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

I.N.C. (USA)

One of the less conventional American thrash metal bands, I.N.C. play an interesting brand of dry, mechanical semi-technical thrash, slightly recalling Voivod and Equinox on the more experimental moments, and Intruder, or Paradox, on the faster and more straight ones. Both albums are full of interesting, stylish riffs and quirky moments, although at least to these ears the speedy, direct sections work better, creating a nice, headbanging atmosphere. Some of the songs are long, but ironically, those are the less appealing ones, as the guys simply stick to a certain number of riffs without much deviation.
The debut begins quite ambitiously with the 8-min and more composition "Indestructible Noise Command", which provides constant speedy thrashing, without losing the fast-tempo for a split second. "The Grip of Death" repeats the same formula, but "War Not Words" slows down, adding a very good bass bottom and stupendous lead guitar work, which takes a considerable part from the song. The more technical apporach remains for two more numbers, before "Fists from the Mighty" brings more intense thrash in a shorter form (only 4.5-min), which stays until the end, with the bass making his voice heard quite strongly on the final "Passageway Through Purgatory". As a whole this efort offers a cool, albeit a bit uneven blend of direct and more complex thrash, which could have been more appealing, if the songs were at least twice as short.
"The Visitor" is not miles away from the style of the debut, but the guitar tone is more abrasive, to the point of annoyance on the slower material ("Bed Time Stories"), and the faster tracks predominate, this time quite satisfying slabs of hard-hitting speed/thrash. If one manages to ignore the abrasive guitar sound, he will be able to enjoy this effort quite a bit, finished with the nice punk-ish cover version of The Cars' "Just What I Needed / Candy-O". Although the technical elements on this one are not as obvious, it can pass for the better achievement, with its more sincere straight delivery.

Razorback Full-length, 1987
The Visitor Full-length, 1988

Vibrations of Doom

I.N.R.I. (HOLLAND)

A more aggressive version of the modern thrash/death metal of bands like The Crown and Terror 2000; the music is quite fast and brutal, staying closer to death metal.

Hyper Bastard Breed Full-length, 2002
Ultra Sonic Hatestorm Full-length, 2007

I'LL EAT YOUR FACE (IRELAND)

Based on "Irritant", this band, which is only two people, plays an extravagant all-instrumental mix of death, thrash, grind and progressive balladic sections which is quite technical and jumpy without being too brutal. The approach is modern, and never loses the dynamics also giving the melodic peceful passages enough space to develop which may be considered a drawback by some since the compositions are too short, half of them closing around the 2-min line, and a bigger length would give this unusual blend a more complete form.

FatBoxLifeDestroyer EP, 2006
Now That's What I Call Manual Strangulation Vol. 1 Split album, 2008
Irritant Full-length, 2010

I4NI (USA)

This band boast a stellar line-up comprising of members from bands like Overkill, Warning Sf, Angel Witch, Exodus. Style-wise this is heavy thrash sounding like slower Exodus and Anthrax; good stuff, but somehow underwhelming, having in mind the all-star cast involved.

It's All Fun and Games Best of/Compilation, 2001
I4N EP, 2001

I HATE SALLY (USA)

Based on "Don't Worry Lady": this band pull out a mix of thrash and hardcore, with a certain industrial edge. The vocals are awful hardcore shouts, but the guitar work is not too bad, often adhering to alternative moments. The songs are generally short, no longer than 3-min, but there are two monstrous tracks, in the 8-9min range, which sacrifice the more energetic tempos for bland dragging doomy moments, and end up nowhere. "Iseah's Cancer" is a cool ballad, and is close to being the highlight of the album. "Mary! Mary!" is the band's tribute to the sludge/doom scene.

Sickness of the Ages Full-Length, 2004
The Plague EP, 2005
Don't Worry Lady Full-Length, 2007
I Hate Sally Vs GFK Split EP, 2007

IBOGAINE (FRANCE)

Based on the EP, this band plays cool modern thrash, not miles away from mid-90's Voivod, and the new Eric Forrest project E-Force; the drummer from that band: Kopf, also hits the drums here. The music is dry and mechanical, but packs a punch, and sounds fairly intriguing, even finding time to thrash with the best out there: "Icon Curse". On the other hand, we have doom-laden compositions: "Zombi", which suddenly turn into a whirlwind of technical riffage. "Tibetan Terrorist" is more on the industrial side ala Ministry, whereas "React" doesn't stray too much from the mechanical thrash path carved by Meshuggah and Voivod.

Ibogaīne EP, 2006
React Full-length, 2008

ICE (USA)

The name is cold, I know, but of you manage to overcome the "cold", you will hardly be disappointed. Based on the "Ice" demo, this band offer cool heavy thrash ala early Exodus and Testament, mostly mid-tempo with smashing riffs. "Walls of Oppression" suddenly turns to more up-tempo technical thrash, and is a pleasant surprise. The heavy riffage, however, returns for the demo closer: "Rasta Man", which is an interesting blend of thrash and reggae, so good that noone bothered to come up with a similar mixture all these years- ha ha ha!

Ice Demo, 1990
Demo Demo, 1991

ICE AGE (SWEDEN)

An all female thrash metal band; this is the band from where the legendary Debbie Gunn started her career, as a matter of fact. The style doesn't stray from the one practiced by other similar all-female bands, like Meanstreak and Original Sin, for example. The music is melodic, lacks a punch, but is enjoyable and catchy.

Demo Demo, 1986
General Alert Demo, 1987
Demo Demo, 1988
Instant Justice Demo, 1989

ICED EARTH (USA)

These legends of American power metal had their feet firmly on thrash soil in the beginning. The self-titled debut is a brisk, inspired, albeit rough around the edges offering (but definitely not burnt!), full of highly-charged galloping speed/thrash rhythms ("Iced Earth", "Written on the Walls"), which may make the more hot-blooded jump the horse and ride to oblivion deep into the prairies. Thrash with a Bay-Area tinge takes over on the excellent "Colours", and on the brilliant semi-ballad "Curse the Sky": one of the band's finest achievements. The aggression then gets mixed with a more serious, almost progressive song-writing to quite an impressive effect, for "Life and Death", the first-rate instrumental "The Funeral", and especially the monstrous closer "When the Night Falls" which, despite its colossal for the style 9-min length, seldom has a dull moment, and never stops thrashing with force. Despite some flaws, mostly in the production and the sound-quality department, this album showed an outfit ready to keep the genre alive during its most difficult period.
Just a few months later, apparently encouraged by both the critical and commercial success, which surprisingly saw the metal masses still willing to part with a few dollars for more retro thrash stuff in the early 90's, the guys were back with another full-length. The bombastic orchestral intro of "Angel's Holocaust" and the opening balladic tunes may confuse the listener, but the speed/thrashing havoc soon springs up, nicely assisted by menacing operatic background vocals. Forceful thrash rules on the next "Stormrider", which again tries to deceit with a tender balladic start. Keyboards implements sneak into "The Path I Choose", but the thrashing madness there never stops. "Mystical End" is probably the lyrical deviation, reminding of the great 80's American power metal scene, sounding more laid-back and controlled. No more of the kind, though, as "Desert Rain" is a vintage hard-hitting speed/thrash masterpiece, with one of the greatest choruses in metal history ("The desert rain... is changing me, It's called on me... to rise"), and a fine bass interlude. "Pure Evil" is "pure evil" Bay-Area thrash ala the Forbidden debut (which is the main reference point when talking about the early Iced Earth works), references also made with the title: non-stop riff-fest (with great bass performance again, accentuated on the middle break), after which the fan would hardly have any energy left to take one more colossal 9.5-min thrash metal opus, which is the closing "Travel in Stygian". No complaints, as the guys have left their souls on this one, making it a really impressive take on more thoughtful thrash, bordering on the technical at times: a whirlwind of riffs and tempo changes, which come served with high-pitched vocals ala Rob Halford (remember "Painkiller") in the beginning, not heard anywhere else on the album, as opposed to the not very interesting, one-dimensional throaty main ones, although John Greely does a fairly good job on the balladic parts, and his cleaner tone is by far his better side. It was pretty clear that he was on the way to improvement, but this was his last performance for the band, as Matt Barlow stepped in soon after.
3 years later the guys are here again, with a new singer on board: Matt Barlow, and the question about the musical direction immediately arises. To the fanbase's utter delight the guys continue in the same merciless manner, thrashing with full force all the way through, seemingly viewed as one of the very few defenders of the classic 80's thrash metal faith during the very hard for the genre mid-90's. The band's penchant for more complex song-structures springs up on the very first song: "Burnt Offerings", which despite the slightly overlong quiet break is a truly satisfying slab of vintage 80's speed/thrash. Then comes a string of stripped down speed/thrashing hammers: "Last December", "Diary", "Brainwashed", which will make you raise your fists high, as well as your middle finger to those who had said that thrash was long gone buried deep in the underground. The heavier, doomier side of the genre is honoured with the crushing riff-fest "Creator Failure". And, of course, let's not forget the epic-long closer, which here reaches larger-than-life proportions with its 16.5-min; the name is "Dante's Inferno", and seldom will one come across a single dull moment. This is full-fledged thrash, seldom interrupted by the occasional more melodic, balladic interlude; the guys change the tempo frequently, relying mostly on galloping riffs, until the breathtaking outro, where mighty sharp riffs meet a nice piano tune, as both disappear out of hearing into the void...
This masterpiece was the band's last stop from the thrash metal train, and on their subsequent releases they chose the less edgy, more power metal-based side of the genre, and although they succeeded in becoming one of the most popular metal acts of the past 15 years, their early days are those which contain the band's most inspirational and creative moments.

Iced Earth Full-length, 1991
Night of the Stormrider Full-length, 1992
Burnt Offerings Full-length, 1995

ICELAND (FRANCE)

Interesting and varied 80's thrash; there are fast headbangers, epic/pagan tracks, and slower ones close to Celtic Frost; a mixture which works well most of the time. The album opens in a shattering manner with the great aggressive smasher "Brain Washing". After that it slows down, and at least half of the tracks acquire this unique pagan atmosphere so typical for the Brits Sabbat: "Merry Sinner" is probably the best example of this influence. "Traces of Dreams" is a doom-laden, slow, heavy number, graced with stylish leads and meaty riffs. Then the music speeds up again, with shorter, but effective headbangers. The vocals are very good, although a bit dirty, with this rough, semi-clean blend, very similar to Chris Astley (Xentrix).

Iceland Full-length, 1990

ICON-EIGHT (NORWAY)

Good classic thrash metal which manages to "Thrash The Moment"(and after it) quite well. The band mix furious, fast thrashers ("Torn Asunder") with moody, slower tracks ("Psycho Terrorizer"). The last song "Trial By Fire" is not a Testament cover.

Thrash the Moment! EP, 2006

ICON IN ME (RUSSIA)

Although this act is based in Russia, it's actually quite international, featuring Tony JJ, who also sang in the Atheist-Pestilence collaboration C-187, as well as the Danish drummer Morten Løwe Sørensen (Panzerchrist, The Arcane Order, among numerous other bands), leaving only the founder Artyom Sherbakov Russian-born. The music is your average modern thrash, combining both heavy groovy sections and fast Swedish ones ala early The Haunted and Terror 2000.

Human Museum Full-length, 2009

ICONOCAUST (USA)

Based on "Judas Complex", these guys offer a semi-technical mixture of modern and classic thrash with excellent lead guitar work and a vocal duel between brutal low-tuned growls and much more melodic clean ones. The music is dynamic, never too fast, except for the intense aggressive death/thrasher "Nazi's Torch" which is a nice twisted technical number. Still, the highlight here is the galloping thrashterpiece "Road To Ruin" which also features a few complex passages, some of them quite fast. There are several quiet instrumental parts including the very cool closer "Pro A Pera Argentum" with a fine short female vocal inclusion.
"The Reckoning of Man" is less striking sticking to the modern patterns more often, but "Open Armed Conflict" is a sure-handed technical piece, very dynamic and intense. Surprises of the kind are no longer to be encoutered later on (the album is only 7 tracks long, two of which are peaceful balladic variations one of which is a tribute to Dimebag Darrell (R.I.P.) closing the album), but "The Reckoning Of Man" is also worth mentioning with its nice interplay between memorable melodic hooks and sharp biting riffs on a pounding mid-tempo base.

The Natural Evolution Of Metal Full-length, 2005
The Reckoning of Man Full-length, 2007
Judas Complex Full-length, 2009

IDOLS ARE DEAD (ITALY)

Based on "Mean": melodic modern thrash along the lines of Metallica's Black Album and 90's Megadeth; this is feelgood stuff, with no any pretensions for a more aggressive play, flowing in the same mid-tempo energetic vein, with good James Hetfield-like vocals, and cool choruses. The closing track takes a more playful, groovy shade, going under the title "Twiggy" (could be a tribute to the legendary 70's model?!).

Mean Full-length, 2008
Human Museum Full-length, 2009

IGNORANCE (GERMANY)

"Legion": thrash/death of the classic type, mixing more energetic numbers with steam-rolling, Bolt Thrower-like ones; the music is never all-out speed, and the guys' infatuation with the pounding rhythms takes the upper hand more often. As a result this album might turn a fairly tiring experience for the regular headbanger, with its repetitive one-dimensional lifeless approach.
"Bloodfed": the fast-paced death/thrash opener "Bloodfed" promises a more dynamic entertainment this time, and indeed, this album is faster, but on the other hand at least half of the songs are full-fledged doom/death ala Beyond Belief and early Tiamat. Those numbers are well mixed with the more energetic material, although to these ears the opening track has no match later on, and one has no choice but to embrace the dark doomy sound offered for most of the time.

Legion Full-length, 2004
Bloodfed Full-length, 2006

IGNORANCE (UK)

Based on the debut, these guys try to break the standard thrash formula in a way similar to another British band: Re-Animator, or the Americans Mordred: in other words, funk meets thrash metal. Ignorance are more of a crossover/thrash act, and have done a better job than the other two bands, simply because apart from all these new touches used they haven't forgotten to be a thrash metal band, and there is a considerable presence of heavy sharp riffs. Contrary to the debut, their sophomore release is a total disaster, very negatively shocking, having no ties to thrash at all, being very bland, unappealing funky alternative form of rock/wave: hello, Re-Animator!

The Confident Rat Full-length, 1991
Positively Shocking Full-length, 1992

ILLEGIANCE (UK)

A blistering debut EP of heads-down old school thrash, which will make you headbang the way past masterpieces have: Vio-Lence's "Eternal Nightmare", Necrodeath's "Fragments of Insanity", Sacrifice's "Forward to Termination", etc. "My Temple, Your Tomb" is an explosive aggressive opener, followed by the more controlled and heavier "Betrayed". "Visions Of Torment" is a marvellous steam-rolling thrasher; the speed returns with the closing "Sombre Promise", which finds some time to slow down in a nice, atmospheric way, before the final intense, furious thrashy section shoots the listener at close range. The singer has a very effective sinister singing style, coming as a vicious fusion of Rob Urinari (Sacrifice) and Marcelo "Flegias" Santos (Necrodeath). This is an impressive beginning, which finely paves the way for the coming of the eventual full-length.

Disease and Disorder EP, 2005

ILLWILL (SWEDEN)

Members of Mercyful Fate and King Diamond have gotten together with the intention to pay tribute to the modern thrash metal scene. And they have done a good job; this is nice modern technical thrash with magnificent guitar work, courtesy of the mighty Andy La Rocgue who, again, is in top form here. The music is like a more technical version of Fight's "War Of Words", the resemblance coming also from the vocal department where the guy really sounds like Rob Halford most of the time, but you have to think of the vocals Rob used on the Fight works, and more particular, "Small Deadly Space". There is industrial thrown in as well, and another band the music might remind you of, would be Skrew, but here the riffs are more interesting, and the tempos more varied. Don't take it as a downpoint that the best track here is a ballad- "Eternal Sleep", which boasts very cool heavy guitar work and a strong vocal performance. Maybe, to compensate things a bit, the guys put the most aggressive song right after it: the excellent riff-monster "K.A.O.S.". Apparently a one-album project, Illwill are really worth checking out.

Evilution Full-length, 1998

IMAGIKA (USA)

The band's self-titled debut is power/thrash, with more emphasis on power metal- a good job, but not hard enough to be classified as all-out thrash. "Worship" is a good move in the right direction, with thrash metal taking the upper hand. This eventually led to the band's finest hour, their third effort "And So It Burns": first-class Bay Area thrash. The band have the detrimental habit to leave big gaps between their albums, making a large part of the metal audience forget about them by the time of the next release. Fortunately, this tradition has been broken in 2006 when the band came up with an immediate follow-up to the excellent "Devils On Both Sides". Their last two albums saw the band going back to the mixture of forceful thrashers and more restrained power metal tracks.
"Feast For The Hated" follows on the steps on the last two albums; in other words we have a good blend of thrash and power metal, which reminds me of a more thrashy, more recent Iced Earth this time, including the very good, Matt Barlow-like vocals, which in the clean sector surpass even him (check out the nice ballad "The Sick Sense"). The new implements are some blast-beats on "Bleed As One Appease The Gods", which is a cool progressive-tinged song; the aggressive proto-death riffage on "Behind Immoral", accompanied by more brutal death-ish growls, but otherwise this is not very intense stuff, and as such falls behind the great "And So It Burns". Pure more immediate thrashers are nowhere to be heard, and all compositions mix the two aforementioned styles in almost equal dozes. "Thinning Out The Herd" thrashes quite intensely, but it still has its more quiet breaks. The other thrash peak is the speedy "New Power Succubus", which is all-out thrash almost until the end. The closing "Succubus" is traditionally longer and more complex, and here the singer is "helped" by a fine female vocalist, which gives the song an additional gothic shade, an impression further "cemented" by the inclusion of some atmospheric sections; from a thrash metal point of view this song may not be of big value, but is truly a good piece of serious, thought-out metal.

Imagika Full-length, 1995
Worship Full-length, 1998
And So It Burns Full-length, 2001
Devils On Both Sides Full-length, 2005
My Bloodied Wings Full-length, 2006
Feast For The Hated Full-length, 2008

IMBALANCE (NORWAY)

This band were operating under the name Frost before, releasing a solitary demo with a style closer to black metal. Here the music is quite diverse: there is heavy, groovy thrash, but quite often it speeds up acquiring classic qualities with good, hard-hitting riffs. The EP opens with the aggressive thrasher "Burial Of Consciousness", in the best tradition of Slayer and Vio-Lence, which is partly ruined by the sloppy, groovy ending. Apparently the guys were warming the settings up for the groovy "Deprivation". "Ride the Blades" is not faster, but boasts cool sharp guitars, and a very cool lyrical deviation in the middle. "Torn From My Time" is another ordinary groovy track, if we exclude the nice balladic mid-section with a gothic shade.

Burial of Consciousness Demo, 2004
Bestial by Nature EP, 2006

IMMACULATE (SWEDEN)

A decent attempt at classic thrash metal, with nods to numerous practitioners of the genre; the problem is that these guys want to be something more than just old school thrash-resurrectors, and they try something more elaborate and technical, but either the lack of clear ideas or musical skills lead these experiments nowhere, making some of the songs sound clumsy and unfocused, something like a lesser Juggernaut(USA). Sticking to the laws of more conventional thrash metal would serve these guys a lot better, as it clearly shows on some of the tracks.

Thrash, Kill 'n' Deströy Full-length, 2007

IMMORALIST (RUSSIA)

Excellent technical/progressive thrash with echoes from Death, above all, Living Death, Target, etc.; there is some Gothenburg influence in the guitar work, but it's well mixed with the technical riffage. The band play energetically, and the up-tempo is constantly present, although the slower technical breaks are also quite a few. Seldom does the music take blasting extremes ("Euphoric") for a while, but the listener's attention will be completely grabbed by intense technical experiences, like the brilliant "Progressive Demise", which is an impeccable downpour of steel technical riffs, supported by an outstanding bass bottom, and a nice quiet balladic exit. "Potential Threat" is a masterful blend of melodic and technical guitars, an obvious nod to later period Death, graced by great speed/thrash deviations. "Totalitarian Slavery" takes your breath away, with a fascinating balladic intro, before unleashing a more moderate, less speed-based approach to technical thrash. "Imminent Destiny" is the most melodic number on the album, which also relieves the technical play, followed by the more edgy short instrumental "Paved Roads To Abstraction". Having lost its initial bite at this point, the album makes up with another Death-influenced song: "Without Judgement": a speedy thrasher, which serves well to pave the way for the glorious closer "Mental Liberation"- technical speed/thrash at its best, a perfect "marriage" between fast and technical riffs until the end, again, in the best tradition of late period Death. This is a more than welcome addition to the contemporary prolific metal scene, although a bit more individual approach would not be detrimental, if the guys want to move away from the hordes of the Death imitators of present times.

Progressive Demise Full-length, 2008

IMMORTAL CHOIR (BRAZIL)

Vintage speed/power/thrash with progressive tendencies, worthy followers of the Danes Manticora, early Blind Guardian and the Polish Hellfire; "The Battle of Moonstone" opens the album in a magnificent fashion, revealing all the beauty of the band's sound: fast-tempos, soaring melodic vocals, addictive melodic hooks, sing-along choruses (the cheesy side, and the only mitigated failure), etc. "The Great Vast Forest" steps the pedal harder, acquiring some death metal tendencies even, but the great vocals and the keyboard background soften the approach a bit. "Beyond the Mist" follows the same pattern, but "Eyes in Flames" is slower epic power metal. "Dance of Sacrifice" is progressive metal at its best, still quite intense and fast. "The Curse of Celith" is a heavy semi-ballad, but the closing "Fall of the Empire" comes with all the guns blazing: another progressive opus, quite heavy and aggressive, blasting out on quite a few moments, boasting a superb quiet acoustic interlude. So apart from a mysterious land, sheltering cannibal tribes and numerous exotic animal and plant species, the Amazon jungle has also something to offer to the metal fans, and if there's more of the same high quality out there, then it's high time one started exploring/digging there more seriously...

Beyond The Great Vast Forest Full-length, 2002

IMMORTAL SIN (USA)

Classy music sounding like a more aggressive Intruder ("Born to Lose"), power/thrash ala Griffin, or Omen ("Dark Castle"), or stylish technical thrash in the Have Mercy and the Ulysses Siren vein ("Sonic Scream").

Demo Demo, 1988

IMMORTAL SOUL (USA)

Classic thrash of the heavy brooding variety not miles away from Infernal Majesty; the tempo is expectedly not very fast, except for the brutal Slayer-sque outbreak "Black Plague", but the guys are good at evoking atmosphere with heavy doomy riffs and gruff semi-death metal vocals.

Immortal Soul Demo, 1992

IMPACT (USA)

Excellent old school thrash calling to mind the Sacred Reich debut and Evildead's "Annihilation Of Civilization"; this is fast, intense music, accompanied by very good powerful semi-clean vocals ala Michael Coons (Laaz Rockit). In the middle the guys have placed a more temperate longer track, more technical, with a slight power metal spirit: "It's the End of the World", which also works great.

Take The Pain Full-length, 1991

IMPACT WRENCH (USA)

Based on the "Attention Defecit Disorder" demo, these guys pull out cool thrash, which manages to sound quite interesting most of the time. This is technical stuff, quite choppy and tempo changing, although the music never gets too intense (except on the closing riffs of "Believe in Extremes"). The sound is heavy, with a strong presence of the bass, and might remind you of Forced Entry, or even Forbidden's "Twisted Into Form" on the best moments ("It's a Personal Problem").

Violence Sweet Violence Demo, 1989
Attention Defecit Disorder Demo, 1991
Impact Wrench Demo, 1992

IMPALER (JAPAN)

The blitzkrieg very concrete style of early Hirax is brought to the fore once again by these Japanese "tsunamis". Short speed outbursts will nail you down from the get-go, and you will stay there until the end, maybe getting up for a while on the longer and more diverse "I'm Alive" although within its more than 5-min one will hardly come across anything more than furious fast thrashing except for the heavier slower Slayer-esque break in the middle. The brutality goes a level up on the blast-beating "Dozaemon" and "Slave Of Master" for a while, but this can hardly be a complaint. The appropriately-titled "Thrash Genocide" near the end is a nuclear bomb of speed/thrash which will make even Fastkill proud, although in terms of speed the other songs are not very far behind. The only complaint comes from the vocal department where the singer semi-screams in a throaty hysterical voice, although his sparce Tom Araya-sque piercing shouts are well worth mentioning.

Nightmare Attack Full-length, 2009

IMPENDING DOOM (GERMANY)

Like some other bands from Germany at around the same time- Delirious, Blood Red Angel, Desaster, Cockroach, Fatal Embrace, etc. these guys have tried to make us all feel like the 80's had never been gone. And they have managed to do that with their classic take on thrash which will remind you of early Kreator and Destruction, Razor's early undeveloped period, and thay haven't forgotten to slow down here and there, where the order of the day becomes Celtic Frost/Hellhammer. The musicianship is not on a very high level, but it wasn't very high in the early stages of the genre, either, so for nostalgic reasons this band score high. "Apocalypse III The Manifested Purgatorium" moves the band's sound into more modern territories, introducing black and death metal in the proceedings, and improving the production qualities a bit.

Caedes Sacrilegae Full-length, 1997
Signum Of Hate Full-length, 1998
Blasphemy Incarnate EP, 2000
The great pale Hunter EP, 2001
Apocalypse III The Manifested Purgatorium Full-length, 2001

IMPERIAL (FRANCE)

Based on "Aux Crépuscules", this band offer excellent aggressive classic thrash, with a black-ish edge. The opener "Le Narcissique" will startle you with its furious, ultra-fast approach, but later things get under control, although those blast-beating moments don't disappear completely, and grace at least half of the songs. "Vermin" is an excellent cover of one of the best songs of the Dutch Asphyx. "La Lune Rouge" is an awesome speed/thrasher, with great guitar work, followed by two similar, but shorter, ones: "Imperial", and the closing "Thrasheurs 13", which slightly betrays the thrash idea at the end, slowing down, adding a more melodic touch to the proceedings.

Aux Crépuscules Full-length, 1998
Thrasheurs 13 EP, 1998
Malmort Full-length, 1999
Moonblood EP, 2002

IMPIETY (RUSSIA)

An obscure act offering intense fast-paced retro thrash with a couple of nice insertions, like the flamenco guitars on "In Search of Yourself". "Forces are Together!" is a heavy pounder breaking the formula for a while, but the rest doesn't lose speed and sharpness unnecessarily despite the slightly abrasive guitar sound.

The Step in Flame Demo, 1995

IMPIETY (SINGAPORE)

Throughout their career the band stick to a very furious, aggressive mix of black, death and thrash metal which serves them well, although very often the intensity is too big for the average thrash fan to handle. Their style resembles Impaled Nazarene, early Destroyer 666, and another act from the Far East: the Chinese Resurrection. The last two full-lengths come with a more controlled, almost technical guitar work, although the aggression still reigns supreme.
"Terroreign (Apocalyptic Armageddon Command" is another very fast and intense black/death/thrash blend, with the tempo seldom going down to mid. The hyper-blasts are everywhere, and it's only on the final "My Dark Subconscious" when the guys take a break with heavy mid-paced riffs, but this is "nicely" compensated by the ultra-hyper-blast ending, the most furious part of the album. Impaled Nazarene are left way behind on this effort, both in terms of speed and brutality.

Salve The Goat...Iblis Exelsi EP, 1993
Asateerul Awaleen Full-length, 1996
Funeralight EP, 1997
Skullfucking Armageddon Full-length, 1999
Kaos Kommand 696 Full-length, 2002
Paramount Evil Full-length, 2004
Formidonis Nex Cultus Full-length, 2007
Terroreign (Apocalyptic Armageddon Command Full-Length, 2009

IMPIOUS (SWEDEN)

One of the better practitioners of the modern death/thrash metal mix; the music is along the lines of The Crown, The Haunted and the likes. Impious are perhaps more aggressive, with their sound staying closer to death metal.

Evilized Full-length, 1998
Terror Succeeds Full-length, 2000
The Killer Full-length, 2002
The Deathsquad EP, 2002
Hellucinate Full-length, 2004
Holy Murder Masquerade Full-length, 2007

IMPOSTOR (NORWAY)

This is another band where Messiah- the former member of Mayhem, used to play in the past, along with the legendary Faust- the man behind the black metal icons Emperor, and a current member of the thrashers Blood Tsunami. Based on the "Little Hitler Illusion" demo, this is played just for the fun of it Hellhammer-like black/thrash, so don't expect any high achievements music-wise. There are moments where the guys (apparently drunk) make fun of some children's lullabies, or military marches, or everything in between. This is hard to be taken even as a rehearsal for the much bigger things awaiting the band's members in the near future.

Rehearsal of chaos Demo, 1987
Little Hitler Illusion Demo, 1987
SNS - Still Not Satisfied? Demo, 1990

IMPRINT (NORWAY)

Modern groovy thrash with very hysterical shouty vocals; the music is reasonably heavy, but offers the same jumpy hectic pace and mechanical industrialized guitars, with very few more dynamic passages ("Evil" is a surprising raging death metal-laced number).

A.R.T Full-length, 2007

IMPULSE MANSLAUGHTER (USA)

On both albums the style is thrash/crossover mixing very fast aggressive sections with laid-back punk-ish ones. "Logical End" features a not very faithful, but effective hardcore cover version of The Sisters of Mercy's "Gimme Shelter".

He Who Laughs Last...Laughs Alone Full-length, 1987
Logical End Full-length, 1988

Vibrations of Doom

IN.SI.DIA (ITALY)

This band evolved from Inviolacy: a promising act playing aggressive Slayer-esque thrash (see the review a few lines below). The name change brought changes in the style as well, as the music this time is of the heavy, more technical type, with longer song-structures, quite similar to late-80's Metallica, "updated" with more modern elements ala the Black Album (mostly on the sophomore effort). The debut follows the style of the big Americans closely, with the opening "Fuggire", which sounds like a leftover from "...And Justice for All". It sets the tone for the rest, and the pace is quite energetic, until it reaches "Il Tempo", which is a nice ballad in the 1st half, finished in a faster crossover fashion: a melodic, slightly off-context song. After it the thrashing carries on, pausing for a break again for the cool short "acoustics-versus-leads" instrumental "Satanka". The final "Tutti Pazzi" is softer, with elements of crossover again sneaking, but it shouldn't be a surprise, since it's a cover of the Italian hardcore/punk legends Negazione.
"Guarda Dentro Te" shows no signs of compromise with the opener "Nulla Cambia", which is a fine dark hypnotic thrasher in the best Metallica tradition. "Si... Realtā" keeps the intensity, and is even faster, and "Terzo Millennio" is a sure-handed cross between heavy pounding rhythms and fast-paced ones. The pounding riffs remain, but the speed gets lost for a couple of tracks, until the coming of the more aggressive "Fino A Che Punto". More hammering heavy, more modern-sounding guitars follow suit, plus another cool peaceful instrumental ("Nel Silenzio"), before "Mai Capirō" adds furious, hardcore moments and modern shades. "Oltre Quel Muro" finishes the album in a manner quite similar to the first song, mixing speedy and mid-tempo sections of the classic type. As a whole this work sounds almost as appealing as the debut, with the modern throwings nicely adding up to its heavy hypnotic nature. Whether this was a transitional album, with the band gradually preparing to finally surrender to the modern trends, remained unclear: the guys never recorded again.

Istinto E Rabbia Full-length, 1993
Guarda Dentro Te Full-length, 1995

IN AGGRESSION (CHILE)

Good aggressive thrash metal in the Slayer-vein with some proto-death parts and touches of early Celtic Frost in the slower sections.

Advance Tape Demo, 1988
An Extensive Aberration Demo, 1989

IN CHAINS (BELGIUM)

First-rate classic thrash, which offers both speedy intense thrashers ("The Snakepit") and stomping, steam rollers ("Convulsions of the Truth") in the best tradition of the Brits Cerebral Fix. The guitar work is quite cool, nicely alternatiing between sharp riffs and more catchy hooks. The fast-paced numbers are more, and quite of you will jump around on tracks like "Shot at Dawn" and "Instinct (of Selfpreservation)". "Gas Attack" brings forward some more intriguing riffs, and makes the thrashing even more appealing. The closer "Thrashed Down" is not the fastest, or the most aggressive song, but relies on heavy, stomping riffs, which work very well. The vocals are meanish, black-tinged, but fit the good music just fine.

Demolition Business Full-Length, 2008

IN DEATH (AUSTRALIA)

A modern groovy affair with technical pretensions, mostly in the hectic jumpy department although the music seldom leaves the mid-tempo to higher/faster dimensions settling for mid-paced guitars with occasional jumps to Swedish death metal hooks. The singer tears his throat producing rending shouts reminiscent of Kirk Windstein (Crowbar). The bass work is good, courtesy of a beautiful girl called Danika.

In Death Full-length, 2009
Carnival of Horrors EP, 2009

IN DEFENCE (USA)

Melodic energetic thrash/crossover, not very thrashy, sincerely punky at times; "Head of the Thrash" is the most aggressive song, although it would hardly "head" the contemporary thrash metal movement. "Don't Call Me a Moshist" is not too far behind, although it concentrates more on hardcore speed.

Into the Sewer Full-Length, 2009

IN HELL (BRAZIL)

This is another band where Mauricio Nogueira (Torture Squad, Krisiun), one of the best modern Brazilian guitarists, shows his talents. Based on "Suffering in Hell": these guys play a cool mixture of thrash and death, with a classic edge. The music only seldom reaches for more aggressive fields, and the riffs flow nicely, being of the heavy, dark variety, staying closer to thrash. The paced is mostly in the mid-tempo, and could have benefited from more faster sections, like the ones on the excellent "Profane Creation", which offers technical licks ala Death, or the opening "We'll Honour The Insignificance". "The End" ends the album in a more brutal manner, combining the furious death guitars with nice more technical thrash ones.

Suffering in Hell Full-length, 2002
The Final Torment Full-length, 2004

IN MALICE'S WAKE (AUSTRALIA)

If we exclude the irritating angry harsh vocals, the rest is pretty decent classic power/speed/thrash, not very fast and aggressive, recalling the Germans Red to Grey, from the newer acts, and Liege Lord, Laaz Rockit ("Know Your Enemy"), and early Iced Earth, from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, and from the older practitioners. The guitar work is sharp, but also melodic, often unleashing the famous galloping rhythms: "Man-Made Death", which is the definitive speed metal hymn. The approach is seldom all-out speed, and the guys like breaking the dynamics in a good way, with more laid-back, power metal passages ("The Path Less Travelled"). Be ready to be surprised, though, on "As Dusk Covers Day..." near the end, which will stun you with a sudden blasting death metal break, and the modern leanings towards the Swedish scene. "Weakness In Numbers" preserves the Swedish influences, adding a big doze of melody, a situation worsened, or improved- depending on the taste, on the closing instrumental "Where Silence Hides", which has nothing to do with thrash, and is a romantic pleasant heavy metal instrumental with a good lead guitar work. The guys have spread their wings wide, trying to reach the souls of most of the metal fans: good try, but one can not help, but wonder whether their next offering would contain any pleasant surprises for the thrash metal brotherhood...

Blackened Skies EP, 2005
Eternal Nightfall Full-length, 2008

IN TYRANNOS (GERMANY)

It is not a very common practice among the German thrash metal bands to sing in their native tongue, if we exclude a few solitary attempts made by Sodom in the not so distant past, but with bands like In Tyrannos things may change. Apart from singing in German, these guys offer a really fine slab of classic thrash, which doesn't sound like the thrash we used to associate with this country, but is more along the lines of their American colleagues: Slayer, Vio-lence, Devastation, among others. The tempo is predominantly fast and quite intense, but without any proto-death elements; the only time when the guys take a break from the aggression, is on "Logenrituale": a dark slow, doomy thrasher. This is pure unadulterated thrash the way it used to be played during the genre's heydays. The guitars are very sharp, with a slight technical edge here and there. Although the German metal scene has been filled constantly with retro thrash acts in recent years, this band have all the chances to become one of the more prominent acts from there.

Die Maske Fallt Full-length, 2007

IN-QUEST (BELGIUM)

A long-running stalwart on the modern thrash/death metal scene in Belgium, this act combines the more dynamic approach of darkane with the more abstract mechanical style of mid-period Meshuggah by also adding a couple of more extreme early Fear Factory-like moments. So you can imagine that this is not the easiest to swallow music out there, but the constantly changing tempos will keep you on the alert along with the several spacey lead-driven passages ("Compelled Misogyny", "Evasive Crosscurrents" and elsewhere) which are a nice touch and should be used more in the future. There are a few clumsy moments where the sound gets groovy and stuck, but one may find them only adding nicely to the album's already wide appeal.

Extrusion : Battlehymns Full-length, 1997
Operation : Citadel Full-length, 1999
Destination : Pyroclasm EP, 2003
Epileptic Full-length, 2004
The Comatose Quandaries Full-length, 2005
Made Out Of Negative Matter Full-length, 2009

INALLSENSES (ITALY)

Although listed as a technical death metal band here and there, this band are mostly modern thrash metal with slight technical tendencies (the vocals belong to the death metal camp). The title track in the beginning thrashes with force, but later on the band adopt a more restrained approach, with the slower, laid-back "Thrash No More" (indeed, they thrash no more on this one), and the groovy "Lady Nature". "Inviolated" is a nice melodic, but also edgy piece, with great leads, recalling the power/speed metal scene. The energy remains for the songs which follow, as well as the fine lead guitar work, which easily overshadows the rest (check out "Heaven of Praises" and "I Will Kill You"). "Bad Society" is a raging thrasher with a classic edge, and the closing "Light In The Dark" is a magnificent 2-min acoustic instrumental, one of the best of its kind.

The Experience Full-length, 2008

INANE EMINENCE (AUSTRALIA)

Modern melodic thrash with a slight death metal edge, quite close to the French Lyzanxia and Swedish acts like Corporation 187, Carnal Forge, etc; fast-paced music with melodic guitar lines and shouty, throaty vocals.

The Fading Light In Your Eyes EP, 2004

INCARNATE (HOLLAND)

This is a 5-track demo of aggressive fast-paced thrashy hardcore along the lines of Sick of It All and Beyond Possession.

A Dark Age Of Lies Demo, 2004

INCINERATOR (ITALY)

Based on the "Live Into the Crematorium" demo, this is probably the first band in Italy who picked on the proto-death sound of bands like Possessed, Sarcofago, Messiah, and the likes. Their music is fast and aggressive, with the only disappointment being the awkward power/heavy metal number "Crematorium", occupying the middle. And of course, the bad throaty vocals, which sound like a poor version of Anihilated's Simon Cobb.
"Uh!?!" carries on in the same vein, but the music is even faster and more intense, consisting of short, brutal outbursts, plus another cheesy number, this time placed at the end: "Uh!?!" ("Uh!", indeed).

Live Into the Crematorium Demo, 1986
Mass Genocide Demo, 1987
Uh!?! Full-length, 1989

INCINERATOR (SWEDEN)

A good job: classic German thrash in the Destruction, Kreator and the first Exumer album spirit; this is really a thrash attack- short, but memorable: 5 tracks of fast, aggressive thrash with good, sharp riffs and nice vocals in the Mem Von Stein (Exumer) vein.

Thrash Attack EP, 2000

INCITE (USA)

A 3-track EP of intense groovy thrash, which offers more dynamic moments ("Army Of Darkness"), as well as melodic guitar hooks ala the Gothenborg school ("Die With What You've Done"). The singer Richie Cavalera is... yes, you guessed right: the son of Max Cavalera.
The full-length is faster and more interesting, now focusing on the Gothenbug influences with heavy crushing guitars. Even the groove-laden sections deliver with their energetic angry tone. The heaviness and anger are nicely "relieved" on a couple of tracks with melodic guitar lines, although the more aggressive moments ("Down and Out", the explosive opener "The Slaughter") will be a paradise for the headbangers.

Divided We Fail EP, 2009
The Slaughter Full-length, 2009

INCITER (CROATIA)

Good old school thrash which brings to mind quite a few heroes from the 80's on the best moments: Metallica, Testament, Xentrix, etc. The singer tries to emulate James Hetfield, and succeeds at times, but the decision to spice those main vocals with clean alternative and gruff death metal ones, is awkward and could be avoided for the future. The pace is mid to up-tempo, but with the appearance of those clean alternative vocals, the music seems to lose its edge. There are touches of modern thrash, as well as more technical sections on the longer songs ("Defray", "Lifeless (Agony)"). "Organic" is very good heavy, mid-paced instrumental thrash.

Burned Out Cells Full-length, 2006

INCREDIBLE PAIN (GERMANY)

Heavy, mid-paced death/thrash is what these guys offer on their full-length; good stuff, with sharp, smashing riffs. The overall style might remind you of the first two Six Feet Under albums; the singer also tries to death-scream the way Chris Barnes himself used to.

Screaming In Agony Full-length, 2004

INCRIMINATED (FINLAND)

Good black/thrash metal of the old school, bass-dominated and mostly mid-paced although sometimes the music slows down considerably, moving into the fields of doom; for fans of Celtic Frost, Barathrum and Warhammer. The 4-song "Death Nöize" EP is in the same vein, maybe a bit more lively, until it reaches the final opus: "Victory Through Brutality", which is vintage slow doom ala Sleep and early Saint Vitus.

Illusion of Love EP, 2001
Miracle Of Purity Full-length, 2002
Ride of the Tyrants Full-length, 2003
Hypocricide EP, 2004
Kings Of Misery Full-length, 2004
The Promise of Worse to Come Full-length, 2005
Death Nöize EP, 2009

INCUBATOR (GERMANY)

Based on "LieBisslieder", these guys pull out a cool blend of thrash and death metal of the classic type. The music is fast-paced, and the album is full of short energetic thrashers ("Frei", "-S-"), but the softer, more laid-back side of the mixture is not forgotten, either: the romantic, gothic-tinged "Stapellauf", where one can hear fine female angelic vocals as well. "F**k Mich" is a more aggressive nod to the Rammstein sound, and is the drawback here. "Der Weg" returns to the more intense thrashing, and "Danke" continues even into a more aggressive, death metal territory. "Instrumentalstück" (the title says it all) is a fine instrumental, which combines aggressive death metal with cool melodic leads. "Schön" closes the album in a headbanging thrashy fashion, stirring a fair amount of interest in tracking the rest of the band's catalogue.
The band's previous output is quite a treat, with a wide gamut of styles presented. The debut is a full-fledged classic death metal affair close to the Floridian school, mostly in up-tempo akin to the early Death efforts. "McGillroy The Housefly" could still be labelled as death metal, although there are doom and gothic additions to be heard, as well as other eclectic moments recalling even early Misanthrope; the pace goes down seldom jumping over the mid. "Hirnnektar" finally offers something for the thrash lovers, but the approach is strictly modern compared to the previous two albums, and the guys pile a modern jumpy riff over a modern jumpy riff, the resulting pile not very ably assisted by a load of funky/industrial "decorations" which at least manage to preserve the eclectism of the predecessor, with a pinch of mid-period Meshuggah on the most inspired sections. "MCMETALXCVIII" is a somewhat unexpected turn to doom/death, quite well done by the way, with a nice inclusion of deep clean vocals, with all previous influences almost completely gone. "Divine Comedy" even leaves the "death metal" tag, seeing the band concentrating on doom almost exclusively, with the aforementioned clean vocals now playing a major role, to produce another cool slab of slow atmospheric music. All works are worth hearing actually, although the 1992 and 1993 ones may be a bit hard to swallow with their quirky decisions and unusual arrangements, but still for the thrash metal fan "LieBisslieder" will be the album to please him/her most.

Symphonies Of Spiritual Cannibalism Full-length, 1991
McGillroy The Housefly Full-length, 1992
Hirnnektar Full-length, 1993
MCMETALXCVIII Full-length, 1998
Divine Comedy Full-length, 2001
LieBisslieder Full-length, 2008

INCUBUS (AUSTRALIA)

A 4-song demo of cool energetic Germanic thrash along the lines of early Destruction; the vocals are sinister black metal rasps, but fit the music quite well.

Sinful Dreams Demo, 1987

INCUBUS (USA)

The first band to ever mix thrash and death metal on an official release; "Serpent Temptation" is furious, very fast thrash/death which took the genre into its next stage. The music is still more thrash than death metal, but some sections are so intense that many future death metal bands would find hard to match: the brutal explosive "Blasphemous Prophets", the lightning speed killer "Incubus", etc. Perhaps the more conventional, but still aggressive thrashers seem to work better: the Slayer-esque "Sadistic Sinner", the stomping, semi-technical "Ungerground Killers", simply because the intensity of the rest might come as too much for the thrash fan at this early stage of the most extreme genres' development.
"Beyond The Unknown" is almost a full-blooded death metal recording, with a nice technical edge, but still furious and brutal, bringing it close to their compatriots Nocturnus and the early efforts of the Swedes Therion.

Serpent Temptation Full-length, 1988
Beyond the Unknown Full-length, 1990

Vibrations of Doom

INCURSION DEMENTA (HOLLAND)

This band, who are named after a Nasty Savage song from "Indulgence", play good aggressive old school thrash, coming as a big slap to the modern tendencies in the middle of the 90's. The sound is quite close to the Sepultura heydays ("Arise", in particular), and some modern elements are inevitably present, but never to an annnoying extent. "Self Conceit" is a brutal, Slayer-esque ball of fury, and the following "Some Overdo It" is not too far behind, with more choppy breaks. "The...End" is a surprising, but very cool heavy ballad, with the singer being the highlight, adjusting his hoarse delivery to better suit the more mellow nature of the music. The attack continues after this one, producing another couple of headbanging delights, finished with the lengthy, but fairly satisfying "Cut This Live Off From Me", which begins as a ballad, and is not anything technical, although it mixes fast and slower parts quite well, including some interesting funky passages.

All This Is... Full-length, 1993

INDESTROY (USA)

Another notable speed/thrash metal band, largely forgotten by many fans; on the debut the band play fast and energetic speed/thrash, but the bad production ruins a lot. With that obstacle put aside on "Senseless Theories", the band unleash full out speed/thrash attack which only flaw is that it's very short (six tracks only). "Instant Insanity" opens with furious speedy riffs, reaching almost a death metal intensity on the fastest sections. "Living In Filth" is more controlled, but is served with nice clever, almost technical guitar work. "Sam The Butcher" is a heavy, sinister short instrumental, followed by the slower, pounding "Senseless Theories" which, just before it gets too boring, introduces a smashing ultra-fast thrashy ending. "Terminal Choice" is another aggressive speed/thrasher, with some jumpy frantic sections thrown in. "Tortured By Fire" ends this EP with heavy, technical riffs, reducing the all-out speed a bit. With this strong effort, having come at the very right time, the band could have joined the front row of thrash if they had lasted longer.

Indestroy Full-length, 1987
Senseless Theories EP, 1989

Vibrations of Doom

INDICA (USA)

A smart band who quickly felt where the wind was blowing; their music is a good blend of modern and classic thrash. The EP: the music stays more on the classic side, boasting good meaty riffs with slight progressive overtones. "Pavement" is a classic headbanger, with nice tight sharp guitar work. "Repressed" is slower, but the rhythm section is heavy and pounding, and some cool technical riffs come up. "Green" carries on in the same vein, sounding like a more aggressive version of some tracks from the The Metallica Black Album. "Ego" is a first-class technical thrasher, bringing to mind Metallica again, but their best, late 80's period, goind even beyond that, with the inclusion of some wonderfully abstract, but quite intense moments. "Burning Sphere" stays closer to the 90's trends, but is a great atmospheric, slightly industrialized thrasher ala Coroner's "Grin". This was a promising beginning, but the band called it quits soon after, apparently not willing to join the modern thrash wagon on a full-time basis.

Indica Demo, 1992
Pavement EP, 1993

INDUNGEON (SWEDEN)

The band's debut is cool thrash blending the classic and the modern style, with a few touches of melodic death metal. The guys never speed up too much, and their music has this smashing, steam roller-like quality, very typical for the Brits Cerebral Fix; here one can hear some melodic, Gothenburg-influenced guitars, and these Swedes have a bigger sense of melody: check out the brilliant "522 666", or the very catchy "Cybergenetic Supermind": there's no way you won't recognize these songs once you've heard them. Seldom does the sound reach doom/stoner dimensions: "Desolation Creation", which nicely speeds up near the end, with great headbanging riffs. In the second half the melody comes maybe too much, on tracks like "In The Ashes Of Civilixations"; even the most aggressive number ("Charging Against You") is graced by some nice melodic, and even technical hooks, which is hardly a complaint, since the band are really expert at infusing the compositions with a lot of melody, giving them a cool distinctive edge.
Unfortunately, melodic death metal has taken a much larger space on the sophomore release, making it sound like many other contemporary thrash/death metal acts around; too bad because these guys were definitely going somewhere with their first effort.

Machinegunnery Of Doom Full-length, 1997
The Misanthropocalypse Full-length, 1998

INDYUS (AUSTRIA)

This is old school thrash/death metal with the early Swedish school an obvious influence. This is good professional music, but stays much closer to death metal also featuring a couple of nice melodic rhythms ala Bolt Thrower ("Future Is Over"). "The Necrosis (of Human Kind)" is a nice attempt at atmospheric doom/death, and the closer "Zeitgeist" finishes the album with a magnificent melodic doom-based passage ala My Dying Bride and Anathema which one may end up listening over and over; addictive. The singer is a very low growler not miles away from Karl Willets (Bolt Thrower).

Ashes of Dystopia Full-length, 2009

INERTIA (ITALY)

There is a rekindled interest in Slayer in Italy; Inertia are one of the proofs for that. The sound is clearly Slayer-influenced with some very annoying synthesized vocals which ruin much of the good impression made by the music. The last song from the demo is a cover version of Slayer's "Angel Of Death", and I will give anyone 1000 bucks if he would be able to recognize it...
The EP would be a big diappointment to those who liked the demo: it features bland boring post-thrash, with a very slight "excuse" brought on the last "Virtually Enslaved", which is furious thrash/crossover. The guys also operate under the name MG66 where they entertain themselves playing unpretentious jolly thrash'n roll similar to the style of the Tom Angelripper side projects and Motorhead.

Fly Into Darkness Demo, 2000
Dead End Railway EP, 2006

INERZIA (SPAIN)

These Spaniards play thrash/crossover spiced with more modern-sounding elements. The music recalls early Pro-Pain, but "Asesinos" is a major retro headbanger, although right after it the guys lose it with bland playful hard'n heavy rhythms on the remaining material. Some fo the musicians involved here play harder stuff with the death/thrash metal formation Total Death.

Cuervos Full-length, 2003

INEVITABLE END (SWEDEN)

This band prefer to tread the well-trodden path of Swedish thrash/death metal along the lines of Carnal Forge and The Crown. Sometimes these guys add atmospheric black metal touches, probably with the intention to sound less generic.

Inevitable End Demo, 2004
Reversal Demo, 2005

INEXACTA (CHILE)

Groovy modern post-thrash with robotic cold riffs and forceful semi-death metal vocals; this is jumpy mid-paced at best stuff with a few stretches towards alternative. More direct thrashy guitars can be heard on "Breathing Deception", which is a cool mid-tempo sleeper with nice leads and a cool balladic section (later on there is one cool melodic balladic instrumental: "Assuming the End"). "Lie to my Face" even speeds up right after, albeit in an abrasive hardcore fashion.

Previous Trick Us Full-length, 2006

INFAMIA (ITALY)

Modern power/speed metal meets melodic thrash. Some of you out there might argue about the inclusion of this band here, but quite a few of the tracks carry the thrashy edge quite a bit. There is some cheesiness typical for the scene, but this is not as bad as it may sound.

Infamia Full-length, 1994

INFAMOUS SINPHONY (USA)

Based on the debut album, this is aggressive thrash mixed with hardcore, sounding like a mix of Dark Angel's "Darkness Descends" and Wehrmacht's "Shark Attack". The vocals do a good job to ruin a lot, being awful hysterical hardcore shouts.

Manipulation Full-length, 1989
Wild Rags Limited Edition Split, 1990
Beef Kurtin Full-length, 1994

INFANTRY (USA)

Based on the "Desecrate the Church" demo, these guys have a bright future before them: 4 tracks of unadulterated classic black/thrash, staying close to the German school. "Imprisoned By Fire" is a cool speedy opener, but later on the band varies things by offering something in the Slayer-vein as well ("The Betrayal"). "Malicious Thrill To Kill" is vintage early Destruction, whereas "Desecrate The Church" goes up the aggressive ladder once again, slightly "winking" at the Bay-Area. The "black" tag to this promising demo is mostly due to the unholy sinister vocals; the music is pure retro speed/thrash.
The "Resurrect" demo is close to the subsequent one, being cool speed/thrash of the classic type. The German school seems to have the bigger influence on this one, proved in the form of speedy explosions like "Brutal Torment" and "Unholy Blasphemy".

Ressurect Demo, 2007
Desecrate the Church Demo, 2008
Thrash Clash Volume 4 Split, 2008

INFANTRY OF DOOM (GERMANY)

Aggressive thrash/death metal with an old school sound; this is a standard, but brutal approach to the genre, and could be better if the guys leave the thrashy riffs to develop fully for the future without unnecessarily interrupting them with fierce blast-beats.

The Saw Is Family Demo, 2001

INFEARIOR (GERMANY)

Excellent power/thrash metal with shades of doom; Eidolon and Morgana Lefay come to mind, especially in the guitar department, and Hexenhaus ("Dejavoodoo", in particular). This is mostly mid-paced music with heavy riffs, and frequently melodic guitar lines, with a touch of Mike Wead- the very good leads. Nice Oriental sections come up here and there- check out the cool, energetic "When Symbols Fell". The obligatory ballad is here as well: "Still Your Eyes Break the Silence". The lead guitarist shows his skills on the short, 2-min instrumental "Phobos", which is followed by the doomy, 9-min opus "The Cage Within", which would even suit the works of Candlemass and Memento Mori. "Last Generation" is another melodic deviation, "courting" the American power metal scene of the 80's, with a good galloping rhythm.

Two Faced World Full-length, 2004

INFECT (USA)

Based on the first demo, these guys offer aggressive thrash metal, which strangely reminds me of Bathory (R.I.P.)'s "Requiem", with the hollow guitar sound and the simplistic riffs. The music acquires some slight death metal tendencies at times, but most of the time it is straight thrash bashing, simple and intense, with short, 2-2.5min long tracks.

Demo Demo, 1988
Face the Infection Demo, 1991

INFECTED (BRAZIL)

Members of various thrash metal acts from Brazil and overseas (Farscape, Guillotine, Toxic Holocaust, Blasthrash) have gotten together for the recording of another retro thrash album. Traditionally they have done a good job, although from the above cited bands it's only Farscape who can be considered a soundalike. The music is fast and intense, having shades from both the German and Bay-Area school. The singer is probably the downpoint, having a hoarse hardcore tember. This effort actually beats the works of the already mentioned bands, providing a non-stop downpour of speedy lashing riffs seldom spiced by more laid-back speed metal moments ("The Damned Land"). On the other hand, pieces like "Possessed" and "Violent Reaction" smash no worse than the best tracks from Vio-Lence's "Eternal Nightmare". "Thrash Attack" and "Death For Us All" are exemplary "thrash attacks" with rolling Destruction riffs, closing this album in flying colours, and it would be worth it to hear something more from them in the near future, in case of the guys find time to record again while having a break from their busy schedules with the other bands.

Who is Not? Full-length, 2009

INFECTED (SWITZERLAND)

An interesting band playing dark aggressive thrash, sounding like a better produced and more technical version of early Messiah, with touches of Celtic Frost, and death-vocals ala Protector. Moments of early Coroner are also present, so as a result we have an album which brings all the great Swiss acts together, although put together this concoction is less impressive than the separate acts on whom the music is based. The tempo varies from more intense songs (the excellent opener "Media Control", which also contains a very cool doomy middle section) to stomping, heavy ones ("Headless"). "Backstabbing Small Talk" combines both the most aggressive and most technical riffs, recalling again Protector, but their later 90's period.

Dark Century Full-length, 1989

INFECTED VOICE (POLAND)

This act may have taken their name from the Sepultura song from "Arise", but the music on offer here is more in the Slaughter's "Not Dead Yet" camp, being minimalistic retro thrash with heavy passages akin to early Celtic Frost thrown in. There is no much speed to be heard, and although the Celtic Frost moments are well handled, this album may get boring at some stage because of its slightly monotonous repetitive nature.

Memento Mori Full-Length, 1993

INFENSUS (NORWAY)

Based on the "A Lecture In Sin" demo, this band pull out quite good black/thrash, jumping from slow, funeral passages ala Barathrum to very fast ones, which range from Impaled Nazarene-esque outbursts to more controlled 80's thrash. To these ears the former seem to work better, consisting of heavy dense dark riffage, which simply crushes: "Demigods", the best song here, devoid of any speedy distractions, smelling even more recent and more thrashy Satyricon.

A Lecture In Sin Demo, 2005
Damnation Rewind Demo, 2005

INFERI (USA)

Based on "The End of an Era", these guys offer quite fast and furious mixture of thrash and death metal of the modern type, with early Dark Tranquillity being the closest reference point. The guitar work is quite good, relying more on melody, rather than sharpness, but the constant speedy tempo would satisfy most. More emphasis has been placed on death metal, including in the vocal department, where we have a constant duel between the higher-pitched rasps and the more brutal low-tuned growls. The highlight is the excellent 9-min instrumental, which sums up everything this album is about: well played high-speed melodic death/thrash with proficient, near Shrapnel-like guitar peformance.

Divinity in War Full-length, 2007
The End of an Era Full-length, 2009

INFERNAL (BRAZIL)

Based on the debut, Infernal play old school thrash/death metal with no influences from the 90's metal scene. The music is obviously influenced by the Floridian death metal bands, Morbid Angel's "Altars Of Madness" in particular. The tempo varies from very fast, brutal parts to some slower, crushing sections; nothing extraordinary, but well done.

Drowning In The Chalice of Sin Full-length, 1993
Ritual Humiliation Full-length, 2001
Anthological Humiliation Full-length, 2002

INFERNAL COMMAND (PARAGUAY)

Good old school black/thrash with some death metal elements, not too far from Destroyer 666; their first demo has a cool cover of Bywar's "Thrasher's Return".

Time of Thrash Demo, 2003
Demo I Demo, 2005

INFERNÄL DEATH (GERMANY)

Based on the "The First Attakk" demo, this band plays aggressive early Germanic thrash ala Kreator and Destruction, also recalling Slayer's late 80's period on the heavy slower moments. Near the end things get out of control a bit, with "Cries From The Crypt" hyper-blasting for a while, and with "...For Baphomet", which is total extreme black metal madness.

The First Attakk Demo, 2007
Deathcult - The Final Inquisition Demo, 2008

INFERNAL DEATH (USA)

Based on the "Incantations of the Gates" demo, this band pull out a vicious blend of thrash and death metal. The music has shades of Celtic Frost and Possessed, but is not as good, partly because of the awful sound quality, partly because of the bad throaty vocals which ruin things quite a bit. The guys are better keeping the speed up where the Possessed influence is clear, and one could catch some cool riffs then.

Incantations of the Gates Demo, 1989
Bringer of Evil Demo, 1992
Drunk & Jammin' 1995 Demo, 1995

INFERNAL LEGION (BELGIUM)

The full-length shows a band ready to do damage in the aggressive black/thrash metal department, although the high speed is at times interrupted by nice epic numbers ("Dead In My Own Reality") akin to Destroyer 666, or by majestic doom/black opuses ("Under Influence of Sickness") which may even make the highlight on Burzum's "Filosofem". Watch out also for the melodic speedster "Melancholy Reigns" with an early Children of Bodom-flavour.

Die and Become... A Forgotten World EP, 1999
Sculptured Humans Full-length, 2001
Annihilate EP, 2004

INFERNÄL MÄJESTY (CANADA)

A legendary Canadian thrash metal band; the debut is a landmark work with its dark, ominous sound, complex song-structures and great technical, but at the same time aggressive riffs. The band surprisingly preferred to keep a low profile for more than ten years sporadically releasing demos until they finally entered the studio in 1998. "Unholier Than Thou " is another marvellous job showing how badly these guys were missing from the scene. Their style has been slightly adapted to the modern tendencies, but the trade mark riffs were intact, and with some even more technical guitar work ala later period Death, the final result was nothing short of outstanding. Another long pause followed till the third album which saw the band introducing a certain doze of death metal for the sake of the technical elements; this is the band's weakest effort bringing them closer to the modern death metal scene.
"Demon God" features 5 songs of exquisite technical thrash/death metal which retains some of the aggression of the last full-length, but is a major improvement, with much better guitar work (brilliant leads), and is a fabulous return to the more complex sound of the previous two albums, suggesting at something great this way to come soon (hopefully). "Burnt Beyond Recognition" is a great combination of technical guitars and aggressive, fast tempos. "Systematical Extermination" is a fabulous technical thrasher; "Crusade" thrashes more intensely with a death metal flavour. "Nation of Assassins" is a glorious headbanger with a mighty technical Oriental twist and superb leads. "S.O.S." from the debut is remade in a very brutal, violent way, with Corpsegrinder (Cannibal Corpse) guesting on vocals. The other remake is of the immortal explosion "Skeletons in the Closet", from the debut again, but this time Chris Valagao from Zimmers Hole takes over the mike.

None Shall Defy Full-length, 1987
Unholier Than Thou Full-length, 1998
One Who Points to Death Full-length, 2004
Demon God Demo, 2007

INFERNAL SLAUGHTER (CHILE)

Based on the 1st demo, these Chileans, who share musicians with the death metallers Demonic Rage, play classic Germanic thrash metal with a few more extreme throw-ins akin to early Massacra ( the furious "Deny The False God", the death/thrashing madness at the end "Thrash Metal Maniac From Hell"). The music is fast recalling Kreator's "Pleasure to Kill" with hard riffs spiced with the odd more melodic hook. The gruff vocals strictly belong to the death metal genre, though.

Demo 1 Demo, 2003
Rehearsalcoholic 2004 Demo, 2004

INFERNAL STRONGHOLD (USA)

Based on "Excommunicated": black, thrash, grind and punk put together to produce brutal vicious music quite close to early Impaled Nazarene; there are more quiet atmospheric black metal sections, and it's good that they are around, otherwise one may not be able to stand through this merciless bashing. The short punkcore piece "Destruction" is also a relief, and partially the stomping beginning of the early Celtic Frost-like "World Extinction: Gay Hysteria". The closing "Thrashed Empire" tries to justify its title serving raw early simplistic black/thrash, not far from the first Sodom efforts.

200666 EP, 2006
Excommunicated Full-length, 2007
Godless Noise Full-length, 2009

INFERNIA (MEXICO)

Cool retro speed/thrash metal which will bring you back in time to the 80's American scene, and the early efforts of acts like Blessed Death, Destructor and Hallows Eve. So don't expect anything too aggressive, and be prepared even for some happy moments from the 90's power/speed metal scene ("Desquiciado", "Bruja Blanca"), assisted by nice melodic leads. Exits from thrash like this one are not that many, though, and are compensated by quite brutal tracks, the way Hallows Eve used to throw them in their early works from time to time ("Antesala Del Infierno"). The singer shouts like a typical hardcore performer, and could be a serious detraction to some. Be careful not to miss the Black Sabbath cover of "Symptom of the Universe", sung in Spanish, quite faithfully done.

La Antesala del Infierno Full-length, 2006

INFERNO (HOLLAND)

While Asgard and Mysto Dysto were trying to lay the foundations of speed/thrash metal in Holland, another band went straight for the throat. Inferno must have caused an earthquake with this merciless, brutal piece of thrash back in the mid-80's. This demo, along with Kreator's "Pleasure To Kill", tried to show to the other side of the Atlantic that Europe could also produce its extreme music as opposed to Slayer and Dark Angel that same year. Listen to it at your own risk...

Terrorstrike Demo, 1986

INFERNO (USA)

Interesting progressive power/thrash, which shares some of the avantgarde dreamy qualities of the Germans Lost Century, but is seldom fast. "Psychic Distance" (part 1) is a complex intense opener, which meanders between elaborate and direct headbanging passages. "Sacrosanct Delusions" follows the same path, but the pace is not as energetic, and the guitar lines are more melodic with balladic stretches. Those balladic stretches increase for "Cloaks", which is a cool progressive composition ala Queensryche. "Public Eye" is edgier and a bit jumpier, but is clearly on the more melodic side of progressive. "A.C.R.E." finally speeds up, but the melody predominates again. "Infinite Regress" shines the brightest with choppy technical riffs and swirling leads recalling Helstar's "Nosferatu", also with its main galloping rhythm. "Malice Domestic" is the opus, more than 9-min long, mixing progressive slower, almost doomy at times, moments with hard-hitting up-tempo ones, but there is more to be heard, like a breathtaking acoustic section and a couple of twisted technical, almost Coroner-like, riffs. "Psychic Distance" (part 2) is, certainly, the closer: more ballad-inclined and slower than part 1, recalling mid-period Fates Warning and early Psychotic Waltz. Works like this one were quite a rarity in the USA in the mid-90's throwing a fine bridge over the Atlantic, bringing together the American progressive movement and the German progressive/technical thrash wave which was at its peak at that time. The singer has a good mid-levelled clean tember, but never tries anything adventurous, like the casual higher shout for example, from which the music could have benefitted.

Psychic Distance Full-Length, 1994

INFERNO NUCLEAR (BRAZIL)

Healthy enjoyable old school speed/thrash, sometimes "courting" Metallica's "Kill'Em All" ("Anarquia"), sometimes the early German school ("Vitimas", which is a knock-out smashing thrasher), but some heavy rock metal aesthetics ala Motorhead, or Accept and Scorpions ("Soldados Do Mal") is also present to a good effect.

Demo Demo, 2008

INFERNOISE (SPAIN)

Groovy thrash ala Pantera, emulating their American peers quite a lot, including in the vocal department; there is a certain southern doom spirit ala Down involved, but not enough to stifle the hard, groovy guitar sound. The second track "All My Rage" is quite an intense one, with hard-hitting riffs.

Hellrider Single, 2006

INFERNÖ (NORWAY)

Old school thrash bringing us back to the days of the Destruction debut mini-album and Sacrifice's first two releases; simple and raw, but fun. The music on the debut delivers the goods, with direct up-tempo headbangers, occasionally acquiring more mellow tendencies, not too far from early Exciter ("Tormentor", "Storming Metal"), with catchy riffs and rhythms which could be considered the better side by some. "Infernal Invasion" is a total nod to the Destruction masterpiece "Bestial Invasion", but the guitar prowess of the Norwegians still has room for growth, and that song is not as striking. The singer is not the best asset of the band, delivering his mean-ish, semi-hoarse vocals one-dimensionally, and some unholy screaming from time to time could have been a nice touch.
The second album is a bit faster, and with a better sound quality; it totally worships early Destruction all the way, although again something little seems missing in the guitar department. The guitars sound sharper and louder, but the playful attitude, which graced just a couple of tracks from the debut, here has increased, which is not a complaint at all, since it makes this work more memorable in the long run. Some really cool exercises in speed/thrash can one hear: "Straight From Hell", "Bulldozer"; some awesome intense heads-down thrashers as well: "Utter Hell", "Rot in Hell" (the guys like this word "hell", hey! After all, they are Infernö!). Despite the samey nature of all the tracks, it is pleasant to hear music so passionately dedicated to the classic 80's sound.

Utter Hell Full-length, 1996
Downtown Hades Full-length, 1997

INFEST (FRANCE)

Based on the "Disemboweled" demo, this is 4 songs of quite brutal thrash/death, which comes well more aggressive than the sound of the "holy three" of French thrash/death (Massacra, Agressor, Loudblast). This is actually pure death metal most of the time, with the thrash breaks more prevalent on the closing "Hidden". The rest: relentless all-out controlled bashing, not for the faint-hearted. If the music doesn't destroy you, then the damage will be done by the very brutal low-tuned growls, which will surely bring you nightmares.

Disemboweled Demo, 1992
On Stake and Consume Demo, 1992

INFEST (SERBIA)

Based on the debut, this band offers aggressive classic thrash/death, quite close to the Merciless debut and Morbid Saint. So expect fast furious riffs which don't change much throughout the album, if we exclude the sparce slower breaks ala Sepultura's "Arise". The title of one of the songs "Maximum Violence" sums up best what one will find here. "Inquisition" would be a surprise near the end, being a much softer thrash/crossover piece, to which the harsh death-ish vocals do not suit at all.

Anger Will Remain Full-length, 2006
Christ Denial EP, 2008
Onward To Destroy Full-length, 2009

INFIDEL (SINGAPORE)

2 people are responsible for this brutal raw noisy thrash/death/black, and everything in-between. This is constantly fast stuff, with the drums stifling all the other instruments, and the singer doind further damage with his brutal low-tuned shouting. In terms of aggression this scores high, but music-wise it's worth hearing just out of curiosity. The guys have also taken part in the leaders of the Singaporean extreme metal scene Impiety.

Flames of Redemption Demo, 1989

INFLICTION (ITALY)

Gothenburg-influenced, modern thrash/death metal ala Carnal Forge and The Forsaken.

The Faint Smell Of Suicide Full-length, 2002
The Silencer Full-length, 2005

INFRAVISION (GREECE)

After the imposing, and quite promising thrashy-orchestral intro, what follows is modern death/thrash with a progressive and again, orchestral twist. Not bad, but the alternation between hard guitar-driven passages and keyboard-oriented ones, all this on a strong industrialized base, kind of doesn't deliver the whole time. "Psychotic Tormentor" leaves those shortcomings behind, thrashing in a more up-tempo for most of the time, without completely abandoning the keyboard implements. "Damage Per Second" is the other highlight, again more energetic, with cool intriguing technical riffage and good Oriental clean vocals. "Agoraphobic" also makes some attempts at more aggressive thrashing, but watch out for the closer "Descending in Time", which has nothing to do with metal, but is a satisfying piano-driven ballad with good female vocals.

This Epileptic Serenity Full-length, 2008

INGERMANLAND (NORWAY)

Oddleif Stensland founded this band to keep himself busy while Scariot were having a break. Both demos show the style of his later formation Communic fully developed and even better-sounding at times: think a more aggressive and thrashier version of Sanctuary's "Into the Mirror Black" with meaty , heavy riffs and superb technical thrash breaks. There are shades of Communic, of course, and these two demos actually must have been an influence on Scariot's "Strange to Numbers", although the music here is slower, but by no means less interesting. Stensland would have been perfectly set if he had carried on with this project with no need to form other bands.

Surface As Ceiling Demo, 1999
Beyond Equator Demo, 2001

INGRAND (COLOMBIA)

Modern thrash of the heavy mid-paced type; this is crushing stuff with angry aggressive vocals and sharp meaty guitars, which are not "strangers" to some good melodies which are a cool touch despite the contrasting picture they create as opposed to the pounding riffage. Those melodies grace almost every song, also supported by the nice albeit short leads. "Fe" speeds up well in the middle, moving things around in a sure-handed thrash/crossover fashion, influencing a couple of following tracks one of which: "Sin Palabras", offers more complex technical deviations. The closing "Tienes el Control" follows a similar pattern, but the guitars lose their edge there in the 1st half, descending to some balladic passages; the 2nd half offers faster and more appealing music, intense thrash with a touch of the Bay-Area, slightly spoilt by the tender balladic exit.

No Hay Doble Realidad Full-length, 2000

INGRAVED (ITALY)

Based on the Promo, these guys offer 4 songs of modern thrash/death metal sustained in a brisk energetic tempo with sharp riffs and vicious death metal vocals. There a few classic leanings to be caught in the guitar department as well the odd more technical break ("Showtime For My Apocalypse").

From The Eyes Of Pain EP, 2001
Complete Domination EP, 2002
Hatred From Outside Full-length, 2006
Promo Demo, 2008

INHARMONIOUS (MEXICO)

A promising demo of retro thrash with a dark, but also semi-technical edge, consisting of 4 lengthy 5-7min compositions. The band doesn't play too fast, and relies more on atmosphere and mood, adding more speed wherever necessary: "Your Death", the nice porgressive opus "Spit The Death", which nicely varies the tempos the whole time. "Before You Were Born" is the most melodic offering here, sticking to the doom/gothic patterns introduced by Cemetary and Paradise Lost.

Echoes of Rage Demo, 2007

INHUMAINE (AUSTRALIA)

Modern death/thrash, which awkwardly switches from one style to another, making this EP a slightly uneven affair, since very brutal, almost grinding death metal has never co-existed well with groove. "Deterrant" is a better, more coherent thrasher, and "War Under a Southern Sky" is not a bad nod to the Swedish death metal scene.

War Under A Southern Sky EP, 2008

INNER CHAOS (FRANCE)

This band offer an intriguing brand of technically-minded power/thrash with a more modern edge, never fast or aggressive, but with slow-ish to mid-paced guitars, with frequently changing hooks and tunes. "Neopolis" is a cool debut featuring dark, haunting music, crossing Psychotic Waltz with 90's Flotsam & Jetsam and Coroner's "Grin", with some surprisingly effective, slightly faster thrashers ("My Dark Side"). Despite its minimalistic nature, this is really interesting music, calling to mind even Coroner's earlier output ("Conclusion"). Seldom can a band pull out such technical music, without inserting speedy, intense moments: check the slow, but satisfying "Disgrace". "Neopolis 1" is a good instrumental piece, with a somewhat jazzy edge; its continuation ("Neopolis 2") is another fine slab of technical power/thrash, this time with vocals. Mentioning the vocals, I have to add that they are a nice addition to the good music, being melodic, mid-ranged, with a slight alternative edge; a good display of the guy's talents is the cool acoustic closer "New Sun".
"Different Stories" is another strong effort, more dynamic than the debut, and with much more elaborate song-structures. This is sheer progressive stuff, this time bearing resemblances to Zero Hour on quite a few moments. It consists of two parts, separated by a couple of neutral tracks. The first part: "War", which is 5 parts, is a fine slab of progressive power/thrash, although the middle balladic part is kind of underwhelming. The second part: "The Tale Of John Kastner", which is 4 parts, is less satisfying, more complex, with more melodic sections, although the last part tries to capture some lost ground, and almost succeeds, with its sudden switch to intense technical thrash/proto-death, and is both a revelation, and a pullback, making you angry at the guys for not throwing some more aggressive riffage of the kind earlier.

Neopolis Full-length, 2002
Different Stories Full-length, 2005
Instant Replay Full-length, 2007

INNER RAGE (USA)

A melodic, but appealing blend of thrash, power and speed metal recalling Destructor, Malice, early Laaz Rockit, Savage Grace, etc.

Demo Demo, 1987

INNER RESISTANCE (BELARUS)

4 tracks of intense energetic modern thrash; nothing out of the ordinary, but done with competence, and with a pinch of Gothenburg death metal: "Inner Resistance".

Inner Resistance EP, 2009

INNER SANCTUM (UK)

This great underground band is responsible for some of the most elaborate, complex tunes to ever come out of the UK, and with only one EP released, they couldn't get the exposure they more than richly deserved. Their music is labyrinthine progressive thrash, recalling Watchtower (their 2nd album), Deathrow, early Psychotic Waltz, the Americans Realm, the contemporary stars in the style Twisted Into Form, etc. They certainly know how to thrash with full force, as is evident from the more aggressive material ("A Brief Madness"- a great hammering technical thrasher), and would make quite a few heads bang, but one has to be warned against the sudden complex breaks, coming out of nowhere. The singer John Knight has a great clean tember of the higher-pitched variety, and his screams in the higher tones are quite close to those of Eric AK (Flotsam & Jetsam).

Fear Is Life's Blood Demo, 1990
Static Veins Demo, 1991
Sensorium Demo, 1992
Questions EP, 1994
Knowledge at Hand Demo, 1995

INNER SANCTUM (URUGUAY)

An excellent release, coming from not a typical place for metal, but worth checking out: dark, haunting thrash in the best tradition of early Celtic Frost, with gruff vocals, also recalling Tom G. Warrior. These guys move things to the faster sector ("Deathless ProphetX", and especially the aggressive thrashing "Electric Influence"), but the gloomy tone of the music remains. On the other hand "Tears" and the closing "Wasteland" are pure exercises in doom, and are quite impressive as well.

Frozen Souls Full-length, 1994

INNER STRENGTH (USA)

Progressive power/thrash metal somewhat similar to the Canadians Dyoxen and Psychotic Waltz, but more experimental and varied, slower and overall less impressive. The sound is not heavy at all, and combined with the clean melodic vocals might pull back the average thrash metal fan in the beginning. But after a more careful listen one could discover some intriguing technical thrash riffs. Unfortunately, the band have the bad habit to ruin the thrash breaks with some melodic parts and unnecessarily complex guitar work. The bass performance is quite strong, and the guitars have the edge sometimes, but the band's desire to sound closer to progressive, than thrash, stifles this edge quite often, bringing forward numerous balladic sections, as well as several pure ballads. "Sunrise Dreamer" is the only more straight thrashy track, recalling early Megadeth.

Shallow Reflections Full-length, 1994

INNERFEAR (USA)

Good retro thrash comes out of this unknown band who manage to thrash in a sure-handed Bay-Area manner more in speedy more dynamic manner ala early, mid-period Testament. Still, when the guys decide to thrash with speed, they do not fall behind anyone: the brisk "Innerfear", the semi-technical shredder "Explanation Of Life"; the Testament worship with semi-balladic tendencies "Prosperous Land". The speed takes more extreme dimensions on the blitzkrieg "The Luring / Hatred Society", but remains within the confines of thrash. "Soured Ground" is a cool mix of smashing steam-roller and faster riffs, with a nice melodic twist. "Red Snowe Plains" is even better this time a more ballad-inclined piece although to these ears it comes closer to Flotsam & Jetsam's "Escape from Within", rather than the Testament achievements in the genre, with its sudden jumps from the quiet ballad to the heavy thrash shred and vice versa. The closing "Ruthless" richly deserves its title thrashing far and wide in a speedy frantic manner. The singer could be viewed as a pullback with his gruff semi-hardcore delivery, but the music is a pleasant reminder of the Bay-Area's heydays, sounding more Testament than the Testament guys themselves at that time (check out "the Ritual").

Innerfear Full-length, 1992

INNOXIOUS (NORWAY)

Badly produced, but decent attempt at more complex power/thrash metal with some intricate riffs which definitely show a Watchtower influence, only that at that (and only) stage the guys haven't perfected their musical skills yet, and the more intricate passages sound a bit awkward and unfinished. If they had kept things more simple, they would have probably done a better job.

Messenger Single, 1990

INNTRANCE (SPAIN)

The full-length is groovy post-thrash, which packs a punch, providing a couple of faster edgier riffs, including one more intense thrasher ("Secret Alibi"), but those melodic breaks, accompanied by awful semi-clean vocals are hard to bear; the main ones are very angry, semi-death metal. Parts of "Burning My Way" are heavy as hell, too, but the guys don't have the patience (or the strength) to carry on like that till the end.

Religion EP, 2007
The Basis of Trancetherapy Full-length, 2009

INQUESTED (NORWAY)

Another valuable addition to the growing horde of thrash metal acts from Norway; this band are very close to becoming the leaders of the scene there, with their stylish semi-technical take on thrash, with their guitars players doing damage no worse than the one of their colleagues from the Shrapnel catalogue. The guys play with energy, and most of the songs are in up-tempo, with proficient, almost addictive leads and good sharp, technical riffs. Music of the kind cries out for at least one longer progressive opus, and it comes in the form of "Hollow Sleeper": a varied composition, where the guitar performance is top-notch, and the tempo changes will keep you on the alert the whole time. The more immediate direct headbangers are not that many ("Headless", "Human Failure", which is fairly intense, with a touch of death metal), and there's no need to say that their level of technicality is well above average for the genre. "The Underworld" is a surprise, being a slower, modernized number, reminiscent of the early 90's, more experimental Kreator works. The last song "Ghost of Existence" culminates in the finest performance from the guitarists, resulting in a noteworthy technical/progressive thrasher, quite energetic and intense as well, with a sparce use of blast-beats, finishing this album with grace, making a major claim at the "Best Thrash Metal Debut" award for 2008.

The Red Chambers Full-Length, 2008

INQUISIDOR (MEXICO)

Based on the band's debut, this is speed/thrash metal from the Germanic school, but with a very thin, drilling production, and pretty generic.

Inquisidor Full-length, 1989
Sobre tu cadaver Full-length, 1990
La Ultima Oportunidad Full-length, 1996

INQUISITION (COLOMBIA)

From the band's long discography only their debut EP would be of interest to thrash metal fans. It's a pity they hadn't continued in the same vein, as the style here is very good energetic semi-technical thrash with long, 9-min long compositions, which never sound boring even for a single second, where one could hear everything from the thrash textbooks- aggressive sections, nice melodic, but sharp guitars, technical breaks, swirling solos, and let's not forget the vocals which will remind you of Kelly Shaefer from Atheist. Later the guys surrendered to the black metal god(s).

Anxious Death EP, 1990
Incense of Rest EP, 1996
Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult Full-length, 1998
Invoking the Majestic Throne of Satan Full-length, 2002
Unholy Inquisition Rites EP, 2004
Magnificent Glorification of Lucifer Full-length, 2004
Nefarious Dismal Orations Full-length, 2007

INQUISITOR (HOLLAND)

Ex-members from several Dutch death metal acts have gotten together to play... well, the style is a mix of death and thrash metal, clinging towards thrash, despite the frequent use of blast-beats, and is quite close to the first two Sadus albums (including vocal-wise), or Hellwitch, but not as technical. This is very fast and intense stuff, quite well done at that; "Trial of Denial" is probably the only track which slows down to mid-tempo, but its closing seconds are fast as hell, too. The songs are not too short, mostly within the 4-5min range, plus the album closer "Inquisitor", which goes twice over this limit closing on 8.5min, and is a very good example of how such a long track could sound fast and aggressive all the time, without any slower sections (except on a very few occasions). In the mid 90's it was always good to hear something more classically inclined, and this album is one of the better achievements of the period.

Walpurgis-Sabbath of Lust Full-length, 1996

INRAGE (SWEDEN)

One of the better modern thrash metal bands from Sweden, previously known as Lost Souls, but the music here is more aggressive and much better. The line-up includes Magnus Söderman: the guitar player who did a marvellous job on the two Rosicrusian albums in the 90's, alhough here he hardly needs his wizardry since the style is more ordinary and standard. Two of the band members have a side project: the groovy post-thrashers Gust of Anger, which music is a direct continuation on the one heard on the Lost Souls efforts.

Built To Destroy Full-length, 2002

INSAINTIFICATION (BRAZIL)

Intense, aggressive thrash metal in the Slayer-mould, with death metal vocals and some slight death metal tendencies in the musical department on the first demo. The two songs on the single preserve the Slayer sound, but the riffs are more technical and the production is much better.

Reflections about the Inner Conflict Demo, 2002
A Few Days to Die Single, 2005

INSANACIDE (USA)

Before Usurper there was another band earlier in the States who based their music on the great Celtic Frost, so expect heavy, stomping thrash, with some faster parts ("The Chosen") and more melodic, and perhaps more proficient leads than the ones featured on the works of the Swiss.

Demo Demo, 1990

INSANE (BELGIUM)

Standout speed/thrash in the best tradition of the Toxic Shock debut and early Destruction; this is crushing, intense music with mighty riffs and vocals which at times sound quite close to Paul Baloff (R.I.P.). "Drinking" is a kind of an intermission being a jolly 1-min crossover track, and the "Ballad of Jimmy" is a 7-sec joke similar to the S.O.D.'s "The Ballad of Jimi Hebdrix" from "Speak English or Die".

More Beer Demo, 1989

INSANE (CZECH)

Based on "Morning in Red": good dark, gothic-tinged thrash with a funereal atmosphere. Most of the songs are mid-paced, with nice guitar melodies and some interesting semi-technical riffs. There are also a few more intense thrashers ("Morning in Red", "Extremely Progressive Method", "Sentence") as well as shades of groove here and there. "Child of the Moon" is very close to doom/death, and is quite a moody piece.

Morning in red Full-length, 1999
Finite number of exits ?! Full-length, 2007

INSANE (ITALY)

A mix of thrash and American power metal close to SA Slayer, early Overkill, Destructor; touches of Exciter, too; the guys prefer to play fast, which is good, but the songs merge into one another, that's why the album works as a whole, because you might not be able to remember separate pieces from it, even after a few repeated listens.

Wait And Pray Full-length, 2004

INSANIAC (USA)

"Screams from the Asylum" is a more speed metal-based effort similar to Destructor and Exciter, well done, despite the slightly raw sound. "Psychomania" is a fairly good attempt at more complex, technical thrash metal. There are a couple of intriguing riffs as well as quite intense aggressive sections, and some cool lead guitar work. On the shorter tracks the guys give way to their more brutal nature: the smashing "Circle of Death", but it's in the long numbers where the band show their actual musical skills: the more elaborate "Psychomania".

Screams from the Asylum Demo, 1986
Psychomania Demo, 1987

INSANITY (BRAZIL)

Based on "Phobia" (the full-length), this is quite good death/thrash metal, reminding of early Death and Possessed with some nice, stylish solos. The pace is quite fast, with some occasional blast-beats, but with some mid-tempo galloping rhythms as well. The guitar sound is a bit hollow at times, but this is when it suits the gruff, brutal vocals quite well. The approach is kind of samey, "broken" in the second half by a couple of longer, slower songs: the cool galloping "Night of the Living Deads", which is decorated by an aggressive death metal passage near the end; the atmospheric, heavy "Innocent Laughter"; the surprising doom/gothic-like "Sadness".

Cryogenization EP, 1991
Phobia Single, 1993
Phobia Full-length, 1993
Mind Crisis Full-length, 1998

INSANITY (USA)

The "Live Rehearsal" demo is simply hard to believe: it is so insanely (after all the guys are called Insanity) fast (the demo I have could have been recorded on a faster bit-rate on purpose?) that it leaves pretty much everything behind recorded in the next few years in terms of speed and aggression. It definitely has a certain death metal-vibe, but the concentration is clearly on speed; I can't think of another band from the 80's who have come even close to this one; later the death metal bands of the 90's, of course, reached these heights, but seldom surpassed them. "Death After Death" shows a more controlled band, with a bigger focus on technical play rather than speed (although some tracks are still played at lightning speed), and the final result is still quite impressive, but on a different scale: this is technical thrash/death reminiscent of early Massacra, Therion's "Of Darkness", and No Return's "Contamination Rises".

Live Rehearsal Demo Demo, 1985
Demo 1989 Demo, 1989
Insanity Demo, 1994
Death After Death Full-length, 1994
Sacrefixion EP, 2002
Ultimate Death Best of/Compilation, 2004
From the Grave Best of/Compilation, 2005
Demo 1985 Single, 2006

INSANITY ARISE (ITALY)

Common Swedish thrash/death metal, fast paced and competently done, but that's all about it.

Insanity Is Your Deadliest Weapon EP, 2006

INSECTICIDE (USA)

Fast, furious speed/thrash with short tracks, similar to Hirax.

Demo Demo, 1987
Swarm Kill Demo, 1988
Unreleased LP Demo, 1990

INSEMINATOR (POLAND)

Based on the "Into Rotten Coma We Drift" EP, this band play a blend of thrash and death metal, jumping from fast, intense ("Inseminate or Die") to heavy, with a doomy edge ("Rotten Coma") songs. The last track is a very fast, brutal cover of Death's "Evil Dead", which is combined with another, equally as aggressive number: "Beyond the Unholy Grave".

Death Thrash (Inseminate or Die) Demo, 2004
Dark Flame of Holy Inquisition Split, 2005
Into Rotten Coma We Drift EP, 2006
Deaththrash Coma - Rotten Insemination Best of/Compilation, 2006

Original Site/a>

INSICKNIA (ITALY)

Modern thrash/death, which tries to run away from the trite formula with some dry mechanical riffs, more accentuated on the very cool "Lies In, Blood Out".

Ascend to the Sky Demo, 2007

INSIDE (RUSSIA)

Based on the debut, these guys are fonder of death metal of the more direct variety, leaving not much room for the thrash metal idea to develop, which is also hampered by the frequent adherence to atmospheric doom/gothic motives, at time stretching into whole compositions ("At Every Step", "Inside Our Dreams"). Still, when mixed with a certain doze of thrash, this trend bears some good fruit: "In The Dark": a mid-tempo gothic thrash sleeper. Apart from the brutal opener "Miracle of Time", there is hardly a tune which would make you headbang, although one shouldn't have problems getting accustomed to the calm brooding tone of the music.

Rose of Memory Full-length, 1996
Devil Inside Full-length, 1998
Īîëķîųķųåíčå Full-length, 2000
Ōåá˙ Ķæå Íåō Full-length, 2003

Official Site/a>

INSIDE FOUR WALLS (PORTUGAL)

Modern thrash of the more groovy variety, with some industrial overtones, with unpleasant noisy synthesized vocals, and some Swedish influence in the guitar department. The music actually comes close to a more aggressive late-period Sentenced: the clean vocals, which spring up from time to time, are also very similar to those of Ville Laihiala (Sentenced).

Inside Four Walls Full-length, 2007

Original Site/a>

INSIDE ME (SPAIN)

Modern thrash/death, switching from Gothenburg-influenced sections to some cool headbanging thrashing ones. At times the album loses the intensity and speed, but at least half of the songs are graced by sharp guitars to make you stay with this album till the end.

Against Adversity Full-Length, 2008

Official Site/a>

INSLAIN (AUSTRALIA)

Pretty ordinary, and quite unimpressive groovy thrash with all the gimmicks introduced by Machine Head's weak period (the clean vocals, the pop-ish rhythms, etc.). At least the name promised something...

Dark Reality Demo, 2005

Original Site/a>

INSOMNIA (FINLAND)

This band was earlier known as Mengele, and right now is practicing under a slightly modified name: Wengele. All formations provide solid classic thrash with an aggressive, proto-death edge, whenever needed. This 4-song EP is truly a masterpiece of intense old school thrash, starting with the aggressive "Pledge Of Allegiance", before moving onto the more controlled technical "Anti-Sleep Reaction", which in its turn leaves room for another fast-paced killer: "Guys From The Watchtower". The closer "Fareell to Bubbo" is a quiet 1.5-min acoustic instrumental.

Insomnia EP, 1990

INSOMNIA (USA)

Well done sharp semi-technical thrash recalling Wrekking Machine, Mordred's debut and Mandator; after two good mid-paced smashers the guys move up the speed scale with the excellent "Reckless Abandonment" which is brisk speed/thrash at its best also touching the Forbidden debut. Hectic technical thrash is what awaits you on the next "Armageddon Battle Hymn" which twists and turns with nice unobtrusive technical guitars and very good bass work. "Through My Eyes" at the end is another semi-speedy highlight with a great melodic main riff which nicely merges with the lead guitars. The singer is on par with the good music singing in an attached mid-ranged clean tember reminiscent of Joey Belladonna.

Suicide Generation Demo, 1989

INSULT II INJURY (USA)

Your average modern thrash ala Pantera.

Point of This Full-length, 1994

INSULTER (BRAZIL)

Raw, messy, fast and brutal thrash recalling Sarcofago and early Sepultura; it's considerably worse than the efforts of the aforementioned bands from the same time, but the guys were determined to carry on, changing their name to Sextrash where they started producing much better music.

Black Church Demo, 1987

INSULTERS (SPAIN)

This is vicious black/thrash, which doesn't stray from the odd stylish Oriental hook; this is mid to up-tempo music with semi-whispered macabre vocals and one cover of Celtic Frost's "Into The Crypts Of Rays" thrown in at the end. The guys have another formation: Morbid Flesh with which they concentrate on classic death metal.

Skull Krushers Demo, 2008

INSURGENCY (USA)

One of the first speed/thrash/crossover bands, Insurgency play fast and energetically with simplistic, but nice and catchy riffs and a more thrash-oriented sound than many of the thrash/crossover acts who appeared later. Worth mentioning are the vocals which are a nice deviation from the pattern: unique high-toned mean snarls which manage to carry a certain sense of melody. In 1985 such music was nothing short of groundbreaking, but the band never recorded again.

Demo Demo, 1985

INSURRECTION (CANADA)

Modern technical thrash/death, which comes as a more technical version of the French Lyzanxia; the music is mostly mid-paced, alternating direct thrashy passages with complex arrangements, resulting in quite a captivating listen. Some songs are really high achievements in the technical death/thrash metal genre: "Four More Years", the excellent only fast-paced hectic "Blackened Pages", the twisted, Coroner-influenced "Mephisto", the hammering steam-roller "Prologue To Our Demise" at the end.

Prologue Full-length, 2008

INSYNYRY (USA)

Excellent progressive power/thrash sounding like a mix of early Psychotic Waltz and heavier, thrashy Fates Warning; the music is mostly heavy and mid-paced, with interesting tempo changes, and the shorter and more aggressive tracks have a certain Bay Area flavour (think early Testament): "Trial of Insanity", and the longest track on the demo, and arguably the best one: "Holy War", which is a direct take on Metallica's late 80's period with the smashing riffs, the technical, dry sound and the swirling Kirk Hammett-like leads. The songs (some of them) are intercepted by some really nice balladic moments, including one pure short ballad: "Death Note", which suit perfectly the powerful vocals: a great mix between Buddy Lackey (Psychotic Waltz) and John Arch (Fates Warning).

Holy War, The War Within Demo, 1993

INTERCEPTOR (SLOVENIA)

Based on "Fade", Interceptor play a fusion of modern thrash and death metal; style-wise the music is similar to late-period Massacra or the Polish Dragon (their works from around the same time), but the Slovenians' music borrows from other genres as well: there are a few ballads, some more jolly rock-ish passages, some cover versions of other Slovenian bands, and something more.

The Beginning Full-length, 1993
Fade Full-length, 1996
Mora Full-length, 1998

INTERDICTION (GERMANY)

Modern 90's thrash meets death metal; this is good stuff reminiscent of the last two Massacra albums, but Interdiction speed up more frequently, and sometimes venture into industrial territory (the use of synthesized vocals, some Fear Factory-like moments, etc.). "Keep A Way" may pass for their most consistent effort, thrashing in a crushing fashion, speeding up whenever necessary (the energetic "Crying Despair"; the crossover-laced "Fallacious"), without forgetting about their doom "brothers" at the same time ("Sinmaster", and especially the traditional doom delight "Demon To Be", where the gruff death metal vocals are nicely "assisted" by good melodic ones).

Keep A Way Full-length, 2000
Devotion EP, 2003
Utopia For Sale... Full-length, 2003
War Fetish Full-length, 2006

INTERFECTOR (POLAND)

The music on the first demo is excellent 80's Bay-Area thrash metal in the Testament, Exodus-vein. A full-length is badly needed to put the band on the metal scene, because there is great potential here. They have to change the vocals, though: these hysterical, black metal snarls don't fit the music. The second demo is not too far behind, both music and vocal-wise, despite some deviations into more melodic, power/thrash fields ("True Believer"), where those vicious raspy vocals do not suit at all. "Prayshit" pays tribute to the early German speed/thrash metal scene, and "Mass Funeral" is a dark, brooding thrasher in the early Nasty Savage, Hallows Eve vein.

Self Destruction Demo, 2004
Where The Highests Are The Highest EP, 2007

INTERFECTUM (HOLLAND)

Black-ish thrash of the old school with original atmospheric semi-technical guitar work, occasionally blasting and brutal ("Incarnation of Evil", which is not a Mercyful Fate cover), and generally up-tempo and intense. "Nebukadnezar" "kills" the inertia being clumsy doomy black/thrash even with balladic overtones; an atmospheric masterpiece, but kind of out-of-context.

Incarnation of Evil EP, 2009

INTERZONE (CANADA)

This is the continuation of the Canadian thrash legends Sacrifice. The guitar sound is kind of abrasive and a bit dry (a tendency already started on "Apocalypse Inside"), but the opener "Crown of Lies" promises a lot of old school thrashing. The very next song ("The Cage"), however, shows that the band have moved on with its modern groovy, Pantera-sque sound. The style carries on in the modern vein with the old headbanging riffs coming back once more on "Last Breath".

Cydonia EP, 1999

INTOXICATE (SWEDEN)

On "Monomania" the band play raw messy thrash reminding of early Razor and Hallows Eve.

Monomania Demo, 1989
Tango of Nietsche Demo, 1990
Into Hibernation Demo, 1991

INTOXXXICATED (MEXICO)

Speedy energetic retro thrash recalling Tankard's early efforts; this is jolly unpretentious music with a great headbanging potential openly carrying the carefree crossover spirit ("No Mercy (For Blade)" at times, but watch out for pure merciless thrash attacks like "Tonight" and "Cheetos en la Torta". Tankard are certainly honoured with a cool faithful cover version of "Zombie Attack" at the end.

Beware of Metal Full-length, 2009

INTRICATE (GERMANY)

Semi-technical modern thrash with Tommy Victor on vocals; kidding, of course, but the singer is a dead ringer for the Prong frontman. The music is jumpy and mid-paced, spiced with quite a few softer alternative/balladic elements as well as groovy parts, and despite some interesting guitar decisions it doesn't sound too original, with only the last track trying something in the more aggressive department.

Va:l Full-length, 1993

INTRINSIC (USA)

Based on the self-titled debut, this is mostly power/speed metal in the vein of Savage Grace or Griffin, but Intrinsic's music is more edgy, with the obligatory thrashy riffs and a more aggressive attitude. "Distortion Of Perspective" is a mixed affair starting in a very mild soft hard'n heavy manner with the first 2 songs before "Piracy" splashes out in the middle with raw raging riffs. Things get even better on the cool hectic semi-technical power/thrasher "Maximizer", and the closing "Fear And Loathing" is a good reminder of the North American speed metal scene (Exciter, Savage Grace).

Intrinsic Full-length, 1988
Distortion Of Perspective EP, 1990
Closure Full-length, 1996

Vibrations of Doom

INTROSPECTRE (USA)

The 1997 demo is only 2 songs, which show a band trying to adapt to the modern 90's trends, by mixing their heavy still classic-sounding approach, not far from Defiance and mid 90's Testament, wtih a couple of modern groovy moments. This is mid-paced, a bit one-dimensional, music, which reportedly on their only full-length sounded closer to the Bay-Area, and had more punch.

2 Song Promo Demo, 1995
Misplaced Demo, 1995
Buried Inside Full-length, 1996
Demo Demo, 1997

INTRUDER (USA)

This band should be mentioned right beside Megadeth, Testament, Slayer, Metallica, etc. Their style is solid technical speed/thrash metal which is by no means worse than the best achievements of the aforementioned bands. The first two albums are almost identical, mixing fast-paced thrashers with some laid-back power metal-based numbers; the former are the much better side of the band, bringing their sound close to masters like early Angel Dust and Warrant- for fans of the speedy side of thrash, both works are highly recommended; the second one adds some genuine technical touches in the guitar department, as well as a cover version of Sex Pistols' "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone", turned into an awesome speed/thrashing piece here.
"Psycho Savant" tries to break the formula of the first two, by adding heavier guitar work and longer compositions, bringing the sound closer to Heathen's "Victim Of Deception" on the more complex tracks, although the guys try to add an energetic section into almost every song. It's not a very distant departure, though, although the technical implements are more frequent, and the speed has been reduced a bit, but the final result is not bad at all, as the ever changing rhythms and tempos will keep the listener entertained the whole time.

Cover Up / Cold Blooded Killer EP, 1987
Live To Die Full-length, 1987
A Higher Form of Killing Full-length, 1989
Escape from Pain EP, 1990
Psycho Savant Full-length, 1991

INVASION (USA)

Both albums are fast, relentless death/thrash attacks recalling Kreator's "Pleasure To Kill" and the Brazilians Sarcofago. There's no variety, but the sheer intensity of the music is more than enough. "Conquered" is probably the better and more aggressive effort; it more boldly ventures into death metal waters, and the pace is constantly fast, albeit a bit samey, with the exception of "Sound Of The War Drum" which, as the title suggests, concentrates on the drum performance. Near the end the guys step the pedal tighter, and the last two tracks are quite good aggressive thrash/death pieces, with some smashing riffage.

Conquered Full-length, 1999
Berserk Artillery Barrage Full-length, 2002

INVECTION (USA)

The "World Plague" EP: good retro thrash which nicely combines brisk, speedy numbers in the vein of early Destruction ("Drug Justice") with heavy, stomping ones ("FBI"), recalling Slayer's late 80's period. The 2nd EP: the concentration is on the faster side of the previous effort, now moving up the aggression scale towards mid-80's Slayer and the Bay-Area (think Exodus, above all). It's only "Putrescent Resurrection" which serves slower tempos, but ends up sounding quite cool lashing stylish sharp riffs the whole time, plus a cool speedy exit.
"Derealization" offers similar entertainment to the previous two EP's: speedy energetic thrash covering a Bay-Area ground most of the time with sharp guitars and cool semi-shouty vocals. the guys keep themselves busy playing in other projects: the death/thrashers Laceration, and another similar classic thrash metal act Survival.

World Plague EP, 2008
Demented Perception EP, 2009
Derealization EP, 2010

INVID (USA)

It's beyond me how talented acts like this one get lost after just one demo: first-rate technical thrash with an excellent bass bottom, mid-paced to slow ("Journey of the Blind" could be viewed as a ballad, actually, at least the 1st part), with crushing riffs and great leads, recalling Dark Angel's "Time Does Not Heal", and Heathen's "Victims of Deception". There are times when the music very surprisingly speeds up ("Silent Termination"), as though coming out of nowhere, having in mind the heavy nature of the dominating material. You might not be able to headbang too much on this demo, but if you sit down and listen with care, you will come across a real winner.

Demo Demo, 1991

INVIDIA (USA)

Good, somewhat original sound have these guys forged for themselves. This could be described as progressive thrash/death metal which shares some of the technicality and dramatism of bands like Quo Vadis (Canada) and Opeth, but this "idyll" is frequently being interrupted by aggressive thrash riffage, and some more conventional melodic death metal moments ala At the Gates. Apparently the guys try to attract fans from a few sides of the metal sectre, but their technical skills are high enough to place them safely among the more progressively-inclined representatives of the genre, if they show more readiness to use them for the future.

Invidia Demo, 2003
Reflections of the Shattered Glass Demo, 2003
Cornerstone of Chaos EP, 2006

INVINCIBLE FORCE (CHILE)

The Promo offers 2 songs of intense retro speed/thrash ala the early German school (Destruction, above all) with a very fuzzy guitar sound and slightly unsuitable, but forceful, gruff death-ish vocals.

Black Ritual Demo, 2008
Promo Demo, 2009

INVIOLACY (ITALY)

These are the same guys who a few years later released two good albums under the name In.Si.Dia. This early incarnation could be considered the better sounding: there are no traces of modern 90's thrash, this is pure old school attack, both aggressive and technical, with mighty crushing riffs in the Slayer and Vio-lence vein.

No Compromises!!! EP, 1991

INVOCATION WAR (USA)

4 tracks of good old school thrash close to the Germans Nocturnal and early Destruction; the music is generally fast and sharp, with a couple of catchy melodic hooks thrown in and vicious black-ish vocals. "A Passage Through Fire" jumps on the more extreme wagon, with some furious black-ish blasts introduced in the middle.

Demonic Onslaught EP, 2008

INVOCATOR (DENMARK)

Invocator came right on time to replace Artillery on top of the thrash metal realm in Denmark, who had split up that same year. The band's demos of the late 80's have already suggested at the new coming force of Danish metal. The guys don't betray the sound displayed on those demos (and there was no reason to, as the demos are top-notch): aggressive technical thrash with hints of death and very heavy, but also fast guitar work. After such a smashing debut the bands usually think carefully before making the next step, but Invocator were ready with their next offering less than two years later. The aggression has been decreased to a certain extent, and some modern elements have come to replace it, but the result is almost as good as before: one of the better examples of 90's progressive, modern-sounding thrash. With two stellar albums on their account, the third release came as a cold shower to the metal fanbase- pretty average, groovy thrash with very slight shades of the band's previous technical flair ("Dying To Live"... not very likely, it's rather "Dying To Stop Playing Music"... for a while). Consequently, this would be the band's last effort for eight years when they finally dared to show up for one last temptation so far. Their last album is much better than "Dying To Live", but despite some genuine technical touches it is not much different from the modern thrash/death metal trends of recent years.
The 2002 demo is a truly satisfying 4-track slab of technically-minded thrash, still sounding quite intense and classic on "Infatuated I Am" and "There Is No Savior", the latter suggesting at more modern things to come, with a laid-back break and clean vocals. "On My Knees" is slower and modern, with heavy smashing technical riffage, and could well be considered a leftover from "Weave The Apocalypse". "Sand Between The Teeth" mixes the two styles, starting in a pounding modern manner, before turning into an intense faster hammer later on. As a whole this small gem sounds way better than the following full-length.

Excursion Demise Full-length, 1991
Insurrected Despair EP, 1992
Weave The Apocalypse Full-length, 1993
Dying To Live Full-length, 1995
Demo Demo, 2002
Through The Flesh To The Soul Full-length, 2003

INVOKER (FRANCE)

Based on the demo: these guys provide good brisk retro speed/thrash metal ala Rigor Mortis and Torture, with bad gruff death metal vocals. The music is fast, with timid attempts at a more intense proto-death play, and the riffs, albeit simplistic, are sharp and catchy. All the tracks flow in a samey headbanging fashion, the exception being the more light-hearted thrash/crossover number "Night Of The Hellboozer".

Initiate Mind Regression Demo, 2005
Hate Corp. Split, 2006

INZEST (GERMANY)

This is a pleasant surprise: speed/thrash metal from the German underground, featuring Peter Schultz who later joined the more popular Protector. This is good music which manages to combine the speedy, semi-technical rhythms of early Destruction and Exumer with darker, brooding riffs, topped up by more melodic, but slightly rough vocals which could remind you of Jon Van Doorn from Deathwish.

Shot by Shot Demo, 1986
Off Limits Demo, 1987

INZEST (JAPAN)

Aggressive, noisy, punk-ish thrash/crossover with short 1-2 min long tracks, which sounds fairly more aggressive even than Wehrmacht.

Another Religion..... .....Another Violence EP, 1987
Motive of Genocide Demo, 1988

IR 8 (USA)

This band was formed by Jason Newsted during the long hiatus between the Black Album and "Load". In his effort he is helped by the omnipresent Devin Townsend, and the drummer Tom Hunting (Exodus, Angel Witch). Based on the demo, this is stuff which is decidedly more thrashy than the two Metallica albums between which it sits. The music is both classic and modern, and Newsted does a good job on the vocals. It will please fans of thrash metal in general with its heavy, semi-technical riffs, also carrying a part of the late 80's Metallica spirit. Considering what Metallica started doing later, Newsted could have been better off keeping this formation alive, instead of helping his main band fall into metal oblivion.

IR8 Demo, 1994
IR8 vs Sexoturica Split, 2003

IRA DEUM (BULGARIA)

This is a good classic thrash metal band. Their debut crosses the sound of the German speed/thrash movement (Paradox, Exumer, Angel Dust) with the more aggressive sound of mid-period Sepultura (think "Beneath the Remains" and "Arise"). The songs are confident fast-paced bullets, decorated with melodic, technical passages and gruff, Max Cavalera-like vocals. The interlude is in the form of "Total Death": a short technical number, mostly serving as a vehicle for the lead guitarist to show his skills, and the mid-paced heavy "The Last Day / In The History Of Mankind"- remember "Subtraction" from "Arise". The technicality jumps up the scale after that, and hits the top on the speed/thrash killers "Orpheus In The Shades' Kingdom" and "Lobotomy", where again the guitar players play the most important role. "The Call Of Hell" is a glorious closer: great technical instrumental with a touch of Death, blasting wildly in a furious manner for a while.
"Reincarnation of the Immortal Evil" is not as intense and fast, although the guitar work is on a traditionally high level, and the singer has hardened his delivery, now sounding quite close to the early Chuck Schuldiner's (R.I.P.) style. The riffs are more technical and heavier, but no speed is lost on monsters like "Morbid Passion" and "Eternal Devastation". The delivery is overall more controlled, and consequently the spontaneity and the impulse of the debut are seldom to be felt. Still, one can not help but admire the technical prowess on tracks like "Unmercyful Reality", which at some point in the middle "flirts" with a Bulgarian folk tune in a nice lead-inspired fashion, or the overwhelming hammering riffage on "Sinking World", which rise and develop like a huge tsunami. Watch out for the technical masterpiece in the best tradition of late-period Death "Funeral Symphony" near the end as well, where the excellent leads provide a nice contrast to the hectic technical riffage. Another instrumental awaits the listener at the very end: "The Territories": speed/thrash fest at its finest; could have been left out from the debut, a very direct smashing number. If having been released in a country with a bigger metal scene, or at least in more appropriate for the classic sound times, these guys would have been major stars on the thrash metal circuit.

Anger of the Gods Full-length, 1993
Reincarnation of the Immortal Evil Full-length, 1995

IRATE (USA)

Based on "New York Metal": this band pull out playful modern thrash with a hardcore edge (which could only be played in New York, I guess?), along the lines of early Pro-Pain and Grope, but the Americans add a nice melodic edge in the guitar sector here and there, and their music sounds quite intense at times ("Shattered Dreams"), suddenly jumping the Swedish thrash/death metal wagon. Surprises of the kind are not many at all, and most of the time the album flows in a predictable groovy fashion, with the aforementioned melodic "ornamentations" finely alerting the listener.

Burden of a crumbling Society (Demo) EP, 1998
1134 Full-length, 2001
Demo 2003 EP, 2003
New York Metal Full-length, 2005

IRAULTZA (SPAIN)

Melodic power/thrash, a mixture of classic and modern influences, in mid-tempo, with numerous melodic, playful hooks, one cool acoustic ballad (Egunero), one cool, albeit a bit cheesy, galloping speed metal anthem (Ehistoria eta Txoria), and one good semi-technical power/thrash closer (Hil Arte).

Ez Horratio! Full-length, 1997

IRIDIO (ARGENTINA)

Based on the demo, this band pulls out competent old school thrash, following the early patterns from the American scene: Exodus, Slayer, Nasty Savage, etc. They don't rely on sheer speed too much, and most of the time the music flows in a cool heavy mid to up-tempo, with switches onto more speedy headbanging sections ("Tierra de Promisiķn", "Inocencia Perdida", which is a nice more intense thrasher, frequently alternating faster with slower parts). "Unidad" is sustained in a more dynamic tempo the whole time, featuring a long, but good melodic lead guitar section.

Thrash Slash Vol. 1 Split, 2008
Unidad Demo, 2008

IRON AGE (USA)

Based on "The Sleeping Eye", these guys (or a guy, since the only known memebr from this outfir is a guy called Alex) offer classic thrash/crossover straddling between edgier and faster and slower heavier tracks. Both sides deliver, as the faster one is more appealing, and this is where the sound comes close to D.R.I. and the D.B.C. debut. The leads are quite stlysih, and the end is preserved for a heavy doomster titled "The Way is Narrow".

Constant Struggle Full-length, 2006
The Way is Narrow Single, 2008
The Sleeping Eye Full-length, 2009

IRON ANGEL (GERMANY)

One of the more influential German speed/thrash metal bands; "Hellish Crossfire" is a striking debut, mixing speed and thrash to a considerable effect, kind of starting the whole speed/thrash metal genre in Europe, along with Helloween's "Walls of Jericho" (this one has no ties to thrash, though). The opening "The Metallian" tells a different story, never heard before, with its brilliant, fast riffs and the soaring, both gruff and melodic vocals. Later on the speed is being replaced on some tracks with stomping, heavy riffage ("Black Mass", "Nightmare"), creating a sinister, dark atmosphere. Some lighter, heavy/power metal numbers ("Hunter In Chains") could have been left out maybe, since they just don't fit nicely along the speed killers, like the mighty "Rush Of Power", "Wife Of The Devil", or the storming closer "Heavy Metal Soldiers": no signs of cheesiness on this one, like one might think reading the title.
"Winds Of War" is more melodic, and could be considered one of the best "Walls of Jericho" worships, along with Not Fragile's "Who Dares Wins", and Blind Guardian's "Battalions of Fear", with some cheesy (the cheesiness finally came) moments, later a big influence on the 90's power/speed metal scene: the power/heavy metal number "Son Of A Bitch", the rock hymn "Born To Rock", the marvellous short acoustic ballad "Back To The Silence", showing the singer in another, also great light, with his nice, clean voice, and could hardly be classified as thrash, except based on a few songs: the speedy opener "Metalstorm", the riff-fest "Fight For Your Life", the crushing speed/thrash closer "Creatures Of Destruction". Generally not a bad album at all, it was left without a follow-up, which was probably good in consideration of the direction which the band was taking. Jürgen R. Blackmore, Richie Blackmore's son, guested on guitars on "Winds of War", and later recruited the singer Dirk Schröder and the guitarist Mike Matthes for his band Superstition, where the style is hard'n heavy, quite similar to Deep Purple (from father to son...).
The 2007 demo shows that the band are waking up for some more speed/thrash, and indeed, the intro is called "The Awakening", and lasts for whole 3.5-min, the guys warming up with a more intense speed/thrash passage near the end, which flows into the cool retro thrasher "Puppet On A String", which hardly recalls their 80's material, belonging strictly to the Bay-Area. Actually this comeback is done by the singer Dirk Schröder and the guitarist Mike Matthes, who here also plays bass and drums (the band lost one of their guitar players, Peter Wittke, who passed away in 2000; another one, Sven Strüven, also died, in 2008). "Back From Hell" is heavy mid-paced proto-modern thrash, and "Sanatorium" is awful nu-metal, after which most of you will stop listening, and well deservedly so. "Unbreakable" is 8-min of a bit better mid to up-tempo modern thrash ala more recent Annihilator. Schröder is almost impossible to recognize, singing in a very bland mid-levelled semi-hardcore tone. This effort will be a very unpleasant surprise for the band fans, having nothing to do with their past output, and it was probably good that Schröder put an end again to this formation, due to a failure to find musicians to commit to the band on a full-time basis.

Hellish Crossfire Full-length, 1985
Winds of War Full-length, 1986
Back from Hell Demo, 2007

IRON CROSS (USA)

A curious release: most of the time the music is in the speed/thrash metal vein similar to Exciter or Destructor, but there are some heavier tracks calling to mind Celtic Frost.

Church and State Full-length, 1987

IRON WARRIOR (CANADA)

This obscure short-lived Canadian outfit consists of just one girl (or a woman), called Dana Lee, whose full-time occupation was agrave digger at the time. She was apparently too busy digging graves, so she managed to only record those 2 tracks, which betray her dedication to the doomy brooding style of early Celtic Frost and Hellhammer: heavy doomy riffs with an abrasive guitar sound and vicious low-tuned, but intelligible vocals, which are quite brutal considering that they come out of a girl's throat. The 2nd song "Horror Of The Zombies" starts with a beautiful acoustic passage, before the massacre begins...

Thy Deadly Illusion Demo, 1988

IRON YOUTH (GREECE)

Based on "Respect/Defend/Create", this band pull out aggressive thrash/death, which at its best comes close to masters like Slayer and Devastation, but with a slightly more modern edge, but their desire to leave some room for death metal leads to some very fast, almost blast-beating sections, which kind of spoil the atmosphere, at least to these ears. The vocals are death metal-ish, being deep growls, but of the more shouty type (think Jan-Chris De Koeijer from Gorefest).

Durch das Volk - Mit dem Volk - Für das Volk Full-length, 1998
Respect/Defend/Create Full-length, 2001
Faith Is Stronger Than Fire Full-length, 2005

IRONCHRIST (USA)

Thrash/crossover which might remind you of D.R.I. in the more straight-forward sections, which are not that many, as a matter of fact. Ironchrist's style is more technical and more thrash-oriented, and more appealing. It starts in a very hectic, even chaotic way, with the album title carrier, which later finds its way to more straight aggressive bashing. The songs flow in the same manner- fast, often brutal, with tight, and sometimes interesting, technical guitar work. The tracks are short, but the intense musicianship makes them a fairly satisfying listen, especially the aggressive and technical instrumental "Mechanized Emotions", which will overwhelm you with loads of riffs. "Cyborg" is a break from the intense delivery, being a mid-paced number, with a cool acoustic middle, but it's followed by another furious technical instrumental "Contusion", after which one can not help but take this band seriously. The rest is by no means less interesting, and as a result we have a truly fine slice of technically-minded thrash/crossover, pretty much a state-of-the-art achievement, considering that very few are those who have dared to cross this genre with the more technical side of metal (the Swiss Lunacy come to mind, but their style is less aggressive).
Their debut self-titled 3-track EP is a lot more ordinary , sounding like a prototypical thrash/crossover release, staying closer to D.R.I. (the last song), and Slayer (the other two, which are quite aggressive and intense).

Ironchrist EP, 1988
Getting The Most Out Of Your Extinction Full-length, 1990

IRONFIST (JAPAN)

On this split with their compatriots Abigail, these guys provide us with a similar slab of black-ish thrash, but more aggressive and varied, with some slower, stomping parts, and a pinch of death metal. "Silent Sorrow" is a cover of the the legends Nuctemeron. "Tyrannikal Adversaries" is a sinister black thrasher, rich on atmosphere, but with an awful sound quality.

Holocaustik Metal Sexxxekution Split, 2008

IRREVERENCE (ITALY)

Based on "Totally Negative Thoughts", the band's style is a typical modern death/thrash blend similar to The Haunted.

Totally Negative Thoughts Full-length, 2001
Target: Hate EP, 2003
War Was Won Full-length, 2005

ISAIA (RUSSIA)

Based on the debut, these guys play heavy doomy thrash relying more on atmosphere, although the sudden speedy outbursts are a cool addition, and should have been more. Another pullback is the hissing sound of the guitars which considerably takes away from the melody which is well covered, also in the form of quiet balladic sections ("Isaia"). The singer semi-shouts in a not very convincing semi-clean manner merging quite a bit with the snake-y guitars.
"Temnaya Bashnya" follows the same patterns, but this time the songs are much longer, and black metal has sneaked in, of the hypnotic Burzum-like quality, the difference coming from the lack of speed here, again the music sharing a lot with the doom metal scene. The hissing guitar sound remains, but now it fits better into the overall monotonous hypnotic picture which is mainly spoilt by the harsh shouty vocals which are a strak contrast to the moody brooding music, and shouldn't have been used on the couple of very cool balladic acoustic sections.

Sila Lyubvi Full-length, 1996
Temnaya Bashnya Full-length, 1997
Čņōčíā ÷åđíîãî ÷åëîâåęā Full-length, 2003

ISKALD (NORWAY)

The legion of thrash metal bands from Norway has been growing fast in recent years. Quite a few of them come up with a sound which has a certain black-ish vibe, and Iskald are one of those. At their best, these guys recall Dissection in their prime, but with a more thrashy edge. What some thrash metal fans might find annoying is that the band ofter adhere to the typical for black metal ultra-fast breaks which at times sound awkward combined with the thrashy riffs.

Shades of Misery Full-length, 2006
Northern Twilight EP, 2006

ISMIRILATION (BRAZIL)

Simplistic thrash/crossover with awful hysterical shouty vocals; the music is fast, with one surprising thrash/proto-death metal outbreak: "Todos Pelo Underground" and an overall style not too far from early Broken Bones.

Ismirilation Demo, 2007

ITSARI (SWEDEN)

Modern heavy mix of hardcore and thrash, stretching into other genres as well: grindcore, industrial, grunge, stoner/doom, with awful hoarse, shouty vocals. The music is often chaotic, trying to put all the aforementioned genres into one song. The straight thrashers are not too many ("Imperial", "Corrego Seco"). The closer "Vinkar av Kattegatt" could have been a good touch with the nice acoustic beginning, but later degenerates into bland, one-dimensional undistrial noise.

Imperial Full-Length, 2007

IXION (FRANCE)

The heavy, sinister style of early Celtic Frost meets the faster, more aggressive riffs of Rigor Mortis. The final result is not bad at all: black-ish thrash, with gruff, more vicious Tom G. Warrior-like vocals.

In Hoc Signs Vinces Demo, 1986

IZEGRIM (HOLLAND)

Based on the debut full-length, this is mostly mid-paced, atmospheric death/thrash metal with very good lead work. The vocals are sinister semi-death, semi-black metal ones, and are performed by a girl. The music is thrash most of the time, with good melodic guitar lines, which nicely intertwine with the sharp riffage. The band are not strangers to some clever technical sections - "Warmonger", as well as some great galloping thrashers: "Balance of Terror".
"New World Order" is a pleasant surprise, offering 3 tracks of pure thrash, energetic and sharp, with cool technical licks, and one longer, slower, doom-laden, but equally as effective piece ("World Power (or Downfall)").
"Tribute to Totalitarianism" starts not very convincingly, with the dragging, slow "Hail Victory", which has no ties to thrash whatsoever, but very soon things take a nicer shape with a couple of energetic thrashing numbers, albeit of a more conventional nature, without the more stylish technical moments, which were heard on the previous efforts. "New World Order" slows down again, but the main riff is quite catchy. The problem is that the album loses intensity, and the following tracks are mid-tempo at best, with much more timid, edgeless guitar performance, hitting the bottom with the melodic, gothic-tinged closer "Out Of Many, One", which tries to save the day at some point, with some nice Oriental hooks. This is not a complete failure, but the band's attempt to broaden their horizon might lead to their sounding like many other acts nowadays who try to put many metal styles together, with mixed results.
The "Point of no Return" EP contains 4 tracks which by all means have more life than the ones on their lacklustre last full-length, and are quite intense thrash/death experiences, varying the tempos, staying closer to death metal. Several atmospheric passages have been thrown in, giving the compositions a somewhat gothic feeling, but there's no speed and sharpness lost here.

Bird of Prey EP, 1999
Guidelines for Genocide Full-length, 2002
New World Order EP, 2005
Tribute to Totalitarianism Full-length, 2008
Point of no Return EP, 2009

IXXI (SWEDEN)

Two full-lengths released for one year is a feat worthy only of bands like Manowar, or Therion. Well, these Swedes have done it, too; their music is a cool mixture of black and thrash metal, not fast, mostly mid-paced, along the lines of Barathrum, early Bathory, with shades of recent Satyricon and Thorns as well. Their style is rich on atmosphere and slower doomy sections, all this ably supported by the vicious black-ish vocals, which might remind you of Satyr from... well...

IXXI Full-length, 2007
Assorted Armament Full-length, 2007

IZJOGA (RUSSIA)

Eclectic, very wild and occasionally brutal blend of thrash, hardcore and grind. The guys have the competency to pull out interesting music, like it shows here and there, but they prefer to stick to the less serious, light-hearted side of the mix, and those more technical decisions remain buried under jolly, noisy, diverse compositions, "courting" many other styles in the process. Overall we have an interesting, listenable effort, which is by no means worse than similar works of more renowned acts, like Zimmerhole, Waltari, Municipal Waste, etc.

Jit Stalo Luchshe, Stalo Veselee Full-Length, 1997

IZVERG (RUSSIA)

These Russians offer 5 tracks of decent intense retro thrash with a varying sound quality which leaves the impression that the songs have been recorded at different times. Nevertheless all of them are brisk energetic headbangers, except for the nice semi-ballad "Ballad o Maniake", with suitable mean clean vocals.

Zima Demo, 2009

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