coroner, "assisted" by quite a few time changes and swirling riffs which would fit perfectly even on a Mekong Delta album... With the technical metal scene coming to power again, this band could play a major role if given a chance by the labels.

Perish The Sacred Demo, 2000
Transgression Demo, 2003
Where Gods Look Away Single, 2005

HIDDEN MENACE (USA)

This band is virtually one person only- the multi instrumentalist Randy Roland, who never took part in any other formation. Based on the 1989 demo, this is very cool power/thrash metal which sounds close to Savage Grace, Griffin and Nasty Savage's debut. The music is heavy and mid-paced, even acquiring some doom metal tendencies ("Born Too Late"). It creates a somewhat monotonous impression as there is no speed involved at all, and all the songs tend to merge into one another.

Demo Demo, 1989
Hidden Menace Demo, 1991
Seven Doors of Death Demo, 1992
Corrupted Judgement Demo, 1998

HIDDEN TIME (RUSSIA)

A really good 3-song EP of energetic classic thrash with a slight technical edge, and great melodic leads, which recall the Swedish metal scene of more recent times, but are too good to be ignored. The last track slows down, and takes more power metal-based dimensions. The duel between the death metal main vocals and the clean ones is well done, and is not annoying.

Out Of Control EP, 2007

HIGH HYPNOTIC (FINLAND)

Modern thrash with hardcore vocals which sometimes are mixed with some cleaner ones, and an overall style not miles away from The Haunted, including the Swedes' more experimental period (their last two albums).

High Hypnotic Demo, 2004
Pink Noise Conductor Demo, 2005
Armed and Dangerous Demo, 2005

HIMERA (RUSSIA)

Based on "Hishnik" (Predator, in English), this band play melodic power/thrash, sounding quite close to the more recent releases of their compatriots Master. This is peaceful mid-paced stuff, with cool clean vocals, and some semi-heavy abrasive guitar work.

Hishnik Full-length, 2003
Agonia Full-length, 2005

HIPNOID (BRAZIL)

Melodic heavy/thrash metal, reminiscent of 90's Flotsam & Jetsam, or Amnesia.

Mankind Full-length, 2001
Chaos Full-length, 2005

HIRAX (USA)

The band's vicious style consisting of short speed/thrash outbursts topped up by the wailing high-pitched vocals of Katon W. DePena, remains one of the more impressive moments of the 80's thrash metal scene. Fifteen years later the band resurfaced with "Barrage Of Noise" which contained some furious thrash of the old school, but this time the songs are longer and somewhat heavier. This was a decent, but not a very impressive release, and noone suspected how hard these guys would hit with their next offering "The New Age Of Terror"- a stunning piece of classic thrash at its most shining best. With a new EP released in 2007, virtually in the same striking vein, Hirax are obviously getting ready to hit us hard again pretty soon.
"Chaos And Brutality" offers another package of 4 tracks (these guys seriously want to release all their tracks from the eventual full-length; will there be any surprises there at all!?). It starts with a cool heavy, mid-paced, short instrumental ("100 000 Strong"), before it starts thrashing awesomely with "Chaos & Brutality". "Lucifer's Infierno" serves as an intermission to the next piece- "Walk With Death", which is another cool, mostly mid-paced thrasher. I guess, with one more EP of the kind, the band might not need to release a new album. But one never knows...

Raging Violence Full-length, 1985
Hate, Fear And Power Full-length, 1986
El Diablo Negro EP, 2000
Barrage of Noise Full-length, 2001
The New Age Of Terror Full-length, 2004
Assassins Of War EP, 2007
Chaos And Brutality EP, 2007

HJALLARHORN (NORWAY)

Despite the title of their last demo, this band are not entirely classic heavy metal defenders. Their music has a certain doze of more modern sounding thrash, not too far from modern day Overkill, or Metallica's Black Album, as well as some stoner/doomy riffs.

Six Track Metal Attack Demo, 2004
Trilogy of Lightning Demo, 2006
New Wave Of Classic Heavy Metal Demo, 2007

HOAX (FRANCE)

Based on "Ego Eater", this is a combination of thrash and classic heavy metal somewhat similar to mid-period Exciter ("Long Live the Loud") or Hellmasters. Most of the time the pace is quite energetic, and the music packs a punch in a jolly, playful way.

Ego Eater Full-length, 1991
Pressure Full-length, 1994
Brainstorm at Dawn Full-length, 1995

HOBBS' ANGEL OF DEATH (AUSTRALIA)

This band released a fairly good, Slayer-influenced debut in 1988, which offered fast, intense music for most of the time, as well as some longer, more elaborate songs ("Marie Antoinette"), including more melodic guitars and cool atmospheric, quiet breaks. Seldom could one catch some more stylish, semi-technical hooks ("Brotherhood"). It was interesting to see whether the band would give more room to their more ambitious, and arguably more intersting side, but they got lost shortly after the release.
"Inheritance" came after a long, 7-year hiatus, with very few fans remembering the band. It's far from disappointment, though, with some of the songs thrashing with full force in a great old school way ("Depopulation", the brutal, death-tinged "Skeptics"). The band's more technical side, which remained to be further developed, has found realisation in some heavy, slower numbers ("Revenge"), but later the diversity is quite big, with acoustic instrumentals, some pure death metal explosions, the inevitable "flirtations" with the modern, groovy sound, tracks with a lighter, crossover spirit, and one excellent smashing speed/thrasher as a finishing touch ("Lost Faith").

Hobbs' Angel of Death Full-length, 1988
Inheritance Full-length, 1995

HOBGOBLIN (USA)

Heavy, mostly modern thrash with a groovy edge, but not stale, with some more jumpy tracks ("Short Cut") present, a situation spoiled by "Moms on Meth": an awful stoner/funk/hardcore track.

Demo Demo, 2008

HOKUM (GERMANY)

This is a good stuff: laid-back, mid-paced technical thrash with death metal vocals which speeds up occasionally, with some slight groovy tendencies, and good melodic lead guitar. The music is slightly reminiscent of the last two Massacra albums, but is more melodic.

First Blood Demo, 2005
No Escape EP, 2006

HOLIER THAN THOU? (USA)

Very good, fast-paced thrash/crossover: short, explosive tracks, which are not mindless bashing, but come with some nice sharp thrashy riffs, and even catchy choruses, albeit of the shouty, hardcore-ish variety. On the most aggressive moments the guys are close to Cryptic Slaughter, but most of the time the music flows in the spirit of Ratos de Porao and early Prong.
"Riviera Sessions" contains much softer material, although the majority of the songs are in the same vein: short, intense crossover thrashers, with a bigger shade of punk this time, and some pure heavy metal jokes: "Sex & Death", which is a Motorhead cover.

Holier Than Thou? EP, 2000
The Hating of The Guts Full-length, 2001
Riviera Sessions Full-length, 2003

HOLOCAUST (UK)

This legendary NWOBHM act never made it to the first echelon, although in the beginning they were right along Iron Maiden, Saxon and Venom. They lost inertia after the release of their very good debut "The Nightcomers", but in the late 80's they decided to pay tribute to the fashionable at the time thrash metal genre. To talk about full-blooded thrash in the band's output, is too farfetched, but this heavy sharp sound will definitely make quite a few extreme metal fans listen with care. "The Sound of Souls" is a fine small piece of technically-minded proto-thrash, which begins in a fairly intense manner, with the energetic speed/thrasher "This AnnihilationX". "I Smash The Void" carries some of the experimental spirit of the Voivod works from around the same time: heavy, almost doomy, eclectic composition. "Dance Into The Vortex" is a superb display of technical avantgarde musicianship, which also thrashes with full force, and combined with the abstract riffage makes for a really compelling listen. Some more heavy eclectism arrives with the instrumental "Curious", which wakes up in the 2nd half to bring forward some great non-conventional energetic labyrinthine guitar work, in other words: instrumental progressive thrash brilliance. "Three Ways To Die" goes over the top, though, lasting for more than 12-min, combining several styles within its very hard to swallow structure, with thrash being the predominant one, but the frequent time changes, the very abstract riffage (these guys are pioneers in the field, only second to Voivod probably; at that time Anacrusis were still bashing in a pretty direct manner), some of which is simply marvellous, not miles away from the vortexes created by the German representatives of the genre (Mekong Delta, Living Death, Deathrow) a few years earlier, will require several repeated listens before one puts two-and-two together. This EP could have been a very solid basis for a very strong follow-up, but...
The band disappeared, leaving this incredible short work hanging awkwardly in their discography, a situation further worsened by the release of the very non-metal, let alone thrash bound, follow-up "Hypnosis of Birds" in 1992, after which the guys hid from sight once again, but this time this was followed by an enormous sigh of relief. "Spirits Fly" came 4 years later, and saw the band go back to the metal field, but it was "Covenant" in 1998, which finally remembered that in 1989 there was something started, and left unfinished.
"Covenant" continues exactly where "The Sound of Souls" left off; once the opener "Leper's Progress" starts thrashing in an avantgarde, abstract, but also quite intense way, one knows that this time there won't be disappointed. Well, "Salt Heart" is the exact opposite to the opener, sounding like a leftover from "Hypnosis of Birds", but "Return to Dust" grabs you by the throat shortly after, with its heavy doomy guitars, preparing you for the coming of the progressive, 17-min (!) long opus "The Battle of Soaring Woodhelven", which contains a solid doze of thrash of, expectedly, the more complex type, mixed with some more laid-back atmospheric sections, dreamy acoustic balladic interludes, and more. Despite the massive length of the song, the guys manage to keep the listener interested in the proceedings, frequently switching moods and tempos. "Valley of Megiddo" is a fairly original mixture of several moods, with a great main pounding doomy riff, which flows into the next "Mount Thunder", which develops the guys' interest in doom further, and the 2nd half comes as a relief, turning to speed/thrash for inspiration, finished with a nice progressive passage. "We Shall See Him As He Is" is a slower dark progressive track, whereas "Alexander" (which is another tribute paid to Alexander the Great, in a way no worse that Iron Maiden themselves) extends into another progressive song of epic proportions.
"Primal" is the band's most consistent, and arguably best, achievement; it comes as a more thrashy version of Kreator's "Outcast", with a more technical edge. It has this unique dark sound, which very few other works can be proud of. "Iron Will" will grab you with its heavy hypnotic abrasive riffage: watch out for the opening riffs, which will throw you into an Anvil direction ("Forged in Fire"). "Black Box" adds more dark atmosphere, carrying on in the same brooding, mid-paced manner. "Hell On Earth" is the obligatory very heavy doom-charged number, followed by the shorter, progressive "Transcendence", which is melodic, and kind of off-the-track. "Fools (Bring On The Light)" is a more energetic technical thrasher, after which things become more intesne, with "Made Righteous", which thrashes in a heavier, doomy fashion. "It's Your Dream" is not too far behind, but is faster, with a more pounding rhythm section, and a shade of Ministry-like industrial. "They Colonize" is an apocalyptic gloomy composition, which speeds up a bit, with a monotonous, but interesting main theme. "Colossus" is the ultimate doomy thrasher, whereas the last "Lost Horizons" finally reminds of the more progressive side of the band's style, with a more laid-back, heavy metal riffage, which is almost nowhere to be heard on the other tracks. The music on this album is stripped from the more elaborate decorations, and the sprawling progressive songs, which may be a drawback to some, but the final result is a tight, compact sound which acts as one whole, without sounding samey and one-dimensional, with biting sharp numbers, which get their message through more directly, without much ado. Whether this would be the dominating tendency in the band's music from now on, will remain to be seen, but it's really hard to predict the next step of one of the most original acts on the metal scene.

The Sound of Souls EP, 1989
Covenant Full-length, 1998
The Courage to Be Full-length, 2000
Primal Full-length, 2003

HOLOCAUSTO (BRAZIL)

The band's debut was typical for the Brazilian metal scene of the 80's: raw, aggressive thrash, but somewhat more stylish than the rest of the pack. "Blocked Minds" softened the course, bringing other influences on the table: Prong (some hardcore intensity and the vocals), Razor (some occasional faster tracks- "Hunger"). The music is more professionally done, mostly mid-tempo, and the guitars have an interesting dry sound, which became much more fashionable later in the 90's. "Negatives" was a huge surprise, being a very unexpected, but a truly impressive change into technical thrash ala Voivod. The dry sound of the guitars remains, but the riffs are much more intriguing and interesting, still retaining a strong edge and an energetic pace ("Austroptecus Tecnologicus", "Muted By Fear"). Even the most technical numbers also flow nicely, with no much complexity going ("Negatives", "Congratulations, Mr. Money"). Later the band radically modernized their sound to the point of absurdity, and lost their significance to the thrash metal world.

Campo de Exterm�nio Full-length, 1987
Blocked Minds Full-length, 1988
Negatives Full-length, 1990
Tozago As Deismno Full-length, 1993
De Volta ao Front Full-length, 2005

HOLOCROSS (USA)

The band's debut was good Razor-like thrash metal, probably less intensive (compared to "Shotgun Messiah"). 17 years later, the sound hasn't moved a bit, featuring the same intense old school sound; this time the guitar work is more aggressive, albeit a bit dry, and the singer varies his approach more often. The intensity admirably picks some proto-death character at times("Painful Reminder", "The Bludgeoning"), but the music's more attractive side are the heavier, slower pieces, recalling early Meshuggah ("Ded Bolt", "Deathrattle"), with their impassionate, mechanical atmosphere. Some softer power/thrashers (the closing "A.I.M.") are also included, to add up to the interesting, varied nature of this album.

Holocross Full-length, 1988
Hypercaust Full-length, 2005

Vibrations of Doom

HOLOSADE (USA)

Power/thrash metal, poorly produced, similar to early Helstar and Tension, with some direct nods to classic heavy metal ("Nightmare Reality"), but not as impressive. The singer does a good job, with his clean, mid-ranged voice, which easily picks higher notes, without sounding annoying. The guys only seldom thrash with force ("Look Into The Mirror", "Madame Guillotine"), but even those moments come served with more melodic heavy/power hooks. "Psycho" is a great speed/power track, though, with powerful riffs and an energetic galloping tempo, and "Welcome To Hell House" is not too far behind, being more melodic, but fast and energetic all over. Still, there could have been more of the kind to make this album more appealing to the thrash metal fan.

Hell House Full-length, 1988

Vibrations of Doom

HOLY MOSES (GERMANY)

The first female fronted thrash metal band from Germany, Holy Moses are often considered the best representative of the genre right after the "holy three"(you name them). "Finished With The Dogs" is a thrash metal classic which established the band as a major force on the German metal scene. Its follow-up took a heavier and more technical, even progressive at times approach, but was equally as effective. "Terminal Terror" showed that the band had still more to offer, with its brilliant technical thrash. This was obviously the band's creative peak, as their career started going down after this one, with "Reborn Dogs" trying to sound more aggressive, even death metal-like, and "No Matter What's The Cause" making things worse with its groovy, modern sound (this is the only Holy Moses album in which Sabina Classen doesn't participate). The new millennium saw the band finding its way to the forefront of thrash metal once again, with another string of quality releases.
"Agony of Death" is probably the band's finest achievement since the beginning of the new millennium, seeing the guys (and a girl) thrashing with gusto and inspiration. The compositions are longer than the ones witnessed on previous releases, but in terms of technicality there is nothing too extraordinary. There are some moments from the Swedish scene (the slower atmospheric sections on "World In Darkness" and "Pseudohalluzination"), as well as a nice keyboard background provided on the excellent "Dissociative Disorder"- some great leads are there, too), and all of the songs end in a more sprawling, but effective manner, with ambient/orchestral themes, which for a thrash metal album could be viewed as somewhat pretentious and overdone, especially when they are too long ("Delusional Denial": a great small technical thrasher, a strong reminder of "Terminal Terror"). The tempo is quite energetic (except on the stomper "Schizophrenia"), and the riffs are sharp; Classen sings in a more controlled, but still vicious way. The final offers some more aggressive thrashing, mixed with clever semi-technical riffs, with "The Retreat", and on the other opposite side a nice dark mid-paced smasher ("Through Shattered Minds / Agony Of Death") with, again, an overlong ambient outro, which closes the whole album, and is actually quite compelling and captivating (it's a popular operatic theme which I have problems recalling).

Queen of Siam Full-length, 1986
Finished with the Dogs Full-length, 1987
The New Machine of Liechtenstein Full-length, 1989
World Chaos Full-length, 1990
Terminal Terror Full-length, 1991
Reborn Dogs Full-length, 1992
No Matter What's the Cause Full-length, 1994
Master of Disaster EP, 2001
Disorder of the Order Full-length, 2002
Strength Power Will Passion Full-length, 2005
Agony of Death Full-Length, 2008

HOLY ORDER (CANADA)

First rate technical thrash along the lines of Coroner and Infernal Majesty; this is great music, as the guys are not "strangers" to some more aggressive riffage ala Slayer ("Hateful Rage") or some fine speedy smashers ("Crack Down"). This is an encyclopaedia of expertly crafted thrash metal, highly recommended.

Hateful Rage EP, 1990

HOLY TERROR (USA)

Holy Terror were founded by the former Agent Steel guitar player Kurt Kilfelt. His new band impresses in a manner no worse than his old band, offering a pleasant deviation from the standard thrash formula, and are one of the most respected American thrash metal bands. Their style is speed/thrash with some NWOBHM elements and guitar harmonies which will remind you of Iron Maiden. On top of that we have very interesting vocals, which range from nice clean ones to proto-death growling, to some slightly strained, but effective husky ones. This guy is a real find with his unique ability to create some of the most infectious choruses; they are not exactly melodic and sing-along, but the way he delivers the lyrics on them is one-of-a-kind.
"Terror and Submission" starts in an uncompromising speed/thrash fashion ala Agent Steel's debut with the lightning "Black Plague". Later the album offers another, very interesting material: the galloping power/thrasher "Evil's Rising", the speed monster "Mortal Fear". For a while the sound descends to more common, but still impressive heavy/power metal ("Guardians of the Netherworld", "Distant Calling"), before returning to the speed/thrash field with "Terror & Submission". "Tomorrow's End" excels in speed (the album stays more on the speed side, but this is hardly a complaint), and "Alpha Omega" closes the album in a truly remarkable way, featuring some superb dual lead guitar attack.
"Mind Wars" also starts in a fairly aggressive way with the smashing fast "Judas Reward". The speed even increases for the follower "Debt of Pain", and later the guitars become sharper, and heavier, and the songs longer. Again some classic heavy metal tracks roam around ("The Immoral wasteland"), but the rest is speed/thrash at its best- check out the killing aggressive smashers "Do Unto Others" and "No Resurrection", and the glorious album closer "Christian Resistance": a speed metal classic, seldom surpassed all these years. With these two albums this band quickly joined the very front of thrash metal, but like many others from the same time didn't last long to enjoy this status more.

Terror and Submission Full-length, 1987
Mind Wars Full-length, 1988

HOMICIDE HAGRIDDEN (ITALY)

Slayer-worship done with style (think their late 80's period); the vocals are in the hardcore camp, with the exception of the ones on the dark, haunting opener "Dead Black Sun", and at times resemble the ones Tom Araya himself was using on "God Hates Us All". The guitars are both sharp and with a nice melodic edge, and the music never gets too aggressive, and fast-paced numbers like "The Hunt" and "Screams" are not quite common. The guys concentrate on heavy, but also technical riffs ("Constriction") with a distinctive dark edge. "Scorn" is a particularly impressive song, starting in a funereal doom fashion, before turning into a cool intense thrasher.

Where Angels Work EP, 2000
Dead Black Sun Full-length, 2004

HOPE (CROATIA)

Based on "Battle Within", this is a Christian band who play modern thrash/death, which boasts some nice speedy headbangers ("Eyes Of The Deceiver", "Redemption"), along with some cool deviations, like the epic-tinged "In Temptation (Homage a B.S.)", or the gothic, Lake of Tears-like "Unconditional Love". And let's not forget the brilliant intro and outro, which are more than just artificial ways to begin and end an album.

More Than Words Full-length, 2003
Light of the Salvation Full-length, 2005
Battle Within Full-length, 2007

HORCAS (ARGENTINA)

Horcas are the one of the three most significant thrash metal bands from Argentina. Their style is not too different from the one of the other two (Lethal and Hermetica), being speed/thrash/power metal with nice guitar work and good vocals. After two fine albums the band took a break, and five years later were ready again with a new offering; the style was slightly adapted to the modern tendencies, but quite a few of the songs were still hitting as hard as their older material.
"Reviviendo Huestes" begins quite intensely with the first two tracks being prime speed/thrashers. Later on predictably the album "Courts" power metal, but without losing cmpletely its aggressive edge. Unfortunately pleasant surprises are nowhere to be found, except isolated sections from separate songs, and the final remake of their old hit "Solucion Suicida", which preserves the fine galloping tempo of the original, as well as the addictive chorus.

Reinar� la Tempestad Full-length, 1990
Oid Mortales el Grito Sangrado Full-length, 1992
Vence Full-length, 1997
Eternos Full-length, 1999
Horcas Full-length, 2002
Demencial Full-length, 2004
Asesino Full-length, 2006
Reviviendo Huestes Full-length, 2008

HORDE OF TORMENT(USA)

This band were known under the name Pestilence earlier. The style here is better: awesome aggressive thrash with somewhat hardcore-ish vocals. The music is in the vein of the Canadians Overthrow, or Violence's "Eternal Nightmare", but the guitars at times have this genuine technical edge, plus the occasional adherence to death metal. Albums like these tried to keep up the flame of thrash in the early 90's.

Product of a Sick Mind Full-length, 1991

HORFIXION (CANADA)

A very worthy technical death/thrash metal band- another fine addition to the very technical Canadian metal scene. The band's style kind of reminds of another great Canadian band- Martyr, but is less adventurous and deeper rooted in thrash. "Disynchronize" is a great debut, with not very long, technical numbers, circling around the mid-tempo. Although this is not the band's most complex release, great technical riffs are present all over ("Disynchronize", "Human Machine"), along with the direct headbanging ones ("Rage"). "Tears of Sand" is a very stylish track, with some calmer, dream-like guitars.
"Instigators of Chaos" begins the way Death's "Symbolic" did, in an energetic and technical way. But after that the sound takes a more technical direction for a while, with the brilliant, twisting "Different Man": a masterpiece of technical thrash/death. Then the energy comes back, even accompanied by some blast-beats ("Minefield", "Misfortune") this time, and some superb melodic guitar work ("Emotional Storm"). Then come two longer, more elaborate songs, with strong nods to Martyr and Death, followed by two short deviations: the less-than-a-minute grind core bomb "V.A.B.", and the marvellous acoustic instrumental "Magma".
"Self Inflicted Hell" is the band's most thrashy effort, with great headbanging sections all over, which predominate over the technical ones. The guitar sound is thicker and heavier, recalling late 80's Slayer ("Digitalized Existence"). Their fans might have been a bit disappointed, as the guys have abandoned the technical exuberance, replacing it with more standard thrash patterns, which also work great.

Rage EP, 1999
Disynchronize Full-length, 2000
Instigators of Chaos Full-length, 2002
Self Inflicted Hell Full-length, 2004

HORRESCO REFERENS (FRANCE)

Based on "...Of Our Souls", this band offer a very diverse blend of styles: the base is 80's thrash metal akin to early Metallica and Exodus, but there are some furious death/thrash attacks as well as atmospheric black metal moments; oh, and let's not forget the classic heavy/power metal riffs which pop up here and there. The singer should be given a medal for his talent to change his vocal style according to the music at present. The overall atmosphere is somewhat operatic, something which formations, who have gathered with the clear intention to make a metal opera, have failed to achieve.

The Cesspit Full-length, 1999
...Of Our Souls Full-length, 2003
Deus Sex Machina EP, 2005

HORRORSCOPE (POLAND)

A capable band playing modern thrash of the more laid-back variety, not very fast and dynamic, but cool enough, with recent Overkill and Annihilator being obvious influences. The style doesn't change a lot throughout the albums; maybe the later works have become a bit more aggressive, somewhere along the lines of Testament's "The Gathering".

Wrong Side of the Road Full-length, 1999
Pictures Of Pain Full-length, 2001
The Crushing Design Full-length, 2005
Evoking Demons Full-length, 2006

HOSPITAL OF DEATH (UK)

This band pull out a fairly good blend of energetic, riff-based power/speed metal ala "Painkiller" and thrash. Cool and catchy stuff, with the traditional infectious choruses, but this is where the cheesiness stops. The rest is a riff-fest, which beats other "Painkiller" imitators, like Centvrion, Cage, etc. The guitar work is excellent, often displayed by some fast, but also melodic leads. Of course, there is a ballad, but it's quite good: "We Go Together", which nicely opposes to the quite fast tempo of the other material, where one can find some truly impressive smashing speed/thrashers: "Fear the Ambulance" (these guys have really embraced hard the medical/hospital idea- no kidding!), "Ooh, That's It" (this song features a magnificent lead guitar section in the middle!).

Beer, Bithces, Blood Full-Length, 2008

HOSTILE RAGE (USA)

Based on the "On the Rampage" demo, this band play glorious speed/thrash metal which sounds quite close to the German school: Paradox, Toxic Shock, early Exumer, with some moments from the American power/thrash metal scene present, too. The tempo is fast, but the sound is quite heavy, with some excellent deep bass bottom. "The Last Temptation" slows down a bit, but introduces some fine technical riffs ala Testament and late 80's Metallica, before it speeds up near the end.

Demo '88 Demo, 1988
On the Rampage Demo, 1989
Adrenalin Flow Demo, 1990
Furious Brutal Loud Demo, 1994
Uncontrollable Urge Demo, 1996

HOSTILE REACTION (SWEDEN)

Modern industrialized thrash metal, very well done, with nice melodic choruses and heavy, almost doomy tempo and quite atmosheric at times. The vocal style varies quite a bit, too; the sound might remind you of another Swedish industrial band- Misery Loves Co., but here the music is less aggressive, featuring some really cool riffs.

Demo Demo, 2004
Demo Demo, 2005

HOSTILITY (USA)

This band, who later had a more lasting career under the name of Pale Horse, play an intriguing mixture of Floridian death metal, thrash and doom which manages to sound quite complex at times. The style is even more appealing than the one of Pale Horse, being of a less ordinary nature, and with some really stylish moments.

Soon Comes the Return Demo, 1991

HOT BUTTERED ANAL (USA)

The band name might pull back some, but the music could win fans of the more melodic, punk-ish side of 80's thrash/crossover. The music is an enjoyable, jolly blend of The Offspring and Lawnmower Deth. A very surprising touch is the two excellent acoustic ballads "Magnum" and "Heads in the Garden", the highlights of the album.

Please Kill Me Full-length, 2007

HOTOPSY (FRANCE)

Generic 80's thrash metal, made a few earlier years later; the music is energetic and all, but other bands have done a much better job. The guys are all over the place, trying to sound varied and interesting; the music is sometimes jumpy and chaotic, sometimes with a softer, power/speed metal flavour. Of course, there are times when they thrash aggressively, which is their most appealing side, and it's when the sound comes close to Demolition Hammer even. Some genuine technical edge sparkles here and there, like on the best song on the album: "Follow The Light", but they are not too many to make the music stand out.

Follow The Light Full-length, 1992

HOWLIN� MAD (GERMANY)

Heavy thrash reminiscent of Holy Moses and early Accuser, with slightly unpleasant gruff death-ish vocals; very good stuff with Sabine Classen guesting on vocals on "Drunk Till Emptiness". The riffs actually crush admirably, and the majority of the tracks are nice up-tempo thrashers, which stir the mood, although they flow in the same vein, without any variations.

Insanity Full-length, 1990

HUMAN ABSTRAKT (USA)

Modern groovy post-thrash which sounds like a very unsuccessful blend of Tourniquet's "Vanishing Lessons" and Eidolon/Nevermore; there are some attempts at more meaningful play, but they get lost in the blatant, generic music. On top of that, there are some very strained, shouted hardcore-ish vocals which, if the music hasn't pulled you back completely, would finish you for good.

Psychological Blindness Full-length, 2002

HUMAN BASTARD (GERMANY)

This band features Rudi Goerg- the singer who once was a member of the great progressive thrash metal act Lost Century. The music here is a little more than modern thrash/death metal, recalling the Swedish practitioners of the genre, and their compatriots Dew-Scented, with some more complex song structures which should be perfected on future efforts to make this band stick out.

A Plague Called Humanity Full-length, 2002

HUMAN CLUSTER (ITALY)

A 3-track promo of modern thrash/death, which has its moments: the speedy intense "Losing Time", but this is nothing that hasn't been done so many times before.

Promo Demo, 2007

HUMAN DIRGE (ITALY)

Based on the demo: 3 tracks of quite good intense thrash/death, with some technical pretensions; the singer has a cool clean pitch, and suits the aggressive music quite well. He especially shines on the slower Bolt Thrower-like passages (check out "Unclean Alb"), where he starts to wail in a way no worse than Messiah Marcolin (Candlemass, Memento Mori). The sound is close to early Pestilence, with perhaps more melody involved. The sound quality is also very good, with crisp biting guitars.

Embryo EP, 2007
Seventy Times Seven Demo, 2009

HUMAN EVIL (USA)

Out of the 6 songs on this demo, 3 are covers: "Lesson in Violence"(Exodus); "Creeping Death"(Metallica); "Die by the Sword"(Slayer"). The guys' musicianship is much inferior to any of those great bands and the covers are simply awful, especially "Creeping Death" which has nothing of the technical flamboyance of the original, and is just laughable. The 3 remaining original tracks are a lot better, showing an obvious fascination with the aggressive thrash of "Reign in Blood", but the songs are longer, and more varied (slower, heavy rhythm involved).

Rehearsal Demo, 1988

HUMAN FAILURE (SWEDEN)

Based on the follow-up, this band play modern, atmospheric thrash with gothic elements and dual vocals: one death metal-like, the other one-clean, recalling the German doom/core masters End Of Green. There is some stylish guitar at work, and the tempo changes, including one pure doom metal number at the end-"Doomed To Forever Wander"; this is an intriguing listen.

Human Failure Full-length, 2002
Tales From A Hollow Eternity Full-length, 2003

HUMAN PARANOID (GERMANY)

Based on the demos: this is some very well executed aggressive old school thrash calling to mind Slayer, Kreator, Necrodeath; a very promising band. The guys play fast and intensely for most of the time, very seldom crossing the border towards death metal: "Anal Rippers". "New Frontiers" is the sole exception, where the band slow down, coming up with heavy, slower, gothic-tinged riffs ala later period Cemetary; the vocals are also along the lines of that band, very similar to the ones used by Mathias Lodmalm on the early Cemetary albums.
"Breed Of Cain": if we exclude the abrasive hoarse, semi-death metal vocals, the rest is quite worth checking out. The album takes off with two fast-paced Slayer-esque numbers, before turning to heavy doom with "Sch�ne Jugend". These underwater stones are on the way later on ("Human / Paranoid"), but can hardly stop the attack from carrying on, with "Thrash Till Death", "The Pillager", "Symbols Of Progress", and others. A very unnecessary version of the heavy doomster "Human / Paranoid" is placed at the end, with the only difference from the original being the added female vocals, which are quite good, by the way, but to listen to these monotonous slow riffs for a second time on the same album, is hardly the best choice for a thrash metal fan's enterteinment.
"Stillborn Resurrection" starts again in a sweeping tempo, with the knock-out "Stillborn Resurrection" and "Darkroom Alliance". The vocals this time are all-out death metal, acquiring some very vicious tones at times. The guys' infatuation with doomy sounds is fast to appear on "New Frontiers", cancelled by the following group of smashing thrashers. "Myrmidons Of Paranoia" could be considered the next stop of the thrash bus, and although there is enough doom in it, it provides several interesting creepy moments, along with cool melodic leads and a faster galloping rhythm. Another moshing trio comes after that, leaving room for the closer "Shock Blower", which is another dark sinister slow piece of the more dreamy, laid-back type.

Promo Mai 2003 Demo, 2003
Pathogenes Of War Demo, 2004
Breed Of Cain Full-length, 2006
Stillborn Resurrection Full-length, 2008

HUMAN PRICE (POLAND)

Not a bad mix of classic and modern thrash, coming close to Exhorder's "Slaughter in the Vatican" on the best moments; there is a good balance between the fast and heavier sections, but the angry breaks kind of come a bit too much for just a 5-track demo...

Sell Out Demo, 2008

HUMAN RAGE (SWEDEN)

Groovy 90's power/thrash, with angry vocals, and a guitar work which is more melodic, and manages to pull out some good tunes. The clean vocals which can be heard at times, are cool, with a deep doomy tember, and kind of better fit the soft music. The music is mid-paced at best, with some references to the stoner/doom scene.

Birth Full-length, 1997

HUMAN SUIT (GERMANY)

Modern death/thrash metal of the Swedish school, at times paying tribute to the legendary At the Gates, with some more inspired intense sections ("Puppet On A String"), at times revealing some more technical surprises: the melodic sophisticated "Revenge Of The Toy Soldier", at others bashing out to the death ("When Disspossesors").

Demo Demo, 2007

HUMANICIDE (USA)

Thrash/crossover, quite fast and heavy at times, with meaty, crushing riffs, reminiscent of Hatrix, but more simplistic, and with a more aggressive attitude.

Impressive Incision Demo, 1988
Human Right/Sick EP, 1991

HUNGARICA (HUNGARY)

Hungarica is a side project of two members of the veterans Moby Dick. The music here is modern, groovy and melodic, a mixture between heavy metal and thrash, not too far from the recent Moby Dick offerings.

Nem Keresek �j Haz�t Full-length, 2007

HUNGER (USA)

This band were founded by Ron Rinehart and Eric Meyer from Dark Angel, after the latter split up. Traces of the brilliant technical style displayed on the last Dark Angel release are nowhere to be found here: based on the first demo, this is typical 90's product: groovy thrash, slower and groovier than the early works of Pantera and Machine Head, and consequently less impressive.

Demo 1993 Demo, 1993
The Official Demo Series Vol. 1 Split, 1999

HUNTER (POLAND)

One of the lesser bands from the Polish metal scene, Hunter mix thrash with traditional heavy metal; their debut is their most thrashy and best effort, whereas on the other two the mixture clings more towards the heavy metal side. "HellWood" is more in the speed metal camp, and is rich on catchy melodies and balladic interludes. There is no much thrash to be heard, and it's of the less impressive modern, groovy variety.

Requiem Full-length, 1995
Medeis Full-length, 2003
T.E.L.I... Full-length, 2005
HellWood Full-length, 2009

HURLANT (USA)

A very obscure demo still rooted in classic thrash, sounding like more technical Anthrax, or the one-album-wonder Wrekking Machine. The riffs are quite sharp and technical, and the pace is energetic, without being very fast or aggressive, with some nice twists. The singer might be a bit of a pullback, though, with his slightly impassionate voice, but he is hardly a distraction from the good music.

Hurlant Demo, 1991

HURTLOCKER (USA)

Based on "Embrace The Fall", this is modern thrash metal with some more intense death metal-sections ("They", "Disgust"), and an overall style not too far from Carnal Forge, for example. The bad news is that at times the sound smells metalcore, but not too often to "force" the hard-core thrash fans to "crucify" them.

Fear in a Handful of Dust Full-length, 2006
Embrace The Fall Full-length, 2007

HUSKVARN (LATVIA)

The band's debut is excellent, tecnically-minded thrash metal similar to Torture's "Storm Alert", but heavier and slower. The opener "Dark Side" is an imposing dark, pounding track, but the next "Last Scream" adds some intensity, which is present on almost every song afterwards, accompanied by heavy riffage, and is only lost on the album closer: "On The Road", which is a more light-hearted heavy/power metal number, a slightly underwhelming way to end this otherwise cool album.
"Bomb Brain Melodies" is a shift more in a death metal direction, but the music remains of a high quality. This is still not a very brutal stuff, despite the presence of a few scattered blast-beats. The pounding guitar sound remains, and this brings this work close to the Dutch Asphyx. There is one cool ballad as well: "Follow Our Trail", accompanied by a great acoustic guitar, which is immediately compensated by the most brutal and fastest song: "Progressive Epidemic". Afterwards the slower tempo returns, "broken" by some occasional exercises at a more dynamic play: the cool technical, Death-influenced "Crazy Death". The last number is pure funereal doom, with a faster break: "Zudusais Laiks", quite appropriate, having in mind the heavy, dark nature of the album.

On The Road Full-length, 1991
Bomb Brain Melodies Full-length, 1995
Sadistika EP, 2006

HYADES (ITALY)

This band are one of the wave of retro thrash metal bands from Italy which flooded the scene in the past 6-7 years. Hyades' sound is firmly Bay Area-based, with some touches of Annihilator and Megadeth. Their debut is perhaps the better release, with sharp guitars and some really good technical moments: "Picture of a World" (which contains riffs directly taken from Artillery's "Khomaniac" from "By Inheritance"), as well as several headbanging winners: "Abuse Your Illusions". Some bland, misplaced heavy metal hymns will surprise you: "Fight For Your Right", with their non-thrash nature, but fortunately they are kept to a minimum. The follow-up introduces some modern "updates" ala the new Exodus, but the classic sound still dominates, and some up-tempo thrashers like "Buried in Blood" and "Pharmageddon" deliver the goods in a major way. I don't know about the worst (pun intended), but the best from these guys is yet to come unless, of course, they vote to delve deeper into modern thrash...

No Bullshit... Just Metal EP, 2002
Abuse Your Illusions Full-length, 2005
And the Worst is Yet to Come Full-length, 2007

HYBRID (GREECE)

A potent mixture of semi-technical thrash, modern day Annihilator, and some straight heavy metal; there are more than necessary quiet, balladic moments which bring the sound close to Iced Earth at times; "Ruins of Mine" will remind you of Black Sabbath's "Planet Caravan". There are quite a few heavy, crunchy riffs ala Nevermore and Eidolon, but they are usually followed by more melodic passages, which tone down the thrashiness a bit. "The Will to Create" is a nice up-tempo number, but the rest doesn't leave the mid-paced field. The vocals are a find, though, sounding like a very good mixture of Matt Barlow and Roberto Dimitri Liapakis from Mystic Prophecy.

The Will To Create Full-length, 2007

HYBRID HEAVEN (MEXICO)

Quite competent technical thrash/death metal, which will remind you of another great technical act from Mexico: The Zephyr (their sophomore release, in particular). The music is not too aggressive, but is full of energy, and apart from the precise technical riffs, there is a big amount of melody present, both in the lead and riff sector. "The Rise Of The Wrath" is an excellent multi-layered opener, introducing both the technical and melodic aspect of the band's style. "The Mask" is a nice speedy track, emphasizing more on melody, but all is made up in terms of technicality on the fine "Anchored To The Blindness": complex hectic technical thrash/death with very sudden time changes. "Passed Futures" is dry, mechanic technical thrash, deprived of the melodic decorations heard previously, but sounding quite cool, relying mostly on the great elaborate riffs to pull it through. "Marking Passage With Blood" speeds up again, to quite fast dimensions, recalling the Swedish scene, with a technical twist. Time for some more complex technical shredding, with "The Sores Of Roots", which allows some fine melodic hooks to sneak into its structure. "Solitary And Weak" is a nice fast-paced technical death/thrasher, but watch out for the final "Pretending Fullness": technical riff-fest of the highest order, shredding in a great retro speed/thrash fashion, with numerous vortex-like twists and turns ala Sieges Even and Mekong Delta. The sound quality is top-notch, and hopefully the guys will surprise us with a new material on the eventual full-length, rather than re-recording the songs heard here. Whatever the decision they make, rest assured that music if such a high quality will never disappoint: fans of thrash, death and progressive metal, stay put.

The Textures of Spirit EP, 2008

HYD (USA)

This band was founded by two future members of the doom masters Solitude Aeturnus, just shortly before the career of the more renowned band had started, and this is the reason they only have this recording. Which is a pity, since the guys pull out quite good power/thrash with a certain technical edge. "Awakening & Rise Of The Black Witch" is a crunchy heavy number, with an epic shade, followed by the great faster, galloping "Dimmendark", in the best tradition of Helstar and Deadly Blessing; the guitar work on this one is simply amazing, and could put to shame even some of the Shrapnel performers. "Sanctuary Lost" slows down a bit, and will remind you Warrel Dane's Sanctuary, with a nice atmospheric acoustic break. "A Perilous Quest" returns to the more technical patterns, nailing crushing riffs and superb bass bottom; another quiet section awaits you in the middle, before the track speeds up. The singer is not bad, but music of the kind would benefit from a more emotional, dramatic delivery; he sings one-dimensionally, with levelled, mid-ranged clean vocals. No traces of doom on this one, and there's no evidence as to whether this formation later transformed into the other band.

Sanctuary Lost Demo, 1988

HYDRA VEIN (UK)

This is probably the only British band who sound like their German counterparts. The style on both albums is fast and energetic with frequent more technical passages, recalling Destruction's more technical period. The songs are quite memorable, differing from each other, not only because of the guitar work, but also of the vocal delivery, which is not too far from Tom Angelripper (Sodom), but lower-tuned, and with a certain semi-melodic blend. The guys' ambition reaches far on the excellent, long technical pieces ("Right to Die" and "Harlequin" from the debut, for example). "After the Dream" is more aggressive and less technical, although the difference is not too big. This is really great stuff, recommended not only to fans of German thrash metal. Like most of the British thrash metal bands of that period, the band split up after two albums.

Rather Death Than False Of Faith Full-length, 1988
After The Dream Full-length, 1989

HYDROGEN (SWEDEN)

Modern thrash metal meets hardcore.

Now Is No More Full-length, 2007

HYENA (BELGIUM)

An excellent demo of fast-paced intense thrash along the lines of Kreator, Destruction and Hypnosia. This is great headbanging stuff, with smashing hard riffs and uncompromising speedy delivery. The sound quality is a bit muddy, but the sheer intensity and inspiration put in the music, more than makes up for it.

Seconds To Death '07 Demo, 2007

HYPNOSIA (SWEDEN)

Even if this band never record again, there will be hardly a thrash metal fan from more recent times, who will forget them. Their only album, and the EP, is exemplary semi-technical old school thrash which is nothing short of outstanding. The base of the band's aggressive sound is Kreator, but you will also hear Slayer, Sepultura, Violence, Dark Angel, Necrodeath. In other words, this is an encyclopaedia of high quality retro thrash.

Violent Intensity EP, 1999
Extreme Hatred Full-length, 2000

HYPNOSIC (USA)

So there were quite a few American bands who had not remained indifferent to the great European acts like Destruction, in this case. A 4-song demo of first class speedy thrash akin to early Destruction; the swirling Destruction-like riffs are all over the demo, making this an essential listen for fans of the German band. Listening to this, you would probably start recalling moments from the Destruction albums, which the riffs here remind you of ("Bored", for example, is quite close to both "Total Disaster" and "Mad Butcher"). The vocals could be the only downpoint, sounding like a not very good, shouted version of James Hetfield.

Demo Demo, 1989

HYPNOTIC FACE (CZECH)

Hypnotic Face play a modern mixture of heavy metal and thrash along the lines of recent Annihilator. There are some intense groovy parts and some interesting use of clean, Fear Factory-like vocals. Unfortunately, the thrashy moments are not too many to keep the thrash metal fans' interest for long.

Written by Life EP, 1999
The End Of Sanity Full-length, 2004

HYPOCRITE PROJECT (TURKEY)

Very cool modern industrialized thrash, quite atmospheric and creepy, with some cool, but sparce lead guitar work, and devilish black-ish, semi-whispered vocals; the music is full of intriguing gimmicks typical for the industrial scene, suggested from the very start with the haunting highly-charged "Intro" and the dark industrial thrasher "Hypocrite" in the best tradition of the mighty Malhavoc, and the mid-paced, not very sharp riffage perfectly matches the minimalistic tendencies of the album. There's even time for some more intense faster moments ("Hyper Hypocrisy", the progressive, keyboard-laced "The Mountain"), two very cool Celtic frost-like numbers: "Ice & Fire" and "A.T.O.D", one very interesting industrial semi-ballad "The Long Way", and one excellent dynamic cyber-thrash closer "Perseverance" ala The Kovenant's "Animatronic".

A Full-Length, 2008

HYPOKRAS (FRANCE)

An aggressive fusion of thrash and death, not miles away from the pioneering works of their colleagues Agressor, Loudblast, Massacra; these guys excel in aggression and speed, and "court" death metal more frequently, inserting blast-beats on every possible opportunity, and tracks like the slower steam roller, Bolt Thrower-influenced "Heretik Whores" are not that many. "Humanicide" stretches to grind-core near the end, but the fine peaceful closing instrumental "Ars Moriendi" provides the needed "calm after the storm".

Dead and Hungry Full-length, 2002

HYSTERICAL VISION (CANADA)

A very obscure, but highly worthy band; this is excellent progressive, atmospheric thrash/death which could only be compared to the great French act Misanthrope, but more thrash-oriented (at the time when this album was released, the Misanthrope efforts were still quite avantgrade and eclectic, and they switched to that style a few years later). Fans of the more uncompromising nature of metal might be disappointed, as here the concentration is clearly on atmosphere and melody, rather than aggression and sharp riffage. The slower, atmospheric sections "decorate" every song here, and are perhaps a bit overused, but the brilliant lead guitar, the stylish technical riffs and the original musical decisions largely compensate for that.

Les Int�r�ts Humains Full-Length, 1995

HYSTE'RIAH GBC (SWEDEN)

This band were formed when two Swedish thrash bands (God BC and Hysteriah) merged together. This album beats in quality the previous achievements of the two bands; this is good 80's thrash with strong technical tendencies, not too far from Hydra Vein, or the Erosion debut. The combination of fast, intense and technical riffs works fine on every song, sometimes coming with a more jumpy tempo and a strong bass bottom: the nice "Land of Democracy". "Cafe Of Hope" is the odd, slower, heavy track, quite good as well; the rest is a blistering display of speed and technicality put together.

Snakeworld Full-length, 1991

HYSTHERESY (FRANCE)

Old school thrash/death, which clings more towards the British scene of the late 80's-early 90's (think Benediction, Bolt Thrower), rather than the very prolific French one from around the same time. The guys insert some orchestral, atmospheric moments, and some softer passages, where the guitars take a more melodic edge. Although the music stays closer to death metal most of the time, it's not very fast or brutal, and the nice, rhythm guitar-driven sections ala Bolt Thrower are quite common, with some of the songs possessing this battle, war-like atmosphere ("The Past, My Last", which could perfectly fit into "...For Victory", for example).

Insane Dreams Full-Length, 2008

H�MMER(POLAND)

Apart from Turbo and Wolf Spider, there was another very cool thrash metal band from Poland from the old days. H�mmer are probably less experimental and more conventional than the other two, but their music is full of energy , becoming quite intense actually, on the first two albums. "H�mmer" is a great debut, offering some intense, but also inriguing, technical guitar work: the frantic, but very satisfying opener "On Ma Granat". Later the aggression remains, but the technical performance steps down; still the album delivers the goods on all counts, with smashing speedy thrashers, like "Mask" and "Sza".
"Shermann" features tighter and sharper guitar work, but the energy and speed have been reduced, for the sake of some intriguing riffs on the longer tracks: "The Oddest Dreams", "Destroyer". But the more direct thrashing pieces are by no means less striking: "Different", the longer, but very aggressive "Rage".
"Terror" starts in a way very close to the debut, with expert technical riffage on the opening "Terror", which admirably speeds up at the end. "Streetfighter" is a nice companion piece to the opener, but "Shut Up" goes way ahead, with smashing jumpy guitars, some cool bass implements, and great straight speedy passages. And here is where the more interesting part of this album ends. Right after comes the big shock: "Inside Looking Out": a very disappointing pop-ish, funky number, which tries to liven up in the middle with some more up-tempo riffage, but only messes things up even more; it's hard to be taken as a joke, coming in the middle of the album, and lasting for whole 7-min. It's very close to ruining everything, considerably decreasing the impression, made by the next speed/thrasher "Monsters". "Angels Wrath" slows down again, but doesn't really disappoint, with heavy meaty riffs. "Old Man" tries to be technical, but the mixture of slower and faster guitars doesn't really work out. Fortunately the closing "Stick the Banner" leaves the experiments behind, and thrashes hard and directly, without any gimmicks.
The band left the scene for about 12 years, only to come back, encouraged by the thrash metal renaissance of recent years. The music is a direct take on their old style, intense thrash, with the obligatory occasional technical decorations.

Hammer Full-length, 1989
Shermann Full-length, 1990
Terror [PL] Full-length, 1991
SCHH - 1 Full-length, 2003

H�MSYTHRE�XCK (FRANCE)

There is a really high quality in the French underground metal scene of the 80's. This is excellent Slayer-esque thrash with great sharp, quite technical at times riffs, and nice lead guitar; aggressive and mostly up-tempo with some occasional speedy breaks. It opens with a cool instrumental piece ("Codex Popuhl-Vuh") which is followed by a superb technical number ("The Gaudriole") where the guitar work will make even some of the Shrapnel heroes envious. The vocals are a bit on the dull side, I guess, with an impassionate, listless tember, slightly recalling Rumble Militia. If having been given the chance, these guys could have been worthy competitors to even the mighty ADX.

Le Christ Pantocrator Demo, 1988

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